Question

Beowulf must battle Grendel with his bare hands because

Answer 1

As Grendel does not use weapons to bite people in half and lap their blood, it will bring the hero greater honor to slay the foe with his bare hands; this is partly because it would be dishonorable to kill an unarmed man, no matter how dangerous or evil he might be, and partly because Beowulf's vanity will not allow ...