The Viking World: A History in ObjectsMain MenuGallery viewA galleryTag Cloudtag cloud pageThemesA path of thematic categoriesAuthor IndexExplore the collection by authorWorks CitedReferencesAdam Bigelow3afa9c7ecebf516bba6609664b1b12f79c54bf77Caitlin Donahue61b7e986e7c71d400e5c803912ed83c0cf65252fCaroline Harvey1783f21a5882b5b4d3d0b6c174d058052a5ff7eaEdward Hershewee701ef220480b51ca728fc9c719bc094cf813655Martin Hoffmana1fd203afd9a84ee8db567e188cf6ed1d269386eTyler Hruby23493f763b312110686cfafc62578fd0ab5f3833Brittany N. Johnsonc1c1763339f8fa953e3c907c6bb8a3bad0c28b2cCarlos Lua Pineda0a28cc23b0aa00b4f24a9e205aeb57fbdb07ff01Moira McConnell710633400590ea38533ea3412c01fc5056288180Clara McCurdy9aec76477d0b55f9c685c47330d6786ec98182e1Elise McIlhaneyef48481634ff342c8b43c9d56f678b2d3562fb69Cameron Meikle669a5682bfbfd603130a26e25628f24eb07e6295Alexander Christopher Newkirk019c2f5b38c043507251d1789e2fdf47e61c3b7fBenja Reilly816c23aa0d444213fb2d1ef33555a15617e08228Oliver Statenc625ae8c3926f5e1a4268bc91d6a6f4cdb1e7fb6Liam Sullivanaa3a1dccb90c7fe4646b61c4af594abbb0c5574aRead Wilder31bf4715220144a665996f2e6cae80a1a8611eadAliza Yazdanicd49f227d88c72331226ddf574bf56c37308cd10Austin Masonf6137011c68eb792c6e14634815583b15e707dea
Birch Bark Letter
12017-05-28T16:21:44-07:00Brittany N. Johnsonc1c1763339f8fa953e3c907c6bb8a3bad0c28b2c164562Onfim's birch bark letter containing figure drawings and lettersplain2017-05-28T16:29:50-07:00Quinn Dombrowski, BBL 210, Still Image, August 4, 2005, https://www.flickr.com/photos/quinnanya/133240908/in/set-72057594114359895/.1200-1299CC BY-SA 2.0Birch barkQuinn DombrowskiNovgorod13th CenturyBrittany N. Johnsonc1c1763339f8fa953e3c907c6bb8a3bad0c28b2c
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12017-05-28T16:35:24-07:00Birch Bark Drawing4object pageplain2017-09-17T15:12:43-07:00Onfim was a child living in Novgorod in the 13th century, on the edge of the viking world temporally and spatially. He left behind drawings and writing practices on sheets of birchbark, which were preserved very well in in the clay rich soil of the region. He left behind several manuscripts which contain his practice with letters and passages from the Bible, as well as drawings of fanciful subjects. He drew pictures of himself, his teacher (possibly his father), boats, battles, and himself as a mythical beast. [1] The pictures are etchings carved into birchbark reams, likely with a sharp stick or stone. This particular drawing is of Onfim and his father, with some writing practice next to it.
His drawings are a reminder that our understanding of history is intrinsically bound to the items left for us to study. If a perfect combination of environment, weather, and geological forces hadn’t aligned, we never would have known about Onfim or his drawings. They remind us that the viking world was a place where children drew pictures of their fathers and ships in between chores and lessons.
Few birchbark manuscripts have survived to present day due to their fragility. Conditions usually lead to birchbark manuscripts rotting away fairly quickly unless a perfect environment immediately seals the piece away and it remains that way, undisturbed, until careful excavation can take place. Despite this, we have enough evidence to hypothesize from surviving manuscripts that birchbark was a commonly used medium for viking age peoples. It was generally easy to find, cost nothing to remove from a tree, and could be easily marked with a sharp stick, stone, or knife.