Crispin: Chapters 4,5

I've assigned students to read chapters 4 and 5 of Crispin: The Cross of Lead, due Monday, October 22.

To assist with with comprehension, students may wish to preview the chapters by reading summaries of them.

Chapter four spells out the stark contrast between a Lord's and a peasant's dwellings.

Here's an image of a medieval manor, like Lord Furnival's, in which John Aycliff lives.

Asta's Son and his mother would have lived in a peasant's cottage, like this one.

When they are finished reading, students should write answers, in complete sentences, to the following questions in their notebooks (please be sure to include the date):

1. What service was a peasant, or serf, expected to perform for the lord of the manor? What did he gain in exchange for this service?
   
2. Why did the bailiff and the reeve set fire to the cottage where Asta’s son had grown up?