The Wreath: Kristin Lavransdatter #1

Arriving at the cloister Nonneseter, Kristin is overwhelmed by the grandeur of the building. The abbess, Fru Groa Guttorms, meets Kristin, Lavrans, and Simon as they arrive, and Fru Groa expresses her agreement to the decision to send Kristin to the cloister temporarily. She believes the experience will humble Kristin, saying, “[Y]ou can learn to obey and to serve before you are charged with giving orders and commands” (102). Fearful at first of embarrassing herself and of what the other sisters would think of her, Kristin is anxious, especially when she meets her roommate, a gregarious heavyset girl named Ingebørg Filippusdatter.

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).