Kristin Lavransdatter

Gaute is a popular figure in the community, particularly with women. He fathers a daughter with a woman, providing for the mother and child but not marrying the woman. The baby does not survive. Gaute takes on the mantle of master of Jørundgaard, though his plans for the running of the farm differ from his mother’s approach. Nevertheless, Kristin is very proud of her son. When he is away on a long journey, Kristin becomes worried. He returns with big news: He has absconded from the home of a wealthy man with the man’s daughter, Jofrid. He and Jofrid would like to marry, against her father’s wishes. The winter has drawn in, and Jofrid’s family will need to wait months to seek a punishment for Gaute, so he hopes that he will be able to resolve the issue satisfactorily in this time. Jofrid becomes pregnant, complicating the matter further. Kristin welcomes Jofrid into the house, though she fears that she is too warm and welcoming to the young girl who is now living in sin with her son. Kristin remembers her own past with Erlend, and this leads her to be sympathetic.

Kristin tries to welcome Jofrid into her house, helping her with her pregnancy. The child is born, and Gaute decides to name the boy after his father: Erlend Gautessøn. During this time, Ramborg’s new husband has been elevated in the court of the new king. Ramborg, meanwhile, has become increasingly lazy and indolent. Ivar and Skule come to Jørundgaard; before they depart, they arrange to take Lavrans with them because he would like to see more of the world. Jofrid’s relatives are finally able to visit. Despite the difficulties in negotiating the marriage, the sight of baby Erlend helps Jofrid’s father overcome his anger at the manner in which Gaute took Jofrid from his home.

Kristin’s initial enthusiasm for Jofrid’s arrival begins to wane. She notices that their understanding of how to run a home is very different, which is concerning for Kristin if Jofrid is going to take over in the future. On one occasion, Jofrid is reluctant to feed and house a group of poor travelers for the night. Kristin intervenes, welcoming them inside, as she believes that this is the “proper way of living for the gentry” (1055). Jofrid and Gaute confront Kristin in the following days, with Jofrid justifying her actions while reiterating her respect for Kristin. At this time, Kristin decides that she has no future in Jørundgaard; she will go on a religious journey, much like her two sons, traveling to Nidaros along a pilgrimage route.

Kristin arrives in Nidaros as the town prepares to celebrate the feast of Saint Olav. She stays with one of Erlend’s former guardsmen and his family. While passing through the town, she runs into Gunnulf. The two share an emotional reunion, and Kristin asks whether the elderly priest has heard anything about her two sons. Gunnulf mentions that Naakkve has struggled to adhere to the strict rules of the monastery but has reformed for the sake of his brother. He has inherited his parents “disobedience” (1079). Kristin begins to reflect on the long journey of her life that has brought her to this point. She attends the celebrations of Saint Olav and prays for people who have suffered like her.

Kristin is permitted to visit the monastery where Naakkve and Bjørgulf reside. They are pleased to hear that she plans to enter a convent, though the conversation itself is subdued. Kristin enters a convent near Nidaros, where the chaplain is Sira Eiliv. Kristin commits to a life of piety among the nuns and other women. The monastery’s administrative affairs have fallen out of order in recent years, though the nuns have resisted Sira Eiliv’s attempts at reform. Kristin is permitted to become a corrodian (a widow who pays to live in the convent, rather than a nun) and renounces her earthly possessions, hoping to become a nun in the future. Elsewhere, Naakkve gets in trouble for violently clashing with local peasants, who are in conflict with his order of monks.

Kristin confesses her fear that Naakkve “was never meant to be a monk” (1094), though Sira Eiliv does not agree with her. Skule comes to the convent to see Kristin. He has suffered facial injuries during a brawl, and Kristin is reminded of how much her sons have grown up and away from her. Lavrans is working with a bishop in Iceland, he tells her, and Ivar has fathered two children with the wealthy widow. Gaute and Jofrid are doing very well; they now have a daughter, who they have named after Kristin. Jofrid is now much more complimentary to her mother now that Kristin is not around. Skule begs his mother to forgive him for a minor misdemeanor from many years before.

That evening, Kristin overhears Skule talking to Sira Eiliv. He has bad news: The black death is coming to Norway. Soon enough, the plague begins to ravage the country. Many people die, and the nuns work hard to provide care for the sick, even though many of them suffer and die. With so much “death and horror and suffering” around her (1104), Kristin resumes the role of household mistress, helping to run the convent and care for the many sick people who come to the nuns for help. Outside, many of the people are becoming nihilistic. They drink and debauch themselves. Even as the plague seems to abate, however, the nuns hear rumors of a human sacrifice set to take place in the town. The desperate locals want to sacrifice a child to the old gods to stave off the plague. The nuns confront the men, saving the child. In the confrontation, however, Kristin promises to go to the child’s mother, a dissolute woman named Steinunn who died alone many days ago. By offering to go tend to the dead woman, Kristin is able to show the men the mercy of God and the importance of virtue.

As she approaches the old woman’s house, she is unexpectedly joined by Ulf, who brings her the terrible news that Naakkve and Bjørgulf are almost certainly dead from the plague. Remembering one of Bjørgulf’s dreams, which predicted that the boys would meet their mother soon, Kristin suspects that she too is sick with the black death. She feels the “unthinkable piercing pain” but fights through (1119), recovering the dead woman’s body with Ulf’s help. As she kisses the foot of the dead woman, Kristin vomits blood. She is taken back to the convent in a delirious state. She gives Ulf her father’s beloved cross and her wedding ring to fund masses to be said in the dead woman’s name and in the names of her loved ones. Kristin dies. Outside, Ulf and Sira Eiliv notice a fresh snow has fallen.