Crispin: Cross of Lead Themes

Crispin's life has been one long abandonment extravaganza, going back to before he was even born when Lord Furnival abandoned his pregnant mother Stromford. The first few chapters of Crispin: The C...

Crispin is afraid all the time, and no wonder—he's been raised on fear of the steward in Stromford, and as soon as his mother dies and he's all alone, that fear is realized as John Aycliffe start...

Crispin: The Cross of Lead deals with some heavy happenings, so we're glad we have Bear along for the ride to lighten the mood. In his role as Crispin's mentor, Bear not only teaches Crispin about...

Ever hear the phrase, "Might makes right"? It was made for Medieval Europe, and basically it means that whoever can throw the hardest punch, whether they're using money, property, armies, or an act...

People in Crispin: The Cross of Lead think about sin a lot, which makes sense in light of their religious worldview, which says that people are inherently sinful and most people will end up in Hell...

Crispin's attempt to discover his true identity lies at the heart of his inner journey in Crispin: The Cross of Lead. He starts out as a nameless boy, but by the end he confidently claims the first...

While our pop culture depictions of the Middle Ages feature wealthy knights, lords, and kings, the fact is that most people in Medieval England lived in terrible poverty in order to support that la...

Society and class is a big issue on all the characters' minds in Crispin: The Cross of Lead. Specifically, everyone is concerned with knowing exactly where they fit—and while most characters are...

Crispin doesn't yet understand the concept of freedom when Father Quinel tells him to seek it, but figuring out what freedom means to him—and then figuring out how to gain it—is one of his majo...