The Wreath: Kristin Lavransdatter #1

On the vigil of St. Halvard, Kristin and Ingebørg accompany Sister Potentia into town to get supplies. On their way back, the girls are separated from their guide and run into a group of foreign men who trick them into thinking that they will help them back to the convent. When Kristin and Ingebørg realize what has happened, they attempt to escape but are rescued just in time by several men on horseback. Among these men is Fru Aashild’s nephew, Erlend Nikulaussen. That night, after returning to the convent, Kristin has an overwhelming spiritual experience while in the chapel, her heart “brimming over with gratitude and promises and love for God and His gentle Mother” (119). She ends the night in prayer for all her loved ones at home before returning to her dormitory.

For the feast of St. Margareta, the abbess and several sisters attend the local guild celebrations. This year, Kristin plans to accompany them, and as they dress and prepare to attend, a young girl named Helga takes Kristin aside and tells her that the knight who had escorted her home has been asking about her. Once Kristin arrives at the Church, she sees Erlend. Later in the evening, at the ball, Erlend asks Kristin to dance, and they begin their courtship.

Erlend admits to Kristin the faults of his past, that he had been excommunicated—though he has since been reconciled—and that he had a mistress who bore him two children. After the dance, the celebration moves to Fru Groa’s widely celebrated garden and lasts well into the late hours of the night. Kristin and Erlend dance again, and afterward they steal away to a solitary place and kiss. They fall asleep on the grass together, and in the morning, they pledge their love to one another. They meet one last time before Kristin returns to the cloister with the other sisters, and they vow once more to be faithful to each other until they meet again and find a way to be married.

Sometime later, Kristin leaves the cloister to meet her father in Skog and attend mass in honor of her grandfather’s death. She sends word to Erlend, who agrees to attend the same mass, but he fails to keep promise. While in town after the mass, Erlend finds Kristin out in the fields with her cousins and gives her three golden rings. Kristin and Erlend continue to meet in the fields while she is still in Skog, and one day they get caught in a storm and take shelter in a nearby barn. While in the barn, they wait for the storm to pass, but before Kristin is able to leave, they give in to temptation and sleep together.

Afterward, Erlend vows again to be faithful to Kristin until death and Kristin feels intimately bound to Erlend, “as if she had become his possession, and she couldn’t imagine how she could live beyond his reach anymore” (146). In the evenings, they continue to meet; Erlend comes to her bedchamber and leaves before morning every day before Kristin leaves town to return to the convent.