[anateus]

Related: Onfim is a 13th century Novgorodian kid whose writing exercises and drawings survived: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onfim

I love these windows into the past. Student exercises also help preserve a lot of cuneiform writings as semi-standardized exercise texts can then be found in fragments all over Mesopotamia. Here's an example of such a thing from Sumeria around 4000 years ago, involving a kid being made to go to school, being late, being punished, and admonished to study diligently: http://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/primary-sources/408

[benbreen]

Onfim is just wonderful, thank you for that! (I love the one of an adult horseman labelled "Onfim.")

At some point I should make a collection of all the kid's scribbles I've seen in archives. I remember one in the Huntington Library that was a contemporary copy of John Donne poems, written in beautiful script, but interspersed with a 4-year-olds scribbles of faces and animals via quill pen. It was hilarious.

I also love Darwin's kids drawings on the back of his "Origin of Species" manuscript: http://theappendix.net/posts/2014/02/darwins-children-drew-v...

[codezero]

This is absolutely fascinating. It's right up my alley and I can't believe I haven't heard of Onfim before!

Birch bark is so darn useful, I didn't even realize it was also used as a writing surface, which makes all kinds of sense.

Thanks for sharing this.