Kristín Björnsdóttir (c. 1374–1458), often called , was an Icelandic noblewoman in the 14th and 15th centuries and one of the richest people in Iceland during her day.

Family Kristín was the daughter of Björn Einarsson Jórsalafari and his wife who lived in Vatnsfjörður in Ísafjarðardjúp. It is alleged, probably wrongly, that she had one brother, who had apparently been in peak health, while Kristín was sickly and confined to bed for long periods of time from a young age. drowned in Melgraseyri as an adult and, supposedly, when his corpse was brought home to , Kristín shot up out of bed and was completely healthy from that point on, living to an old age. After her parents died, Kristín inherited all her family's wealth including dozens of plots of land spread widely throughout the Westfjords and several other assets. Many of the properties had provided access to fishing, driftwood and other resources. Kristín was considered a force to be reckoned with and very generous.

Marriages Kristín married twice. Her first husband, Jón, whom she married in 1392, was the brother of Loftur Guttormsson and later died in the Black Plague. They lived in Hvammur in Dalir and had a son who was also named Jón who died when he was a teenager; Kirstín inherited a lot of wealth from him. She later married Þorleifur Árnason, a sýslumaður with many holdings in northern Iceland, such as the manors Auðbrekka in Hörgárdalur, Glaumbær in Skagafjörður, and many other properties in . She lived in after he died, but spent her final years in Æðey. She was typically known by although she never owned land there. Her mother Solveig gave Kristín's son Björn property there in 1433.

Children Kristín and Þorleifur's children, five of whom married Loftur Guttormsson's children, were: Einar Þorleifsson, a seneschal Björn Þorleifsson, seneschal of and husband to Ólöf Loftsdóttir Árni of Glaumbær who married Soffía Loftsdóttir Helga the elder who married ("the rich") in Reykhólar; mother of Solveig Guðmundsdóttir Solveig Þorleifsdóttir, a housewife in Víðidalstunga and , wife of Ormur Loftsson Helga the younger, a housewife in in Langadalur, wife of Skúli Loftsson , wife of Eiríkur Loftsson slógnefur of Grund in Eyjafjörður

References