Journal 1: Father Quinel reveals three things in Chapter 8. What are they? What does he promise to reveal later?


In Chapter 8, Father Quinel reveals to Asta's son three things that he had not known about. The first thing was that Lord Furnival had returned from the war and that he was very ill. The second thing was that when Asta's son was baptized, he had been named Crispin by Father Quinel. The third thing was that Crispin's mother could read and write, something that Crispin had never known. Crispin's mother had written some words on a lead cross, a cross that Father Quinel gave to Crispin.

From learning about his mother, Crispin became curious on who his father had been. He had only been told by his mother that his father had died in the Great Mortality, and was yearning to find out more. Father Quinel told Crispin to come to Goodwife Peregrine's house tomorrow night, and that he would explain all about Crispin's father at that time, before Crispin fled the village. Crispin disappears back into the forest, wondering on what Father Quinel told him.

Journal 2: Crispin encounters two dead men shortly after fleeing the village. How does each affect him?


The first dead man Crispin finds is Father Quinel, who's throat had been slit with a knife. When Crispin finds his body, he becomes terrified at the thought of someone murdering a priest. After running away, he later thinks about the death and feels guilty that he and his mother were the cause of the priest's death. He feels afraid that nobody can provide him with the information about his father, and that he no longer has the protection of the priest.

The second dead man Crispin sees is a man hanging from the gallows.

Journal 3: Compare and contrast Crispin's attitude towards God, reason, village life, and royalty at the beginning and the end of the book. How has his view of himself changed? Discuss how his sense of self is related to his changed perception of the world.


At the beginning of the book, Crispin thought of God as the absolute power who decided everything that would happen to everybody. He did not think he could break free from his life as a serf because he thought that God had made it so. He also thought that his life as a serf would be all of the world that he would be able to see, and that the word of such nobles like John Aycliffe was law. However, his personality changed greatly during his travels with Bear, leading to the point where he now believed he could change his destiny. Seeing other parts of England also made him realize that nobles like Lord Furnival and John Aycliffe treated their subjects unfairly. In addition, when he first met Bear, Crispin was afraid to ask questions and take liberties with him. However, he grew to relish his freedom with Bear more, which changed his personality furthermore.