# The Bridal Wreath — Character guide

> Key figures in The Bridal Wreath by Sigrid Undset.

- [Kristin Lavransdatter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/kristin_lavransdatter.md): Kristin grows up at Jörundgaard as her father's favorite, riding behind him to church and playing at mass with the priest's grandchildren by the roadside stone. Her mother's heavy silence and her father's warmth shape a 
- [Erlend Nikulaussön](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/erlend_nikulauss%C3%B6n.md): Erlend comes to Kristin already entangled in old shames, including a stolen woman and a dead rival, yet he woos her with a fervor that sweeps aside every warning. He confesses his sins to a priest and promises a secret w
- [Lavrans Björgulfsön](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/lavrans_bj%C3%B6rgulfs%C3%B6n.md): Lavrans is the man neighbors come to for help, even those who have feuded with him, and he gives without asking return. His faith is not harsh but lived, and his tenderness toward Kristin makes her secrets unbearable to 
- [Ragnfrid Ivarsdatter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/ragnfrid_ivarsdatter.md): Ragnfrid corrects and chides where Lavrans plays and jests, and Kristin grows up feeling the weight of her mother's silence without knowing its source. The birth of little Ulvhild briefly restores Ragnfrid's bloom and ge
- [Lady Aashild Gautesdatter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/lady_aashild_gautesdatter.md): Lady Aashild takes Erlend into her closet and dismantles his plans with brutal practicality, warning that a secret wedding will leave Kristin a concubine in the eyes of the law. She has said too many things in her time, 
- [Simon Andressön](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/simon_andress%C3%B6n.md): Simon is the good match Lavrans arranged, comely and of good kindred, and he loves Kristin with a patience she never returns. When he finds her with Erlend at Fluga's house, he does not rage but forces Erlend to promise 
- [Brother Edvin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/brother_edvin.md): Brother Edvin arrives at Jörundgaard a dying man, and the household tends him with such tenderness that his hearth-room becomes a place of pilgrimage for the whole parish. His speech is dark and veiled, yet everyone who 
- [Eline Ormsdatter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/eline_ormsdatter.md): Eline belongs to the world of Erlend's life before Kristin — a world of obligations and entanglements that neither love nor distance has fully dissolved. She never appears as a rival in the ordinary sense; she is a fact,
- [Ulvhild Lavransdatter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/ulvhild_lavransdatter.md): Kristin's younger sister, crippled by an accident and later dies young.
- [Ingebjörg Filippusdatter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/ingebj%C3%B6rg_filippusdatter.md): Kristin's lively friend at the convent, later a nun.
- [Arne Gyrdsön](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/arne_gyrds%C3%B6n.md): Loyal farmhand at Jörundgaard, secretly in love with Kristin.
- [Sira Eirik](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/sira_eirik.md): Local priest at the church near Jörundgaard, a trusted spiritual figure.
- [Sir Munan Baardsön](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/munan_baards%C3%B6n.md): Erlend's worldly and scheming uncle, involved in political intrigues.
- [Bentein Priestson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/bentein_priestson.md): Troublemaking son of a priest, who causes conflict for Kristin's family.
- [Lady Groa Guttormsdatter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/lady_groa_guttormsdatter.md): Wealthy widow and relative of Lavrans, hostess at a key gathering.
- [Sir Björn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/sir_bj%C3%B6rn.md): Knight and friend of Erlend, involved in his adventures.
- [Sister Potentia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/sister_potentia.md): Nun at Nonneseter convent, teacher and supervisor of the novices.
- [Aasmund Björgulfsön](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/aasmund_bj%C3%B6rgulfs%C3%B6n.md): Lavrans's younger brother, a priest and later bishop.
- [King Haakon the Old](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/king_haakon_the_old.md): Aging king of Norway, appears briefly in court scenes.
- [Father Ingjald](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/father_ingjald.md): Monk and spiritual advisor to Lavrans and his family.
- [Trond Ivarsön of Sundbu](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/trond_ivars%C3%B6n_of_sundbu.md): Ragnfrid's brother, a gruff but supportive uncle to Kristin.
- [Ulf Haldorsön](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/ulf_haldors%C3%B6n.md): Erlend's loyal servant and companion, later a friend to Kristin.
- [Brynhild Fluga](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/brynhild_fluga.md): Woman at a feast who gossips about Kristin and Erlend.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters