Plot Synopsis and Character Analysis of Avi's "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" - Page: 3
Aug 20, 2003 -
© Irene Tanner-Yuen
In 2003, the popular children's author Avi won the Newbery Medal for Crispin: The Cross of Lead. The central themes of Crispin are familiar to many readers: the mystery of a peasant's highborn roots and a young man's search for identity.
The novel takes place in the village of Stromford, England, in 1377, shortly before the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. Using detailed descriptions and a moving adventure story, Avi sets the personal journey of a young peasant boy against one of England's most important historical events.
Crispin: A Hidden Noble
Crispin begins with the interment of the boy's mother, named Asta. After the burial, Asta's boy happens upon an ominous conversation between the manor steward, John Aycliffe, and a stranger. When the men realise they were overheard, Asta's son is proclaimed a thief and a 'wolf's head', marking him as an outlaw.
Asta's son flees with a cross of lead that belonged to his mother. Father Quinel, the village priest, tells him that the inscription on the leaden cross was made by Asta herself, and the boy can hardly believe that a lowly peasant woman could read and write. Even more unbelievable, Father Quinel tells him that he was baptised with the name Crispin, hardly a name for a peasant boy. However, before the priest can reveal the name of the boy's father, Father Quinel is found murdered.
That his true name is Crispin is meaningful in several respects - it is the name of a saint, and appropriate for noblemen. The hidden noble is a common trope in narratives, and especially in legends and fairy tales. In English myth, St. Crispin and his brother were Christian princes who donned commoners' clothing and left home to avoid persecution by the Roman Empire. They travelled until they reached the house of a shoemaker, who takes them in. Like the saint, Crispin is also lured to a stranger, Bear, who takes him in.
Bear: A Mysterious Father Figure
Bear, a raucous and worldly giant of a man, is part of a secret "brotherhood." Bear does everything in his power to keep Crispin ignorant of his business, especially after he reads the writing on the leaden cross. Bear espouses the controversial ideal that equality for all men and women is not incompatible with church tenet, echoing John Wyclif and other church reformers of the 14th century.
By the time Crispin and Bear reach the town of Great Wexly, Lord Furnival has died, and the search for an heir has begun. Master and apprentice find themselves constantly hiding and running from Aycliffe's men. Avi ties together the two mysteries - the identity of Crispin's father and that of Bear - by blending myths, history, and aspects of coming-of-age stories. By making the main story (Crispin's) subjective, the narrative engages the reader with details, emotions, and language that may be foreign to a modern reader.
The most important historical figure in the pages of Crispin is John Ball, a peasant priest. Crispin is bewildered by John Ball, but he learns to understand why men would fight for a society where "'no man, or woman either, shall be enslaved to any other, but stand free and equal to one another." While Crispin ponders John Ball's words, Bear is overcome and taken by Aycliffe's men.
Crispin and Bear's Character Transformations
In the end, Crispin learns the truth of who his father was. Where before he was timid and cowering, Crispin finds the courage to take action. Bear is also much changed since they first met: at first cynical and gruff, he comes to care for Crispin. When Crispin frees Bear from Furnival's palace cellar, Bear, fearing the worst may happen, admits that he loves Crispin like a son.
The final lines of the book speak of Crispin's freedom from class expectations, and from his true lineage. They also speak metaphorically of the revolt that is already underway in England, though whether Bear and he will continue in the cause is ambiguous. Crispin's journey takes him from being Asta's son, to an outlaw, to the itinerant Crispin, and finally the highborn Crispin. The life he ends up choosing includes music, a father figure in Bear, and his true self.
The novel takes place in the village of Stromford, England, in 1377, shortly before the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. Using detailed descriptions and a moving adventure story, Avi sets the personal journey of a young peasant boy against one of England's most important historical events.
Crispin: A Hidden Noble
Crispin begins with the interment of the boy's mother, named Asta. After the burial, Asta's boy happens upon an ominous conversation between the manor steward, John Aycliffe, and a stranger. When the men realise they were overheard, Asta's son is proclaimed a thief and a 'wolf's head', marking him as an outlaw.
Asta's son flees with a cross of lead that belonged to his mother. Father Quinel, the village priest, tells him that the inscription on the leaden cross was made by Asta herself, and the boy can hardly believe that a lowly peasant woman could read and write. Even more unbelievable, Father Quinel tells him that he was baptised with the name Crispin, hardly a name for a peasant boy. However, before the priest can reveal the name of the boy's father, Father Quinel is found murdered.
That his true name is Crispin is meaningful in several respects - it is the name of a saint, and appropriate for noblemen. The hidden noble is a common trope in narratives, and especially in legends and fairy tales. In English myth, St. Crispin and his brother were Christian princes who donned commoners' clothing and left home to avoid persecution by the Roman Empire. They travelled until they reached the house of a shoemaker, who takes them in. Like the saint, Crispin is also lured to a stranger, Bear, who takes him in.
Bear: A Mysterious Father Figure
Bear, a raucous and worldly giant of a man, is part of a secret "brotherhood." Bear does everything in his power to keep Crispin ignorant of his business, especially after he reads the writing on the leaden cross. Bear espouses the controversial ideal that equality for all men and women is not incompatible with church tenet, echoing John Wyclif and other church reformers of the 14th century.
By the time Crispin and Bear reach the town of Great Wexly, Lord Furnival has died, and the search for an heir has begun. Master and apprentice find themselves constantly hiding and running from Aycliffe's men. Avi ties together the two mysteries - the identity of Crispin's father and that of Bear - by blending myths, history, and aspects of coming-of-age stories. By making the main story (Crispin's) subjective, the narrative engages the reader with details, emotions, and language that may be foreign to a modern reader.
The most important historical figure in the pages of Crispin is John Ball, a peasant priest. Crispin is bewildered by John Ball, but he learns to understand why men would fight for a society where "'no man, or woman either, shall be enslaved to any other, but stand free and equal to one another." While Crispin ponders John Ball's words, Bear is overcome and taken by Aycliffe's men.
Crispin and Bear's Character Transformations
In the end, Crispin learns the truth of who his father was. Where before he was timid and cowering, Crispin finds the courage to take action. Bear is also much changed since they first met: at first cynical and gruff, he comes to care for Crispin. When Crispin frees Bear from Furnival's palace cellar, Bear, fearing the worst may happen, admits that he loves Crispin like a son.
The final lines of the book speak of Crispin's freedom from class expectations, and from his true lineage. They also speak metaphorically of the revolt that is already underway in England, though whether Bear and he will continue in the cause is ambiguous. Crispin's journey takes him from being Asta's son, to an outlaw, to the itinerant Crispin, and finally the highborn Crispin. The life he ends up choosing includes music, a father figure in Bear, and his true self.
The copyright of the article Plot Synopsis and Character Analysis of Avi's "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" in Children's Literature is owned by Irene Tanner-Yuen. Permission to republish Plot Synopsis and Character Analysis of Avi's "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
Articles in this Topic
