pikkugen: LĂșthien (Default)
pikkugen ([personal profile] pikkugen) wrote in [community profile] yuletide 2023-09-17 12:41 pm (UTC)

13th CE RP: Onfim of Novgorod

Title:13th CE RP: Onfim of Novgorod

(not title as such, but a real person I'd love to hear more about)

Media: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onfim Technically birchbark letters found in Novgorod, some of which were written (and drawn) by a little boy named Onfim. Some more analysis: https://lithub.com/onfim-wuz-here-on-the-unlikely-art-of-a-medieval-russian-boy/ and https://www.goldschp.net/SIG/onfim/onfim.html

Approx length: A Wiki article isn't that long and it has all the pertinent information, but the Internet is a rabbithole and there are several analyses of Onfim's letters and drawings.

Where to find it:
I have no idea if the originals are available anywhere, but Wikipedia has some images.

What is it, in summary?: Onfim was a six-or seven-years-old boy from 13th CE Novgorod, whom we know of his homework that was scribbled on birchbark. He also drew some wicked pictures of knights and people and monsters, just like any kid of that age.

What do you love about it?: People have always been people, and kids especially! Give them a surface to draw on and they will scribble stuff on it. (His teacher must have been infinitely patient, or else infinitely frustrated at times.)

What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Anything you'd like to write! Tell me about Onfim's and his friend Danilo's day, maybe from their teacher's point of view, or their parents', or tell me what he dreamed of drawing those knights and monsters instead of doing his homework. Was he telling himself a story or a legend? What did he become when he grew up, or what he would think if he knew what happened to his childhood scribblings? Draw me another monster or knight, Onfim-style!

Are there sections of canon (rather than the whole canon) that can be consumed by themselves to fulfil your requests, or that showcase particular characters and relationships?: Wikipedia has all the pertinent information, the rest is just analysis and speculation.

Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence): Ummm... violence as depicted by a child? Not very graphic, but it's there nevertheless.

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