# Eline Ormsdatter — The Bridal Wreath character guide

> Eline Ormsdatter in The Bridal Wreath by Sigrid Undset.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Eline

**First appearance:** 0000-part-i-j-rundgaard

## Snapshot

Erlend's former mistress, a woman whose existence Kristin learns of only obliquely, and whose claims on the past threaten to unravel everything Kristin has chosen.

## Who they are

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, a prior claim, the kind of thing a proud young woman like Kristin cannot simply will out of existence. Her shadow falls across the early happiness of Kristin and Erlend, forcing the reader to ask what it means to love a man whose past is not clean.

## Relationships

### [Erlend Nikulaussön](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/erlend_nikulauss%C3%B6n)

_romantic_

Erlend's former mistress, with whom he had a scandalous affair and children, creating a dark shadow over his relationship with Kristin.

### [Kristin Lavransdatter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/kristin_lavransdatter)

_rivalry_

Eline views Kristin as a rival who stole Erlend's affections, leading to bitter jealousy and conflict.

### [Erlend Nikulaussön](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/erlend_nikulauss%C3%B6n)

_romantic_

Erlend's former mistress, with whom he had a scandalous affair and children, creating a dark shadow over his relationship with Kristin.

### [Erlend Nikulaussön](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/erlend_nikulauss%C3%B6n)

_romantic_

Erlend's former mistress, with whom he had a scandalous affair and children, creating a dark shadow over his relationship with Kristin.

### [Kristin Lavransdatter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/kristin_lavransdatter)

_rivalry_

Eline views Kristin as a rival who stole Erlend's affections, leading to bitter jealousy and conflict.

### [Kristin Lavransdatter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/kristin_lavransdatter)

_rivalry_

Eline views Kristin as a rival who stole Erlend's affections, leading to bitter jealousy and conflict.

## In the story

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/chapters/iii)

Erlend's former lover, wife of Sigurd Saksulvsön, with whom he committed adultery.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/chapters/vi)

Mentioned as still living at Husaby with Erlend's children, complicating his plans to marry Kristin.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/chapters/iii)

Commits suicide in the chapter, leading to a cover-up orchestrated by Sir Björn and Erlend.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters/eline_ormsdatter
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_bridal_wreath_se/characters