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• 1 2017-05-28T16:35:24-07:00 Birch Bark Drawing 4 object page plain 2017-09-17T15:12:43-07:00 Onfim was a child living in Novgorod in the 13^th 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.