Kristin Lavransdatter
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Kristin Lavransdatter is the common name for a trilogy of historical novels written by Nobel laureate Sigrid Undset. The individual novels are Kransen (The Wreath) (first published in 1920), Husfrue (Wife) (1921), og Korset (The Cross) (1922).
Undset's work is much admired for its historical and ethnological accuracy.
Plot introduction
The cycle follows the life of Kristin Lavransdatter, a fictitious Norwegian woman who lived in the 1300s. Kristin grows up in Sel in Gudbrandsdalen, the daughter of a well-respected and affluent farmer. She experiences a number of conflicts in her relationships with her parents and her husband, Erlend in medieval Norway. She finds comfort and conciliation in her Catholic faith and eventually dies at peace with her world.Plot summary
Kristin Lavransdatter is the daughter of Lavrans, a charismatic, much-respected farmer in a rural area of Norway, and his depressive wife Ragnfrid. Raised in a loving yet stern family, Kristin develops a sensitive but willful character, defying her family in small and large ways. At an early age, she is exposed to various tragedies, and a trip to Oslo proves to define her outlook on life.She is betrothed to Simon Darre but falls in love with the knight Erlend Nikulaussøn, from a farm in Trøndelag, whom she meets and falls in love with while staying at a nunnery in Oslo. Erlend and Kristin have a passionate relationship that is sealed through their complicity in the death of Erlend's concubine and their premarital sexual relationships. By the time Lavrans agrees to allow the marriage between the two, Kristin is already pregnant.
Suffering from the remorse of her ways, Kristin undertakes a pilgrimage to St. Olav's shrine in Trondheim. Kristin and Erlend have seven sons together, as they settle in Erlend's ancestral home, where Kristin becomes the head of the household. Erlend, impulsive to the point of recklessness, runs afoul with the political powers of his time and is imprisoned, his property lost.
Kristin, Erlend, and their children return to Kristin's childhood farm but fail to gain the acceptance of the community. Hardship forges strong family bonds and highlights Kristin's sense of obligations to her family and her faith. Erlend dies after he and Kristin find peace with each other. Kristin returns to Trondheim, where she is accepted as a lay member of a nunnery. When the Black Plague arrived in Norway in 1349, Kristin dedicates herself to nursing the ill before she succumbs to the plague.
Characters in Kristin Lavransdatter
- Kristin Lavransdatter, the protagonist
- Lavrans Bjørgulfsson, her father
- Ragnfrid, Kristin's mother
- Simon Darre, initially engaged to Kristin
- Erlend Nikulaussøn, who eventually marries Kristin
- Ulvhild Lavransdatter, Kristin's sister
- Åshild, a wise woman whom Kristin befriends
Major themes
The cycle is set in medieval Norway, in the middle of a lengthy transition from paganism to Catholicism and eventually the Reformation. Undset's narrative unfolds against the backdrop of stunning natural landscapes, the great uncertainties facing people of the time, and the awesome power of the church.
Undset also places great emphasis on the detail of daily life at the time - the customs, crafts, and personalities that dominated local, relatively isolated communities.
Literary significance & criticism
Kristin Lavransdatter was notable and to some extent controversial in its time, for its explicit characterization of sex in general and female sexuality in particular; its portrayal of the Catholic faith in the past of a country that was (and is) overwhelmingly Protestant; and its treatment of morally ambiguous situations.
It was the main basis for Undset being rewarded with the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Allusions/references from other works
Kristin Lavransdatter is considered one of the great novels in Norwegian and world literature. In particular, it is held as a standard for historical fiction.
Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science
Undset's characterizations of the ethnology and history of 14th century Norway have held up as archeological and literary evidence has emerged since its writing.
Awards and nominations
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
- Kristin Lavransdatter, 1995, directed by Liv Ullman
Trivia
- Several of the sites mentioned in the novels have been made into museums and destination along the Norwegian countryside, including [Jørundgard medieval center], [The Kristin Days], and other events
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