A Bit of Beowulf

Then was the grey-haired Ongentheow brought to bay by the point of the sword,so that the mighty king was forced to submit to the will of Eofor alone. Wulf son of Wonred smote at him wrathfully with his weapon, so that the blood spurted out from the veins on his forehead at the stroke. Yet was the old Scylfing in no wise daunted, but quickly dealt out a worse return for that murderous blow, when the mighty king turned on his adversary. The brave son of Wonred had no chance to deal a counter-blow at the old man, for Ongenthiow cut through the helmet he wore, and he had to give way and fall to the earth covered in blood; yet he was not doomed and he survived, though the wound had touched him close. Then when his brother lay low, the valiant thane of Hygelac let his broad blade, his ancient sword of the giants, strike against the wall of the shield, shattering the helmet which giants made; and then the king, the people’s guardian, fell with a mortal wound.

H.R. Ellis Davidson, The Sword in Anglo-Saxon England: Its Archaeology and Literature, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1962), 195,196