What word means "the top of a person's head"?
Solution 1:
The 'crown' is the top of the head.
The crown is the top of the head, or the whole head.
Wikipedia
The top part of the skull; the top of the head.
OED
the top part of a head
Cambridge
From toe to crown he'll fill our skins with pinches,
Shakespeare - The Tempest IV, 1 - 1,972
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Citation from 1535 :
So wente Sathan forth from the LORDE, and smote Iob with maruelous sore byles, from the sole off the fote vnto his crowne:
The Coverdale Bible
Solution 2:
![dictionary definition of PATE, reading "**pāte,** *n.* [ME.; prob. orig. euphemistic.] **1.** the head. **2**. the top of the head. **3.** intelligence. **4.** the skin of a calf's head. A humorous or derogatory term." The entire definition is circled in blue ink, with a red ink arrow pointing to the header "pāte" and another pointing to sub-definition 2. "the top of the head."](https://i.stack.imgur.com/EYJDA.jpg)
Image from Webster's dictionary text which states the following:
pate, n. [ME.; prob. orig. euphemistic.]
- the top of the head.
Vocabulary.com:
Your pate is the top of your head...
Solution 3:
The sentence in the book you referenced "Crispin: The Cross of Lead", is this:
With a sweep of his hand, he snatched off his hat, revealing a bald pate.
From the Cambridge English Dictionary,
pate
= the top of a person's head
Solution 4:
There is also scalp. Usually refers specifically to the skin, but not exclusively.