Kristin Lavransdatter read-along | 2025

I felt very sorry for Orm too, and his sister who was too young to be there, so both children are isolated. They have lost their mother after all. Erland has also put them in the position of being disinherited - now he has a son with Kristin, it’s certain Orm will never inherit from him because of his illegitimacy. It’s completely irresponsible to bring children into the world and not be able to provide for them (generally and in this particular historical and legal context).

I really felt for Kristin in the last chapter, I had a long labour, the thought of doing it without pain relief is alarming!

I was sad that they sent Erland's son away, just as he and Kristin were beginning to bond. She really has managed to isolate herself as she can't admit to her father that she had betrayed his trust in her.

She likes and trusts the farmer's wife, but she is pushed aside by the other women. Looking forward to this weeks chapters

I liked Erland's brother in this section. Erland himself still seemed a bit useless but did at least care about Kristin. And the backstory about his parents was interesting.

I am about unsure whether Kristin is so fixated on Eline due to guilt or jealousy. Maybe both - with a heavy dose of homesickness thrown in.

The birthing traditions were interesting and terrifying in equal measure. I was particularly struck by how tiring it was for the supporting women as well as Kirstin herself.

There was an amusing comment in chapter 3 or so contrasting Erland with his brother and noting that Erland had « drooping » shoulders or something like that. I chuckled - slopey shoulders, what a surprise! That man doesn’t take responsibility for anything!

Kristin's homesickness and loneliness are very evident in these chapters.
Erlend continues to be a disappointment.

It's not that he's a mean or a bad man, but he is weak. Really less than ideal and he compares so poorly with her father.
I wonder if he will ever be any different.
My heart was in my mouth reading chapter four.

I thought the ending was very moving and explained a lot about Lavrans and Ragnfrid’s relationship. I think while Lavrans focuses on realising what he has missed, the reader also needs to take into account what the book shows us about what he has achieved. He was clearly put in an impossible situation very young, but has tried to make the best of it. Although he wasn’t able to respond to Ragnfrid’s feelings for him how she might have liked, he has respected her and has sacrificed his own chance of a more fulfilling relationship by remaining faithful to her. He is also clearly immensely successful and popular as a landowner - I also thought about the Little House on the Prairie books (particularly Farmer Boy) when reading the text although for me it was due to the references to Lavrans’ horses. It’s very easy to imagine that he has the patience and self-control to break and trains fantastic horses because it is keeping with the rest of his personality.

In contrast, no-one who has had a more passionate relationship seems to have benefitted from it. Ragnfrid is haunted by her past, which has certainly paid a toll on her family too. Fru Aashild is exiled from her family. Éline and Arne end up dead. Erlend has wasted his youth and his fortune. There’s another dimension to this, which is that the main characters are all from the nobility, so they all have obligations to the families who work for them - Lavrans’ choices have made life better for his retainers and tenants, and we are now seeing that life on Erlend’s estate isn’t so comfortable. In some ways Lavrans and Erlend mirror each other - while Lavrans regrets what he has missed, Erlend is wishing to display his new wife to try to regain the respect he has lost. There’s also the judgment of the reader to consider - I also would probably consider Lavrans to be my favourite character whereas Erlend quickly loses his initial glamour once we learn more about him.

It’s also striking that while in the first book Kristin’s similarity to Ragnfrid was noticeable, after her marriage we can see her resemblance to her father. She may be haunted by her earlier behaviour, but she also decides to make the best of it (I think there is a comment saying that she would think it sinful not to make the most of the manor). The author’s description of household details that was mentioned earlier, really does get across how squalid the manor is with the image of the fine fabrics covering the filthy straw (it’s also very tempting to extend the imagery to Erlend’s character). Then there is Erlend’s unattractive eating habits and Kristin’s sadness at the uncomfortable state of the manor after the Christmas feast compared to the standard ses she was used to at home. It’s clear that Erlend just doesn’t measure up to her father and this does not bode well for their relationship.

Thank you @TimeforaGandT

That was an interesting chapter. Erlend’s behaviour was less than admirable, as usual, but Kristin is very stubborn. He is weak, she is stronger. He will realise this.

Thank you TimeforaGandT!
I'll read them later on.

'Erlend's house sounds rank!' I couldn't agree more!

I felt these lines at the close of chapter one were apt; 'So', he said merrily as they came out onto the road again, 'now we'll ride home to Husaby, my Kristin, and be as happy as two thieves'. They haven't been honest with each other or with her parents. Their dishonesty has cast a cloud over their union. Kristin has chosen a hard path. She has her work cut out for her.

In fact his outright refusal to recognise Kristin’s grown up sexuality is the flip side of his lifelong repression of his own.

It explained so much of their marriage and really gave insight into why Lavrans couldn’t understand his daughter. Only now is he acknowledging what he has missed.

I found the conversation between Lavrans and Ragnfrid, in the barn after the wedding, powerful and moving. It was beautifully written (and translated) and clarified so much of the backstory that we have been speculating on. I felt deeply sorry for both of them.

Contrast with Kristin, who has stubbornly held out for the man she fell passionately in love with. It's the first few days of married bliss and it's not clear that she's going to be any happier.

I thought it was because she is being presented publicly by her father/family to all their friends and aquaintances as a maiden (hair down and wearing the wreath) so it is embarrassing for them that they were presenting her as such when she wasn't really.

**
Struggling to understand why there is quite so much shame in having been up the duff at the time of the wedding, given that they are now respectably married, there’s a suggestion that elopement’s would have been less shameful?

I think it's not so much shame, but Kristin is annoyed that everyone will just think it's funny that she's pregnant at her wedding, and that betrothed couples who 'couldn't wait' until the wedding were figures of fun. Whereas, if she had got pregnant while her father had forbidden the wedding, they would have been seen as more romantic, as star-crossed lovers who stayed true in times of trial and hardship.

She also seems annoyed that it's likely she won't enjoy the huge feast that she's working so hard to help prepare because of pregnancy, , and I think she's trying hard not to dwell too much on her underlying concern that Erland did not take no as meaning no.

Sigrid Undset's father was an archaeologist and she inherited her interest in the medieval period from him, and the accurate historical detail about the period in Kristin Lavrandatter and her other medieval novels was part of the reason she was awarded the Nobel prize. You'll all be glad to know that continues throughout the rest of the trilogy.

With regards to The Wreath, the older translation called the first part of the trilogy The Bridal Wreath.

I have a slight theory about Lavrans based on my own father. He was very strict with me about boys, to the point that in my 20s he was still shouting at boys to stay away from me. BUT, I did once tell him I had a boyfriend, and then I continued to lie and tell him I was with various friends including weekend sleepovers and holidays with said boyfriend. He never once questioned it or tried to catch me out. He obviously knew but just wouldn’t accept it. I suspect Lavrans has a bit of that what he doesn’t know for sure can’t be real regarding his little girl. Ignorance is bliss etc. Though we can see that carrying it has diminished him somewhat - but that is also due to the death of Ulvid. To use my dad again, he physically deteriorated almost overnight after my sibling passed away. So, a tough physical life, disappointment in Kristen’s
choices, drought, grief brings us to the Lavrans we now see.

I have to say I would read a book just about Lavrans. He is by far and away my favourite character and I find him endlessly interesting.

I haven’t finished th chapter yet, but nearly there.

I’ve also got slightly ahead. Enjoying everyone’s comments. The episode is indeed shocking Fuzzy. Very true that Kristin has made her bed and now has to lie in it Time. Erlend is certainly not of Lavrans’ calibre and Kristin is seeing that clearly now. And where it seemed initially that Eline’s death had simply saved Kristin from disgrace it is now clear that she is haunted by it.

I’m another one enjoying the detail of the daily life. Struggling to understand why there is quite so much shame in having been up the duff at the time of the wedding, given that they are now respectably married, there’s a suggestion that elopement’s would have been less shameful?

I think I need to get back to reading the three chapters during the week, the way I started out. I feel a bit out of step with the thread and the discussion.

I think the characters have gone through so much that they are quite changed as a result, especially Lavrans and Kirstin.I agree with your comment Time. The difference in Lavrans is significant; he seems like a broken man. Kirstin and Erlend's relationship is in flux as well, with more low points than high points. I can't remember if it's time to mention what happened on that journey between them, but it was terrible.

So, the wimple of the married woman has replaced the bridal wreath?

I'm also appreciating the details of the homestead and farming life as well. The author did her research. She certainly doesn't romanticise it, that's true. Fru Aashild making a quick change out of her sweaty, stained housedress before the visitors arrived, for example. Life was tough!

I'm enjoying the discussion and everyone's comments.

The portrayal of Lavrans is very wise and nuanced, I’m finding. There’s a lot of hinterland.

Ive finished this week’s chapters and can’t wait to discuss them.

As an aside - is anyone else enjoying the Little-House-On-The-Prairie-esque details of all the household craft and food preparation and self sufficiency? The author must have done a lot of research about medieval life and I find I’m enjoying the physical descriptions a lot (weaving, spinning,brewing, feasting etc). I wonder if we like it because most of us are so far away from the production of our own food and clothing these days? And I guess we romanticise it for that reason. It would have been incessant hard work. But very satisfying!

Thanks @cassandre
I think Lavrans is really blind to an aspect of his daughter’s (and wife’s) personality: sexuality. As pp have said though, that doesn’t necessarily make Erland a great choice. Just that Simon wasn’t really great for her either. Arne would have been but was too poor.
Also not great that he doesn’t think Kristin can manage property. Her mother seems capable enough. Maybe Lavrans can’t help seeing Kristin as some little girl/ princess who has to be looked after by practically a knight in shining armour. Life’s not like that!
Which makes his « we’re not in Bretland » comment double edged - we don’t live in fairy stories, yet he won’t recognise his daughter’s true character and that she is growing up.

(Looks up the note for « Bretland » - « old Norse name for Wales » 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿❤️ - looks like our myths and stories travelled a long way!)

Is the wreath a symbol of maidenhood? if so Kristin is now out of the innocent sphere of the virginal wreath, and in a more complicated world

I assumed that that's what it meant.

Its interesting that as Kristin is growing up and becoming more worldly not only is her relationship with Lavrans changing, but the way he is portrayed is changing too. He has changed from this incredibly strong and fair lord to someone who is growing tired as he ages, he feels the responsibility of getting those who rely on him through tough times, he resents feeling obliged to agree to Erlend higher ranking relatives, when he is trying to do the right thing, and has lost the will to fight with Kristin any longer.*

I seem to remember at the beginning of the book they mentioned that although it was obvious he wasn't in love with or attracted to his wife, he never sought sex outside the marriage with other women. His attitude to sex is obviously very different from that of his feisty womenfolk!

*anyone who has had an enraged teenaged DC shout accusingly at them 'You just don't want me to make the mistakes you made!' will know this feeling (sigh)