Breca the Bronding American patois uses an accusation of ‘a particular form of incest’). Further in the saga, when Heriot is being attacked by Grendel's Mother, we shall see Unferth approach Beowulf in humility, offering his own family's heirloom sword. Breca the Bronding Breca (sometimes spelled Breoca or Brecca) was a Bronding who, according to the Anglo-Saxon poem "Beowulf", was Beowulf's childhood friend. Breca defeated Beowulf in what, by consensus, is described as a "swimming" match. While dining, Unferth alludes to the story of their contest as a reproach to Beowulf's impulsiveness and foolhardiness, and Beowulf then relates it in detail, explaining how
The dragon (Beowulf) the beast, the thanes flee in terror, leaving only Wiglaf to battle at Beowulf's side. When the dragon wounds Beowulf fatally, Wiglaf slays it. This depiction indicates the growing importance and stabilization of the modern concept of the dragon within European mythology. "Beowulf" is the first piece of English literature to present a dragonslayer. Although many motifs common to the "Beowulf" dragon existed in the Scandinavian and Germanic literature, the "Beowulf" poet was the first to combine features and present a distinctive fire-breathing dragon. The "Beowulf" dragon was later copied in literature with similar themes such as J. R. R.