The Hall of Heorot

koboldfacedlie: “One of the most fascinating archeological...

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:50:30 -0700

1. Onfim the Warrior

2. Onfim the Beast

3. Onfim's Friends and Family

4. People

5. More people

6. Battle Scenes

7. Yet more battle scenes

8. More people

9. Onfin and his badass dad

koboldfacedlie:

“One of the most fascinating archeological finds in Russia has been the discovery of hundreds of “birchbark documents” (messages written on the bark of birch trees with a sharp stylus) that were created from the 11th to the 15th century.

The birchbark documents of Novgorod are a major source for information about life in Medieval Novgorod because they are not the writings of church theologians or political leaders, but rather, personal messages, IOUs, love letters, shopping lists, and so on. One of the most fascinating items, in my mind, is a collection of children’s drawings that have been unearthed.

Children’s drawings in the Middle Ages?! Even if such things were created in period, how could they have survived to the present day? After all, finger paints, magic markers, and crayons were not yet in use, paper was far too valuable of a commodity to waste on children, and refrigerator doors were unavailable for the display of Junior’s artistic genius. Most of the products of childhood inspiration probably were expressed on the ephemeral canvas of dirt or sand.

But birchbark was a different story. The bark was widely available (although there are indications that excessive use of the medium caused a decline in the local birch population) and easily cultivated. Anyone could use it. When one was finished with the message, it was simply thrown into the mud, where the presence of water and clay created an unusually bacteria-free environment which preserved the documents. So, we have the ideal medium: cheap, easy to come by, and (thanks to unique geology) preserved for hundreds of years.

The drawings from Novgorod that we have found appear to all come from a Russian boy named Onfim, who lived at the end of the twelfth century or beginning of the thirteenth century in the city of Novgorod. By the estimate of the archaeologists who unearthed his works, he was around seven years old at the time that he made these drawings.

Onfim was being taught to write, but he was obviously restless with his lessons and when he could get away with it, he intermixed his assignments with doodlings. In this first example, he started to write out the first eleven letters of the alphabet in the upper right corner, but got bored and drew a picture of himself as a grown-up warrior impaling an enemy with his spear. To remove any doubt about the identity of the warrior, he even labeled the person on the horse as “Onfim.”

Fantasies of becoming a mighty warrior were not the only things that Onfim thought up though. In another example, he took the piece of bark that he was practicing on (left), turned it over (right), and drew a picture of himself disguised as a wild beast (which he identified by writing “I am a wild beast” [Ia zver’] over it). The beast, with its long tongue (or fiery breath), is apparently still a friendly beast as it is carrying a sign that reads “Greetings from Onfim to Danilo” [Poklon ot Onfima ko Danile]. Danilo (i.e., Daniel) was probably a friend, perhaps even a schoolmate sitting next to Onfim.

Onfim liked to draw people and while his artistic aptitude may have been lacking, he was prolific.”

source: http://www.goldschp.net/SIG/onfim/onfim.html

valkyriesvikings: Again with my Rollo

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:38:45 -0700

valkyriesvikings:

Again with my Rollo

traditionalism: Viking Weathervanes

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:34:01 -0700

traditionalism:

Viking Weathervanes

team-machine: Violent elegance by The Swedish History Museum,...

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:34:56 -0700

team-machine:

Violent elegance by The Swedish History Museum, Stockholm on Flickr.
“It has a touch of violence and elegance at the same time – a dangerous combination. The helmet is found in Vendel, Uppland. It is a crested helmet with a high bronze crest in the shape of a bird or a dragon. Once it belonged to a man from a powerful dynasty, dated to the 7th century. He was buried in a boat with his valuable possessions around him; weapons, tools, cooking utensils and provisions for banquets as well as three dogs and three horses.

The buried man was one in a long succession line of rulers in the dynasty; they all were buried in the same way. Some believe they wanted to express a warrior ideal in death, related to the god of Odin. Others believe that they could be connected to kings mentioned in the Icelandic sagas. Names like Alrek, Erik, Agne, Ingjald, Egil, Östen, Yngvar and Anund occur in the written sources . No matter what the man who owned this helmet called himself he played surely a prominent part in political life in Uppland in the late 7th century.”

seafarers: Iceland by K. R. Whitley

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:32:49 -0700

seafarers:

Iceland by K. R. Whitley

neirahda: Discount at our Etsy shop! Discount coupon! We´re...

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:22:21 -0700

neirahda:

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viking-vikingr: And hers the rest of the sheat, such a unique...

Mon, 20 May 2013 14:13:08 -0700

viking-vikingr:

And hers the rest of the sheat, such a unique creation !

from => http://www.cuirmedieval.fr/

My Viking page => https://www.facebook.com/VikingrVikings/

Inbox me one thing you wanna know about me.

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:54:04 -0700

Photo

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:25:48 -0700

Alcuin of York, Died Today in 804

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:23:48 -0700

eadfrith:

Influential Anglo Saxon Monk and Scholar Alcuin of York died on the 19th May 804. His exact date of birth is unknown but probably around AD 740.

http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/Biographies/Alcuin.html

elakhe: More than a ship by ~Meredyth

Sun, 19 May 2013 17:11:57 -0700

elakhe:

More than a ship by ~Meredyth

Photo

Sun, 19 May 2013 15:23:16 -0700

Photo

Sun, 19 May 2013 14:50:12 -0700

paganroots: Celtic box by ~pagan-art

Sun, 19 May 2013 14:20:25 -0700

paganroots:

Celtic box by ~pagan-art

mererecorder: Larp Gear VIII by ~kickfoot

Sun, 19 May 2013 11:20:58 -0700

mererecorder:

Larp Gear VIII by ~kickfoot

mediumaevum: Saint Olga (of Kiev) It is a strange historical...

Sun, 19 May 2013 11:05:38 -0700

mediumaevum:

Saint Olga (of Kiev)

It is a strange historical twist that the first “Russian” woman to be canonized in the Orthodox Church was a Viking warrior princess who spent much of her life as a pagan.

Olga earned her sainthood by becoming the first member of the house of Riurik, the dynasty that ruled European Russia and parts of Ukraine and Belorus for more than seven centuries (860s – 1598), to convert to Christianity. But the role of this battle maid in the spread of Christendom to the eastern Slavs is only part of her remarkable contribution to the history of Eastern Europe.

You can read the rest of the story about her here.

image: Baptism of Princess Olga by Sergei Kirillov. HQ

Photo

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:46:06 -0700

Photo

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:48:34 -0700

Photo

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:12:48 -0700

kentonpub: Happy Norway Day, greetings from Bergen #17mai...

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:50:53 -0700

kentonpub:

Happy Norway Day, greetings from Bergen #17mai #norway #vikings #trolls