Student Question
Who is Crispin's mother in Crispin: The Cross of Lead?
Quick answer:
Crispin is the son of a lord who is not very powerful, and so is not given much attention by others. His father left when he was young, and his mother died when he was eighteen. He has to fight for his life, since he doesn't have a lot of money or power.
Asta is the name of Crispin's mother. Sadly, before the novel even begins, Asta is dead and Crispin mournfully attends her funeral with only a priest at his side. Crispin had nobody but his mother in his life, so when she passes away, he is left with nothing. Having been left with the titular cross of lead (which has writing on it that Crispin cannot read), Crispin begins to question his mother's true identity. He never knew his mother could write or read, since she never told him so and never taught him how. At one point, Crispin thinks,
If there was one person I thought I knew, depended on, and trusted utterly, it was my mother. Yet I had been told things that said I did not know her.
As the novel progresses, Crispin quickly learns his mother to have a history that he could never have expected. She...
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is actually royalty, the daughter of Lord Douglas, who became pregnant with the son of the cruel Lord Furnival. Crispin, then, is Lord Furnival's son, a fact which makes Furnival furious. Crispin's mother hid the truth from him in order to protect him, and, while many others, such as Father Quinel, know the truth of Crispin's identity, they keep it a secret from him at his late mother's request.
Who is Crispin's father in Crispin: The Cross of Lead?
Beware-- here comes a spoiler for the story! The question of Crispin's father is one of the driving conflicts in Avi's Crispin and the Cross of Lead.
Crispin has spent his whole life in a small village which caters to a manor house. He has never known his father, or even his own name, and his mother paid him very little attention. Everyone in town simply knew him as "Asta's Son," and when his mother died, Crispin's identity changed overnight. After Crispin is falsely accused of thievery and declared a Wolf's Head, he must go on the run. His one friend, Father Quinel, intends to prepare him for the journey by telling him some things about his mother and that his true name is "Crispin." Father Quinel is quite mysterious in talking about Asta and Crispin has the sense that he is not sharing the whole truth. But before Crispin can ask him for more detail, Father Quinel is killed.
Crispin carries with him both the new knowledge about his mother and a small, lead cross that once belonged to her. Though he cannot read the inscription on the cross, during his journey he meets several people who can read. One of them, Widow Daventry, explains that the cross reads, "Crispin-- Son of Furnival," meaning he is the heir to Lord Furnival's estate! Crispin comes to realize that he never knew his father because Asta and Lord Furnival could not be together in marriage.