Analysis Of Crispin : The Cross Of Lead

During the medieval times Kings had absolute power and the Catholic Church made sure God help the King retain this power. During this time feudalism was the structure that shaped society. In the feudalism structure the people that work the land the poor got cero power and live at the mercy of the barons. Barons where the owners of the land that people where let to work and make really low amounts of money while the baron sells and exchange the goods produced by the land and makes a fortune. At the end of the day the land belongs to the king and the king taxes the barons and collects money from all the land making him very, very wealthy and powerful.

Serfs grew the food and made the things that everyone required, and without them, the system would collapse. Manorialism was also important to it as a source of order and economy. In this structure, feudalism was the main political land based system of the Middle Ages. And while the practice of it mostly disappeared with the Middle Ages, it is still an imprinted government in

Crispin’s identity is something that he struggles with throughout the book. At the beginning of the book, his name is Asta’s son since he lives with his mother and never knew his father. He grew up with no personal name and little dignity because he and his mother were so poor. Later, he becomes the servant of Bear and finds out he is the son of Lord Furnival, the Lord of his small village and various others throughout England. Simply because of the fact he is Lord Furnival’s son, he is sought to be silenced and killed. At the end of the book, he chooses to become what he wants to really be, a free man who decides where his own path will take him. Crispin realizes that he ultimately decides who he will serve while doing what action. The social restrictions that previously bind him are cut off and he begins his new life. The picture with the question mark in the man’s head represents the internal identity conflict.

During the middle ages the lack of protection and a stable government after the Fall of Rome created the need for a new political system. Feudalism was the political system that emerged and shaped the lives of people socially and politically. Manors were small communities that were made up of a castle, church, village, and land for farming. The structured society provided a place and responsibility for everyone. The feudal obligations showed that in exchange for one thing they would be provided with something else. Serfs and peasants would work and produce goods for the rest of the manor and in return had their land and promised protection. The vassals would need to obtain land from the Lord and in return would provide the Lord with military service, loyalty, and ransom if asked for (Doc. 4). To make clear the vassal’s specific allegiance to their lord whom they owed in for exchange for their fief they would take the Homage Oath (Doc. 2). This interdependent system required everyone to do their part and it created social classes that they were born into. Their daily lives were centered on the manor and that was how it stayed until towns began to

Avi states, “I beg you to find your way to some town or city with its own liberties. If you can stay there for a year and a day you'll gain your freedom" (37). This shows how Crispin initially thought his quest was for freedom which he almost immediately fails at getting when he met Bear. During the beginning of the quest, Bear found Crispin and claimed him as his servant and took away his short-lived freedom. However, Crispin’s quest was never really about freedom, but rather self-discovery. Before he begins his quest, Crispin is not worthy of a real name and is known only as “Asta’s Son” . He also refers to himself as “nothing” (Avi 117) and that he thinks he has no soul(Avi 121). But, as his quest continues he discovers who he is and finds out he is the son of royalty. Avi states, “I was no longer nothing. I had become two people- Lord Furnival’s son… and Crispin. How odd I thought: it had taken my mother’s death, Father Quinel’s murder, and the desire of others the kill me for me to claim a life of my own.” (252). This shows how Crispin finally found out who he is, and no longer thinks he is nothing as the result of his quest. Clearly, Crispin’s journey portrayed all the elements of a quest.

Crispin is a thirteen-year-old boy who lives with his mother in the small village of Stromford, which is part of Lord Furnival's land. He has no father and is known simply as "Asta's son." When his mother dies, he is so upset that he runs into the woods. There he accidentally overhears a stranger and John Aycliffe the village steward discussing "a great danger." They see Crispin and attempt to kill him, but he runs away. Crispin goes to the village priest and finds out that he has been declared a "wolf's head", which means that anyone can kill him as if he is a wild animal. The priest gives Crispin a cross of lead that his mother owned. He tells Crispin that his mother could read and write, and that she wrote the words on the cross. He then tells Crispin that he must flee the village and head for a city. He will meet Crispin that night and give him more information about his father and mother. Crispin takes this advice, but as he flees the village he sees the body of the priest. He has been murdered.

Feudalism was a contrasting system dealing with political and military relationships existing among members of the higher social class, Kings, Lords and other owners of large lands in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. The Feudal system started by the granting of fiefs, chiefly in the form of land and labor, in return the lord would receive political and

A 13-year-old boy named Crispin changes throughout the book as he finds out his real self. The author, Avi, wrote Crispin The Cross of Lead to illustrate Crispin as a boy who starts off as someone with just the name “Asta’s Son”. To his own knowledge he was a nobody who ends up at the end of the book finding out the truth about himself that he has a lot more to his knew than he previously knew. Though unfortunately he gets held up with other circumstances which he overcomes and is able to walk away happy with his only friend, Bear.

The feudal system was the method of government that was used in the Middle Ages. The feudal pyramid consisted of four levels, King at the top, Church Official and Nobles/Lords next, then Knights, and peasants at the bottom. The King had the most power, the nobles were sometimes vassals to the king, knights fought in the king’s army, and peasants worked in the field all day and were very poor. In one scene of the movie, peasants are seen working in the fields. They are very dirty and have bad quality clothing which shows how little money and power they had compared to King Arthur, who had fancy clothing and did not have to work. King Arthur then asks the peasants who their lord is, which shows how lords or vassals

He tells Crispin that, "God in His sweet mercy and unforgiving anger touches whom He wants, no soul can escape His wrath." (Page 33). This affects spiritual Crispin greatly, prompting him to pray less and live more. Although Crispin changes greatly, he is still timid and servile. He obeys Bear without question and agrees to become his servant, and when he meets up with Aycliffe for the second time, he runs away instead of facing him boldly. In summary, although Crispin changes in a considerable amount, part of him is still the submissive boy from

Level 4: Apply information from How To Read Literature Like a Professor to develop a persuasive argument about Crispin: The Cross of Lead .

Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi In the beginning, Crispin's mother, Asta, had recently passed away. Crispin extremely upset by his mother's death so he runs into the woods crying. He trips and falls and passes out. He later wakes up with a large welt on his forehead.

Crispin: The Cross of Lead is a story about a boy named Crispin in the medieval time period England. In the beginning Crispin’s mother dies and when that happens a bunch of political problems starts to happen forcing Crispin to leave his home which he had lived in his entire life and sending him to the countryside. While on his journey he comes across how other people above him on the social ladder lives their lives since Crispin is at the bottom of the social ladder aka a peasant. After he leaves his home Crispin finds a new friend named Bear. Bear protects Crispin from danger and helps him understand the society they live in and trains Crispin to be something more than a

Also we should consider the Byzantine feudalism analyzing history of social processes in the country and changes in the lower class of the population.

The economy mostly seen in the early middle ages was feudalism, Europe’s form of government