Crispin: The Cross of Lead is a 2002 children's novel written by Avi

Edward Irving Wortis

Edward Irving Wortis , better known by the pen name Avi, is an American author of young adult and children's literature. He is a winner of both the Newbery Honor and Newbery Medal.- Biography :...

. It was the winner of the 2003 Newbery Medal

Newbery Medal

The John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association . The award is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The award has been given since 1922. ...

. Its sequel, Crispin: At the Edge of the World

Crispin: At the Edge of the World

Crispin: At The Edge of the World is a novel released in 2006 by Edward Irving Wortis, serving as a sequel to his 2003 Newbery Medal award winner Crispin: The Cross of Lead. Crispin: At The Edge of the World was an ALA notable in 2007...

, was released in 2006. The final book that completes the triology, Crispin: The End of Time

Crispin: The End of Time

Crispin: The End of Time is a novel released in 2010 by Edward Irving Wortis. It is the third and final book in the Crispin trilogy, following Crispin: The Cross of Lead and Crispin: At the Edge of the World.-Plot Summary:...

was released in 2010.

Plot summary

Crispin: The Cross of Lead begins the day after Crispin’s mother, Asta, dies some time in 1377. Asta’s death sets a chain of events in motion that disrupts the dull but stable life Crispin had known up to that point. Crispin overhears John Aycliffe, the local steward, speaking with a stranger. When they realize he has been listening, they try to capture him. Failing, they make a public proclamation that Crispin stole from the manor house and declare him a “wolf’s head” a crimanal outside of human society, who can be killed by anybody, anywhere. The village priest, Father Quinel, advises Crispin to leave town and start life somewhere else. As he is fleeing to start a new life, the steward is constantly on the look out for him. When Crispin starts to flee, he finds a village. This village is populate by no one except one large strong man nicknamed "the Bear". The Bear talks to Crispin once Crispin tells the Bear he is a wolf's head. The man grabs Crispin by the arm and makes Crispin swear to be his loyal servant. Bear, a traveling juggler, political agitator, and spy protects Crispin, helps him understand the society in which they live, and trains him to be a man, as his absent father never did. Crispin’s world had been so limited that every new encounter is a roller coaster; some are terrible, but some are wonderful. Through a series of adventures, Bear and Crispin become essentially foster father and son. As they do, they forge a new destiny and identity for Crispin, making him brave where he was frightened, inquisitive where he was passive, and free where he was essentially chained.

Characters

• Crispin - Is a 13 year old boy who has lived as a peasant his entire life, until his mother's death and subsequent accusations against him forced him to flee his village. He has very few skills and no self confidence when he begins his journey. However, during his travels with Bear, he begins to develop both, and by the end has become an individual that he is proud to be. Although he doesn't know it, he is secretly the illegitimate son of Lord Furnival, which is the cause of his misfortunes. Crispin is deeply religious, and often prays to his patron saint, St. Giles.

• Bear - A traveling jester and entertainer who group during his travels. He has two sides, like a bear, gentle and agressive

• John Ball
  John Ball (priest)
  John Ball was an English Lollard priest who took a prominent part in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. In that year, Ball gave a sermon in which he asked the rhetorical question, "When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman?".-Biography:Little is known of Ball's early years. He lived in...
  
  - The only historical figure in the novel, who plays a small but important role. He and his group are seen preparing for their Peasants' Revolt
  Peasants' Revolt
  The Peasants' Revolt, Wat Tyler's Rebellion, or the Great Rising of 1381 was one of a number of popular revolts in late medieval Europe and is a major event in the history of England. Tyler's Rebellion was not only the most extreme and widespread insurrection in English history but also the...
  
  , despite Bear's insistence that it is not yet the right time.

• Father Quinel - The only friend to Crispin and his mother, and is the one who tells Crispin his name and gives him his mothers cross. He is killed early in the book.

• Goodwife Peregrine - The old lady back in Stromford who gave Crispin's pouch that contained seeds and the cross.

• Widow Daventry - The barmaid at the Green Man Tavern, who lets Bear and Crispin spend the night.

• Asta-Crispin's mother who was shunned and cast out of society by all except for Father Quinel.

• Cerdic - Traitorous young boy that tries to turn in Crispin to John Aycliffe for his twenty shilling
  Shilling
  The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
  
  reward.