Lavrans Bjorgulfson and Ragnfrid Ivansdatter live in the Norwegian village of Jørundgaard at Sil. Married at a young age and pious Catholics, they are well-respected affluent members of their community. Lavrans “was known as a strong and courageous man, but a peaceful soul” (4) while Ragnfrid suffered from depression due to stress and grief over losing her first three children, all boys, in early infancy. Their next child, a girl, lived and was named Kristin.

Kristin grows up beautiful and strong, and at the age of seven accompanies her father on a journey into the mountains. Kristin’s childhood best friend, Arne Gyrdsøn, goes with them. There, they meet many people who are associates and tenants of Kristin’s father, who owns much land, and on this journey, Kristin first begins to think both of her own beauty—one of the women they meet calls her a lily—and about the expansive of the world outside her little village. Staring at the mountains at the top of a cliff, she realizes that “never had she imagined that the world was so huge or so vast” (12). This moment is the beginning of her exploration of relationships outside her small family circle.

The next day, fascinated by the beauty of a local river, Kristin wanders off and encounters a mysterious woman who offers her a golden wreath and beckons her to follow.