Nægling is the name of one of the swords used by Beowulf

Beowulf (hero)

Beowulf is a legendary Geatish hero and later turned king in the epic poem named after him, one of the oldest surviving pieces of literature in the English language.-Etymology and origins of the character:...

 in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem of Beowulf

Beowulf

Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...

. He receives it after defeating Grendel

Grendel

Grendel is one of three antagonists, along with Grendel's mother and the dragon, in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf . Grendel is usually depicted as a monster, though this is the subject of scholarly debate. In the poem, Grendel is feared by all but Beowulf.-Story:The poem Beowulf is contained in...

 and Grendel's Mother

Grendel's mother

Grendel's mother is one of three antagonists in the work of Old English literature of anonymous authorship, Beowulf . She is never given a name in the text....

. The name may well mean "nailer", that is it drives like a nail in to its enemy. However it is also possible that it refers to jeweled nails on its hilt. If this is so it would correspond to the Nagelring, a sword from the Vilkina saga, said to be the best sword in the world. Beowulf wins the sword from a fight between the Geat

Geat

Geats , and sometimes Goths) were a North Germanic tribe inhabiting what is now Götaland in modern Sweden...

s and Frisians. The sword does not survive Beowulf's final encounter with the dragon, snapping in two. An important note is that the sword breaks not because of the dragon's strength, but rather the force the hero himself puts behind it.

Nægling forbærst,

geswác æt sæcce sweord Bíowulfes,

gomol ond grǽgmǽl. Him þæt gifeðe ne wæs

þæt him írenna ecge mihton

helpan æt hilde; wæs sío hond tó strong

The idea of a sword failing for the hero at a crucial time has parallels in other Germanic works such as in the Volsunga saga

Volsunga saga

The Völsungasaga is a legendary saga, a late 13th century Icelandic prose rendition of the origin and decline of the Völsung clan . It is largely based on epic poetry...

and Gesta Danorum

Gesta Danorum

Gesta Danorum is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th century author Saxo Grammaticus . It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark and is an essential source for the nation's early history...

. However this is especially true in the Gunnlaugs saga

Gunnlaugs saga

Gunnlaugs saga ormstungu or the Saga of Gunnlaugr Serpent-Tongue is one of the Icelanders' sagas. Composed at the end of the 13th century it is preserved complete in a slightly younger manuscript. It contains 25 verses of skaldic poetry attributed to the main characters...

, where the author goes at pains to show that it was the hero and not the foe who broke the sword. Furthermore, in Germanic tradition, exceptional swords may often use words such as old, ancient, or ancestral. However this may not always fit the story of the hero, such as when the sword is forged for him. In Naegling's case, the sword has more of a literary characteristic than a specific ancestral lineage, as is evident from its name. Nevertheless the sword is described as being gomol ond grægmæl (old and gray).