Kristin Lavransdatter read-along | 2025

[TimeforaGandT]

Following on from The Count of Monte Cristo read-along in the first half of 2025, we are reading Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset for the second half of 2025.

The medieval epic tells the story of a passionate and headstrong woman from childhood in three books : The Wreath, The Wife and The Cross.

It’s a majestic 1124 pages in the Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition which has been translated by Tiina Nunnally and this is the edition I am using for page number references. Kudos to anyone who is reading it in the original Norwegian.

There are 67 chapters in total (if I have counted correctly) and the consensus is to read three chapters a week / one every two days with Sundays off. I have ignored the Introduction as part of the read-along as, in my experience, there are often contain spoilers.

Starting on Monday, 7 July our first week looks like this:

The Wreath – Part 1 (Jørundgaard)

Monday / Tuesday – Chapter 1 (pages 5 to 21)
Wednesday / Thursday – Chapter 2 (pages 22 to 37)
Friday / Saturday – Chapter 3 (pages 38 – 47)
Sunday – day off

I will try and tag all those who have previously expressed interest.

I am another one who's confused by the fat/thin comment - is Fru Aashild reflecting on her own marriage?

I am up to date and lots going on now.

May I join in please? I read the first one last year before we went to Norway and I have just bought the second to read before we go back in September, but I will enjoy a reread of The Wreath

I wondered whether the physical comments about Simon might be in contrast to Lavran. Early in the book there's a description of Lavran looking like a knight even when he's travelling wearing simple clothes. It could be contrasting the attributes of a knight - tall, slim, physically fit with Simon. So maybe he doesn't quite live up to Kristin's idealised idea. Yet Lavran does seem to approve of him, not just because his family but also due to his character. Kristin less so, almost as though she's trying to convince herself.

Just caught up today but think I may need to find a character list as there were a lot of things happening in that last chapter

Welcome IlovetoKnitandRead!

CutFlowers, I was saying today that I need a cast list to help me. Will see if I can find one.

Magpie - yes, Simon seems to not compare well physically to Lavrans and Arne. It will be interesting to see what he is like as a person and how his relationship with Kristin unfolds.

Just a quick pop in to say there are character lists available but they contain a lot of spoilers so I wouldn't look for one yet.

Thank you, Janina - maybe I will try and compile one of my own and share it.

For Lavran marriage is about land and property, consolidating his position by allying his family to another powerful family. Kristin seems to have accepted this from a very young age, as has Arne, although now they are older they have realised the downside.

I'm sure Lavran would choose as nice a husband as possible, and I can't imagine him forcing her to marry someone she didn't like, but I can't imagine him letting her marry Arne, who has nothing, either.

It's interesting, because until Anne's departure K was quite into the idea of Simon.

i'm late to the party but just starting this today. Very excited, looks wonderful and just the kind of historical saga I like.

@MotherOfCatBoy that's interesting about the Tolkien link! My guess would be that Tolkien got the figure of the elf queen with the wreath from somewhere in Norse mythology, rather than directly from the Undset books. So he and Undset may have had a common source? He was an expert in Norse mythology; there's a wiki page on that, although it doesn't mention queens with wreaths:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolkien_and_the_Norse

I didn't understand Fru Aashild's comment about fat/thin men either; maybe it will be illuminated later as you say, @TonTonMacoute . I wondered if she was implying that Simon would be more likely to have extramarital affairs, but I have no idea whether that theory is right or not.

Fru Aashild's raunchy tale about the magic bath that turns women back into virgins reminded me of medieval French fabliaux (comic stories that often have implausible elements relating to sex). The twist of the young bride missing the chance to conceal her lack of virginity, and her elderly mother-in-law turning back into a virgin instead - that could easily be a fabliau plot.

I agree @TonTonMacoute that Kristin sees marriage primarily as an economic transaction arranged by her father; that would be very typical of the time.

Kristin's near escape from rape in Ch. 6 is pretty gruelling. It's interesting that she doesn't confide in her parents about it.

Welcome to the newcomers!

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts on that passage. All very good points to consider and very plausible.

I remember the fabliaux from my college days cassandre. The comparison is very apt!

I must look up the link. I am wondering what the reference to the wreath in the title is. Usually a symbol of enduring union...?

You'll know what the relevance of the wreath is by the end of the first book 🙂

And this week our reading is as follows:

Part I, Chapter 7 (pages 81 - 95)
Part II, Chapter 1 (pages 99 - 106)
Part II, Chapter 2 (pages 107 -119)

(page numbers are as ever references to the Deluxe Penguin edition pictured in OP)

Waiting to see .....
...how Kristin and Simon's relationship unfolds and to discover if Simon is a decent man.
.....why Ragnfrid is so unhappy.
.....the significance of The Wreath.

Just posting my thoughts:
Chapter 2 was a bit of a swerve, I was expecting to read about Kristin’s birthplace, but we spent most of the chapter on religion. That’s partly a reflection on the time the book was set and it was noticeable to read about how devout Lavrans is (despite being a knight & popular etc.). I also wondered about whether it reflected the time of writing too - I can remember being a bit surprised when I first read Katherine by Anya Seton how much religion drove that plot even though it being reissued as a great romance (not sure if that book is the best English comparison for Kristin Lavransdatter, but it is the only one I can think of written in early - mid 20th century about roughly the same historical period). Chapter 2 was also a lesson for me to control my reading as I zoomed into Chapter 3 (still working on that as I suspect I’m a chapter behind at present). Someone posted up thread that they didn’t expect to see the monk again - I wasn’t sure about that but I did expect to read more about religion. When the monk does appear a bit later, there was the interesting contrast between how the characters respect his holiness, but the maid quickly cleans up after him as she doesn’t want to catch his lice (my sympathy is with the maid).

I found Chapter 3 quite hard reading as it starts so well for the characters and particularly the relationship between Lavrans and Ragnfrid - and then there is the awful accident. I also wondered about why Ragnfrid favours Ulvhild over Kristin and about the secrets in Ragnfrid’s past, especially after we are told that Ragnfrid is surprised that Fru Aashild hasn’t mentioned the fact that they knew each other earlier. I also wondered if Fru Aashild’s tale has some reference to Ragnfrid’s past. Like others, I was disappointed by both the descriptions of Fru Aashild’s husband and Simon - even though the latter is described as handsome, he really doesn’t sound attractive in how he is described.

Final observation is about the names many of them sound very different to modern names and I wonder if a Norwegian reader would find the same. In contrast if you were writing about the same time in England (like Katherine that I mentioned earlier), many names would still be in use today.

I also need to add that I’m really enjoying the read along - both the book itself and finding so much to discuss.

Well, I imagine I'm not the only one feeling a bit shell-shocked after chapter 7! Powerful stuff.

i thought these last two chapters described very well the awful psychological effects of sexual assault, even if 'nothing happens'. The guilt and shame, made worse by the victim blaming. Learning that everyone's been gossiping about it behind your back all this time, and you can longer feel comfortable in your own home village.

The fear of physical contact with her future husband, something they implied that she was quite eagerly curious about before.

Interesting that the men seem to be more understanding than the women in the aftermath - especially Simon.

Final observation is about the names many of them sound very different to modern names and I wonder if a Norwegian reader would find the same.

Orkney and Shetland were still part of Norway at this point and the old norse names mostly fell out of favour over the centuries but in the 19th century there was a revival of the old Viking names and that has continued to the present. Norway became independent in 1905 and there was a big revival of nationalism. The capital's name was changed from Kristiania (named after a Danish king) to the old norse name Oslo and the first king of the newly independent country was known as King Haakon. Kristin Lavransdatter is part of this revival of nationalism, the 14th century was the last time before the 20th century that Norway was independent.

The other thing I wanted to say was about the family history in the first chapter. The Norse Sagas were first written down between the 12th and 14th centuries and they all start with a family history showing how the families were important and related to royalty. So I assumed Sigrid Undset was referencing the sagas when I read that.

@TonTonMacoute Yes to everything you say about the sexual assault! It's awful. And the reaction of Arne's mother (verbally attacking Kristin) is particularly upsetting.

Simon does come off looking reasonably sympathetic in terms of his reaction to the events. However, close to the end of the chapter he does remark to Kristin's parents that he thinks Kristin has been allowed to mingle too freely with the servants. Kristin is understandably put off by this: Kristin turned away, and the desire she had felt for a moment to put her arms around Simon Darre's neck had vanished completely.

Interesting comments @JaninaDuszejko about the beginning of the novel imitating the Norse sagas; I didn't know that.

That's interesting @Janina. I didn't realise Norway wasn't independent until relatively recently.

And agree totally about the sexual assault. Horrible that it is Kristen's fault.

Agreed. But I was pretty impressed that she managed to knock him down by throwing a rock at his head!

Thanks so much for the lovely welcome 💕Thoroughly enjoying it so far but my goodness Kristin is having a tough time. Her sister's accident, a very distant Mother, sexual assault and now her best friend/secret love has been stabbed to death. Goodness that Bentein is a bad un!

There has been so much turbulence in Kristen's world; the killing of her best friend, the accusations of misconduct, moving out of home and then another threat of physical/sexual assault. Life in those times wasn't easy for anyone and particularly if you were young and female.

I was upset to read about Arne's pointless death. It was mean, brutal and unnecessary. His parents had gone through their own share of misfortune already. Life could be difficult for people with the death of children, crop failure, loss of property. If you were well off, I suppose you were relatively secure.

The information about Norway was interesting. Thanks, Janina.

Just caught up today. 😀 How is everyone getting on?

I am afraid I am running behind having been away last week and not prepared to lug such a massive tome with me. Aiming to catch up over the next few days.

For those of you who are on track, this week we are reading:

Part 2
Chapter 3 - pages 120 - 136
Chapter 4 - pages 137 - 146
Chapter 5 - pages 147 - 157

(page references are to version pictured in opening post).

I hope to be back shortly when I am current!

I am back on track.

Looking back first at last week, I felt sorry for Kristin after the attack but actually thought given the time period and the attitudes to women she was treated well by family and friends. Simon's comment about fraternising with servants was a little off - I think what he was really getting at was that she shouldn't have been free to roam unaccompanied. There was a reason that well-born women in those days had ladies who acted as companions and chaperones and why they always moved in packs and it was to protect not only their virtue but also their reputation. Lavran's household is relaxed and safe but it has made Kristin very unworldly.

I was surprised that Simon was so amenable to Kristin going to the convent as I would have thought given her age he would have been pressing for marriage.

Ingebjorg is very annoying (so well-written) and I blame her for putting herself and Kristin at risk of attack. They were lucky to be rescued.

I have read yesterday's/today's chapter in which a lot happens but will avoid spoilers and post later.

Enjoyed this chapter, but not too impressed by the nuns' safeguarding efforts.