She experiences an intimation of her forthcoming end in a description that has left its mark in my mind since the first time I read it some thirty years ago: Kristin leads a heroic offensive against the latter, in the course of which she herself is stricken. In the surrounding region, hysteria rampages alongside the plague itself and desperate measures-including human sacrifice-are conceived by some. Of course, the consequence of their religious duty is exposure to the disease, and they too begin to die. With a mix of willingness, reluctance and fatalism, the nuns of Kristin’s convent provide palliative care to one of the plague victims. “The Cross” includes a vivid, terrifying depiction of the Black Death, a plague which lasted from 1347 to 1352 and killed off about a fourth of Europe’s population. The trilogy exceeds a thousand pages, which might be too lengthy for some readers in which case I recommend Part 3 alone. In Kristin’s own words: “…they who have loved one another with the fieriest desire come in the end to be as two vipers biting each other’s tails.” After her husband’s demise, Kristin joins a convent.Īlthough the entire work is engrossing, it is Part 3, “The Cross”, which has always stood out for me. Her marriage to Erlend is both impassioned and injurious. Though a devout Catholic, the protagonist sometimes goes astray especially when she meets Erlend, a man with considerable baggage whom she marries against her parents’ wishes. The setting is medieval Norway, which the author portrayed with detailed realism and great beauty, and the story concerns Kristin’s life from childhood to old age. The whole of this work is known as “Kristin Lavransdatter”. Part 1 is called “The Bridal Wreath”, and was published in 1923 Part 2, “The Mistress of Husaby”, was published in 1925 and Part 3, “The Cross”, in 1927.

Sigrid Undset’s masterpiece is actually a trilogy.

Sigrid undset the bridal wreath