The sword in Beowulf and other Anglo-Saxon poemsIs the sword mentioned only in Beowulf or is it a common element throughout Anglo-Saxon poetry? Is the sword described in the same way as Beowulf? In "Beowulf and Archaeology" Catherine M. Hills states, "The most important weapon referred to in Beowulf is the sword" (305). In the verses of the poem 1557 ff. He recounts the poet's description of the sword Beowulf finds in the sea: Then he saw among the armor a bright blade of victory made by the giants, an unshakable edge, an honor to its bearer, the best of weapons, but longer and heavier than any other. never could man have brought into the game war blows, ornate, burnished, the work of giants. Attention is now focused on the hilt of the sword: “he grasped the hilt of the belt” (1563). In the next line hringmael or "ringed"/"ringed" is mentioned in reference to the sword Beowulf found. This may refer to the “ring swords” found in 6th-century Kentish graves and 7th-century Scandinavian graves (Cramp 125-6). Line 1616 uses broden-mael, “ornate wavy”/”with wavy patterns” in reference to the sword that melted due to the monster's blood. Whether the translator sees these adjectives as referring to the hilt or the blade does not matter, archaeologically speaking, because circular and interlocking patterns are found on both blades and hilts throughout the Anglo-Saxon period. These wavy or ring patterns result from the twisting or weaving of bands of hard and soft iron. Lines 1687 ff. describes the hilt of the sword Grendel: Hrothgar spoke, he examined the hilt, the great treasure of old. There was engraved the origin of the past struggles, when the flood submerged, the impetuous ocean killed the race of giants. They suffered terribly, they were a people foreign to the eternal God; their final payment which the ruler sent to them across the raging waters. On its shining gold faces there were also runes arranged in order, engraved, inlaid, indicating for whom the sword was first crafted, its sharp edges, twisted gold coiled in the hilt, the serpent blade intertwined. Concerning the runes on the sword hilt, G. Stephens in his Handbook of Runic Monuments argues that the only Anglo-Saxon runic inscription on the sword hilt is found on the Gilton sword, and that it is incomprehensible (Cramp 128).