Kristin Lavransdatter

On costume and power in Liv Ullmann’s medieval epic.

Liv Ullmann’s Kristin Lavransdatter is based on Kransen, the first volume in Sigrid Undset’s medieval trilogy. Elisabeth Matheson plays Kristin, who grows up at Jørundgård in Gudbrandsdalen in the early 14th century and is promised in marriage to Simon Darre. During a stay at Nonneseter in Oslo, she meets Erlend Nikulaussøn, and their love puts both family duty and the planned marriage at risk. The film follows Kristin and Erlend’s relationship up to their wedding.

When the film was released in 1995, it was the most expensive Norwegian film production to date, and its ambition is evident in the entire medieval world Ullmann created. Jørundgård was built as a complete farmstead in Sel for the filming and is still standing, while Sven Nykvist’s cinematography gives the clothes and landscape a distinct physical presence. The costumes were designed by Inger Pehrsson, with Kari Elfstedt as costume supervisor, responsible for the clergy and extras, among other things.

The clothes in Kransen are full of social markers. Unmarried women are distinguished by their hair worn loose and a wreath, and at the wedding Kristin wears a bridal wreath as a sign of virginity, even though she is already pregnant. In the film, medieval dress is therefore closely tied to the rules Kristin lives under. The long dresses, headwear and magnificent bridal gown belong to a world where clothes tell people who you are before you have much chance to speak for yourself. Kristin Lavransdatter was a huge box-office success and went on to become the most-watched Norwegian film of the 1990s.

The film will be introduced by fashion historian Ragnhild Brochmann.