5 ms·

this is insane. 6 year olds 800 years ago went to school ?

• drysine 2y ago
  It's not clear how old he was.
  • seertaak 2y ago
    One of the drawings had the inscription 'I am a wild beast' -- that's 5-7 year old territory. Ofc it's possible that I'm missing some cultural nuance, but the picture is consistent with precocious-little-kid-with-visceral-imagination. He must have been a joy to parent!
    • deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
    • vik0 2y ago
      I am a wild beast I am not in the 5-7 year old territory
      • alphan0n 2y ago
        Right? I don’t doodle as much as I used to, but I’m still a wild beast well into my 40’s. I used to be a wild beast, I still am, but I used to be too.
• nkrisc 2y ago
  Well, probably not most children. I don’t really know anything about that particular region at that particular time, but based on history generally, literacy was - until recently - often reserved for higher social classes.
  • skzv 2y ago
    From the wiki article: > Scholars believe that the Novgorod Republic had an unusually high level of literacy for the time, with literacy apparently widespread throughout different classes and among both sexes.
    • vik0 2y ago
      I read that too and I was surprised, but then the first thing that popped into my mind was that this is probably a case of survivorship bias
    • nkrisc 2y ago
      Ah, I missed that important bit.
• datameta 2y ago
  Novgorod was the only major East Slavic settlement to avoid destruction or subjugation by the Golden Horde, so I think it is akin to a boy from a well-to-do family in medieval Avignon or Strasbourg learning to read and write. Meaning, not just any city or any family in the mid/late 13th century had the need or means for such schooling, but as pointed out in this thread it was more likely in Novgorod.