Medieval Doodles Of A 7-Year Old Boy Hints At The ‘Universality’ Of Daydreaming

Realm Of History ^ | APRIL 30, 2016 | DATTATREYA MANDAL

[Sawdring]

Novgorod or Veliky Novgorod, is one of the major historical cities of Russia, and it started out as a trading station for the Varangians who traveled from the Baltic region to Constantinople by (possibly) late 10th century AD. But as it turns out, this historically significant settlement of northern Russia is also home to around thousand personal ‘tomes’ that are inscribed on bark of birch trees and are almost preserved in perfect condition. In fact, historians hypothesize that there are 20,000 similar specimens still waiting to be salvaged from the conducive anaerobic clay soil layers of the city environs. And among these documents, there are doodles of a 7-year old boy, thus suggesting how childhood imagination and playfulness were quite universal in human history.

[JoeProBono]

Medieval handmade pitchfork

[Zirondelle]

LOL!

[RedMonqey]

Varangians?

[thatdewd]

Best post today. Simply awesome.

[Rebelbase]

Some sort of alien radiation accident left members of the tribe with 8 fingers on one hand.

[seowulf]

It would be like having the IRS tax code survive the next 1,000 years, and nothing else.

I have this horrible feeling the IRS tax code will be the only thing to survive the next 1000 years.

But seriously, people are essentially the same today as they were 10,000 years ago. Read historical documents, read Homer, and you will find the same emotions, the same vices, and the same virtues you will always have.

[DAC21]

“Why didn’t they photoshop out the Kalashnikovs?”

Because it was actually a Red Ryder, carbine action, 200-shot, range model air rifle.

[Old Yeller]

Sure, we're too old to change the world, but what about that kid, sitting down, opening a book, right now, in a branch at the local library and finding drawings of pee-pees and wee-wees on the Cat in the Hat and the Five Chinese Brothers? Doesn't he deserve better?

[fella]

Times change, things change but people are the same as they were in the stone age.

[flaglady47]

It’s Edward Scissorhands.

[GOPJ]

Large head - thinks he’s smart... no body to speak of...

My guess - - child labor - working and training as a scribe...

[Ciexyz]

That’s his teacher. Learn your letters or else, kid.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks to the anonymous lurkin' FReeper for the link. Y'know, I'm sure I'd read something about this on FR, some years back, but found nothing.

[bert]

Seven year olds really got around

[Freelance Warrior]

These Onfim's papers is a discovery made in the sixties. By this time, they've excavated up to 2000 birchbark letters, many of which are available online.

There are many other interesting birchbark letters, including a XII century woman's love letter. The recipient cut it in pieces, tied in them a knot and dumped in a manure heap. It looks like literacy was quite widespread in Novgorod.