BEOWULF

Unferth tries to bring embarrassment upon the man of lore we know as Beowulf. He does this in order to make himself look as though he was a much better man in front of his people. If Unferth cant defeat Grendel and if he makes look as if Beowulf can't succeed then he did as good a job as any. Beowulf responds by pointing out that he lost this race because he had to fight a sea monster that was holding him down. He lost the race, but he explained his killing of the monster as making all the seas more safe for all sailors. Then he goes on to state that Unferth hasn't done deeds like this ever and he couldn't if he wanted to. This makes beowulf look great and noble and he even goes on to state that fate spares the life of the divine who are destined for great things. I think both of these men had put the other down and done this because they were compensating for the stubbiness of their swords.