# Beerencreutz — The Story of Gösta Berling character guide

> Beerencreutz in The Story of Gösta Berling by Selma Lagerlöf.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Colonel Beerencreutz, old Beerencreutz

**First appearance:** 0005-part-i-i-the-landscape

## Snapshot

A colonel with thick white moustaches and an unshakable calm, Beerencreutz leads the Ekeby pensioners with the ease of a man who has long stopped being surprised.

## Who they are

Colonel Beerencreutz is the steady center of the pensioners' company, the old soldier whose composure holds even when his companions are drunk, brawling, or plotting. He is Gösta Berling's friend and sometime accomplice, and his dry, unhurried authority gives the vagabond brotherhood at Ekeby its peculiar dignity. As the pensioners' de facto leader, he stands at the hinge of the household's reckless freedom and its coming reckoning.

## In the story

### [The Story of Gösta Berling](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/the-story-of-g-sta-berling)

A colonel and one of the cavaliers at Ekeby, who takes Gösta under his wing.

### [The Priest](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/i-the-priest)

Mentioned as one of Gösta's drinking companions at the public house.

### [Christmas Eve](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/part-i-ii-christmas-eve)

Invites the devil to a game of cards and joins in the wild dance around the kettle.

### [V: La Cachucha](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/part-i-v-la-cachucha)

Implied as present among the pensioners; shouts encouragement to Örneclou.

### [VI: The Ball at Ekeby](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/part-i-vi-the-ball-at-ekeby)

Drives Gösta and Marianne home after the ball, lets the horse go its own way while staring at the Pleiades.

### [VIII: The Great Bear in Gurlitta Cliff](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/part-i-viii-the-great-bear-in-gurlitta-cliff)

Swears at Gösta's failure to shoot; participates in the bear hunt.

### [The Young Countess](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/part-i-x-the-young-countess)

Defends the pensioners' actions, drives the sledge during the abduction, and helps free the major's wife.

### [VIII: Madame Musica](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/part-ii-viii-madame-musica)

Colonel who helps orchestrate the musical evening and retrieves Löwenborg's wooden table from the pensioners' wing.

### [Patron Julius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/part-ii-x-patron-julius)

Mentioned as a possible participant in the prank of swapping the horse for an ox.

### [XIII: The Churchyard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/part-ii-xiii-the-churchyard)

Leads the expedition to Acquilon's grave, plays cards with the dead man, and shows loyalty to his fallen comrade.

### [XVII: The Child’s Mother](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/part-ii-xvii-the-child-s-mother)

Implied as one of the pensioners at Ekeby who are aware of the marriage but not directly involved.

### [XIX: The Broom-Girl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/part-ii-xix-the-broom-girl)

One of the pensioners who helps pacify the crowd with food and drink.

### [Kevenhüller](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/part-ii-xx-kevenh-ller)

Not directly mentioned in excerpts, but as a pensioner at Ekeby, he is part of the group that serves the wood-nymph; referenced indirectly.

### [Broby Fair](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/part-ii-xxi-broby-fair)

Colonel who accompanies Captain Lennart home and confesses his guilt in the prank that led to Lennart's banishment.

### [The Forest Cottage](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/chapters/part-ii-xxii-the-forest-cottage)

One of the pensioners at Ekeby, who speaks with Anna Lisa about the shame heap and the state of the estate.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/characters/beerencreutz
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_story_of_g_sta_berling_se/characters