This is the story of Onfim, a little boy from medieval Russia whose doodles we have perfectly preserved on tree bark, right next to his homework. Wow! A bit of explanation from Wikipedia: Onfim (Old Novgorodian: онѳиме, Onfime; also, Anthemius of Novgorod) was a boy who lived in Novgorod in the 13th century. He left his notes and homework exercises scratched in soft birch bark (beresta) which was preserved in the clay soil of Novgorod. Onfim, who was six or seven at the time, wrote in Old Novgorodian; besides letters and syllables, he drew "battle scenes and drawings of himself and his teacher".
I usually don’t make videos about history like this one, but I had a ton of fun researching this topic and making this video. Hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed making it! If you’re curious to learn more about Onfim, I found these online links really helpful in gaining a broad understanding of the topic:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onfim (try Google translating the Russian version of this article, it’s much better)
https://lithub.com/onfim-wuz-here-on-the-unlikely-art-of-a-medieval-russian-boy/
The best book on the topic in English is Voices on Birchbark: Everyday Communication in Medieval Russia. For background reading about the society and its culture, check out Readings in Russian Civilization Volume I: Russia before Peter the Great.
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