Avi, who studied history in college and won the Scott O’Dell award for historical fiction for his 1985 novel The Fighting Ground, demonstrates attention to detail in situating the novel’s fictional events within a broader historical framework. Crispin: The Cross of Lead is set in Late Middle Ages England. During this period, English society was organized according to a feudal structure. At the top of the hierarchy was the monarch, in this case King Edward III, who claimed ownership of all land in England. The king then portioned off the land to the care of various nobles, such as the novel's Lord Furnival, who served as vassals in overseeing the land.

Below the vassals are the stewards and other officials, like Aycliffe, who directly oversee the work of the peasants. At the bottom of the social hierarchy, peasants and serfs were bound to serve a particular lord and received minimal wages for their work. Crispin is raised as a serf to Lord Furnival, and he finds his life a miserable one, which makes it easy for Bear’s ideas of social upheaval to resonate with him later on.

Life in medieval society can also be categorized into three orders or estates.