Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi is a spellbinding book that is fun to follow. This story takes place in fourteenth century England; it is the story of a young boy by the name of Crispin whose mother dies without ever telling him about his father or her life before he was born. He grows up in complete ignorance and never questions his mother. Once she dies he is forced to flee from the town because he has been accused of a crime he did not commit. In accusing him, the town steward (lord) has declared him a wolf’s head which means anyone who sees him may kill him upon sight.
It seems that wherever he goes he is being pursued by his townsmen who are in search of him to kill him. Crispin stumbles upon a juggler who claims him as his new servant and he is forced to go with this man on his journey. Crispin’s new master goes by the name of Bear and is a very kind man who protects Crispin wherever he is.
Crispin must learn about his past in order to save his life and get away from his old townsmen. This proves to be a difficult task since the only people who knew him well enough to know his story are dead. I really enjoyed reading this book and I was very interested in reading about life as it may have been in the 14th century. This book is actually fiction, but there are some truths in the way peasants may have lived during this time and I rather enjoyed reading about it.
We live in such different times from those long ago that it is sometimes hard to believe some of the things that happened in the olden days. It seems unfair to me that all peasants had masters and that any man could claim an unspoken for person to be his new servant such as Bear did. I think the author did a good job portraying life as it was in the 1300’s and he was able to tie in some historical accuracy throughout the novel.
John Ball is a historical figure who was a priest in the 1300’s who helped lead the peasant’s revolt; he also appears in the book Crispin. The revolt is not referred to by name in the book but John Ball the character is part of a brotherhood that wants peasants to overthrow their masters and become free. I love to read historical fiction where I know that some of the story is based upon true fact and that is why I enjoyed Crispin so much.
It seems that wherever he goes he is being pursued by his townsmen who are in search of him to kill him. Crispin stumbles upon a juggler who claims him as his new servant and he is forced to go with this man on his journey. Crispin’s new master goes by the name of Bear and is a very kind man who protects Crispin wherever he is.
Crispin must learn about his past in order to save his life and get away from his old townsmen. This proves to be a difficult task since the only people who knew him well enough to know his story are dead. I really enjoyed reading this book and I was very interested in reading about life as it may have been in the 14th century. This book is actually fiction, but there are some truths in the way peasants may have lived during this time and I rather enjoyed reading about it.
We live in such different times from those long ago that it is sometimes hard to believe some of the things that happened in the olden days. It seems unfair to me that all peasants had masters and that any man could claim an unspoken for person to be his new servant such as Bear did. I think the author did a good job portraying life as it was in the 1300’s and he was able to tie in some historical accuracy throughout the novel.
John Ball is a historical figure who was a priest in the 1300’s who helped lead the peasant’s revolt; he also appears in the book Crispin. The revolt is not referred to by name in the book but John Ball the character is part of a brotherhood that wants peasants to overthrow their masters and become free. I love to read historical fiction where I know that some of the story is based upon true fact and that is why I enjoyed Crispin so much.
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