Birch-bark letter no. 497, c. 1340-90, Novgorod; photograph

A birch bark document is a document written on pieces of birch bark. Such documents existed in several cultures. For instance, some Gandharan Buddhist texts have been found written on birch bark and preserved in clay jars. Young Novgorodians send to each other letters written on pieces of birch bark. ... Young Novgorodians send to each other letters written on pieces of birch bark. ... Events Births December 27 - Anne de Mortimer, claimant to the English throne (died 1411) Domenico da Piacenza, Italian dancemaster (died 1470) John Dunstable, English composer (died 1453) Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson, Swedish statesman and rebel leader (died 1436) Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (died 1447) John VIII Palaeologus Byzantine Emperor (died 1448) Deaths... Velikiy Novgorod (Russian: ) is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia, situated on the M10(E95) federal highway connecting Moscow and St. ... Birch bark or birchbark is generally understood to be the bark of the Paper Birch tree (Betula papyrifera), or sometimes of related species such as Gray (Wire) Birch (Betula populifolia). ... The Gandhāran Buddhist Texts are the earliest Buddhist manuscripts yet discovered, and indeed the earliest Indian manuscripts yet discovered. ...

On July 26, 1951, during excavations in Novgorod, a Soviet expedition led by Artemiy Artsikhovsky found the first Russian birch bark writing in a layer dated to ca. 1400. Since then, more than thousand similar documents were discovered in Staraya Russa, Smolensk, Torzhok, Pskov, Tver, Moscow, Ryazan, although Novgorod remains by far the most prolific source of them. In Ukraine, birch bark documents were found in Zvenigorod, Volynia. In Belarus, several documents were unearthed in Vitebsk and Mstislavl. July 26 is the 207th day (208th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 158 days remaining. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Velikiy Novgorod (Russian: ) is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia, situated on the M10(E95) federal highway connecting Moscow and St. ... Motto: Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Transliterated: Proletarii vsekh stran, soedinyaytes!) Translation: Workers of the world, unite!) Anthem: The Internationale (1922-1944) Hymn of the Soviet Union (1944-1991) Capital Moscow Language(s) Russian (the de facto official language), 14 other official languages Government Dictatorship Leaders  - 1922-1924 Vladimir Lenin  - 1924-1953 Joseph Stalin  - 1953... Staraya Russa (Russian: ) is an old Russian town located 99 km south of Veliky Novgorod. ... A view of Smolensk in 1912. ... General view of the town in the 1910s. ... The Trinity Cathedral (1682-99) is a symbol of Pskovs former might and independence. ... Tvers coat of arms depicts grand ducal crown placed on a throne. ... Location Position of Moscow in Europe Government Country District Subdivision Russia Central Federal District Federal City Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov Geographical characteristics Area  - City 1,081 km² Population  - City (2007)    - Density 10,469,000   9684. ... Ryazan (Ряза́нь) is a city in Central Russia federal district, the administrative center of the Ryazan Oblast. ... Volhynia (Wołyń in Polish; Волинь, Volyn’ in Ukrainian; also called Volynia, Volyň in Czech) comprises the historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Pripyat and Western Bug. ... Coat of arms of Vitebsk. ... AmÅ›cislaÅ­ (Belarusian: ; Russian: ; sometimes Mstislavl) is a town in Belarus, MahiloÅ­ Province. ...

Birch-bark letter no. 210 contains spelling lessons and drawings made by a boy named Onfim; based on draftsmanship, experts estimate his age as between 6 and 7 at the time.

The late discovery of birch documents, as well as their amazing state of preservation, is explained by a deep culture layer in Novgorod (up to eight meters, or 25 feet) and heavy waterlogged clay soil which prevents the access of oxygen. Serious excavations in Novgorod started only in 1932, although some attempts had been made in the 19th century. The Gay Head cliffs in Marthas Vineyard are made almost entirely of clay. ... General Name, Symbol, Number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series Nonmetals, chalcogens Group, Period, Block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless (gas) very pale blue (liquid) Atomic mass 15. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Although their existence was mentioned in some old East Slavic manuscripts, the discovery of birch bark documents (Russian: берестяна́я гра́мота, berestyanáya grámota) significantly changed the understanding of the cultural level and language spoken by the East Slavs between 11th and 15th centuries. About a hundred styluses have also been found, mostly made of iron, some of bone or bronze. A manuscript (Latin manu scriptus, written by hand), strictly speaking, is any written document that is put down by hand, in contrast to being printed or reproduced some other way. ... Countries inhabited by Slavs (dark green - East Slavs) Distribution of Slavic peoples by language The East Slavs are a Slavic ethnic group, the speakers of East Slavic that evolved into the Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian peoples. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... Modern stylus, used for touch-screen enabled devices such as the Nintendo DS and personal digital assistants Styli used in writing in the Fourteenth Century. ... General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Atomic mass 55. ... Assorted ancient Bronze castings found as part of a cache, probably intended for recycling. ...

According to Valentin Yanin and Andrey Zaliznyak, most documents are ordinary letters by various people written in what is considered to be a vernacular dialect. The letters are of a personal or business character. Some documents include elaborate obsceneties. Very few documents are written in Old Church Slavonic and only one in Old Norse. Valentin Lavrentievich Yanin (born 6 February 1929 in Kirov) is a leading Russian historian who authored more than 700 books and articles. ... Andrey Anatolyevich Zaliznyak (born April 29, 1935) is a Russian linguist who specializes in the research of linguistic monuments of Old Novgorod. ... Old Novgorod dialect (Russian древненовгородский диалект, also translated as Old Novgorodian or Ancient Novgorod dialect) is a term introduced by Andrey Zaliznyak (Андр&#1077... Old Church Slavonic (Old Bulgarian, Old Macedonian, and Old Slavic) is the first literary Slavic language, developed from the Slavic dialect of Thessaloniki (Solun) by the 9th century Byzantine missionaries, Saints Cyril and Methodius. ... Old Norse or Danish tongue is the Germanic language once spoken by the inhabitants of the Nordic countries (for instance during the Viking Age). ...

Birch-bark letter no. 292, Oldest known Karelian language text. (First half of 13th century)

The document numbered 292 from the Novgorod excavations (unearthed in 1957) is the oldest known document in any Finnic language. It is dated to the beginning of the 13th century. The language used in the document is thought to be an archaic form of the language spoken in Olonets Karelia, a dialect of the Karelian language. [1] For details and full text, see Birch bark letter no. 292. The Birch bark letter given the document number 292, found in 1957 in excavations in Novgorod, is the oldest known document in any Finnic language. ... The Karelian language is a variety closely related to Finnish, with which it is not necessarily mutually intelligible. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ... Finnic peoples (Fennic, sometimes Baltic-Finnic) refers to a group of related ethnic groups and nations speaking Finnic languages (also known as Balto-Finnic languages). ... This article is about Karelia, the land of the Karelians, in its broadest meaning. ... The Karelian language is a variety closely related to Finnish, with which it is not necessarily mutually intelligible. ... The Birch bark letter given the document number 292, found in 1957 in excavations in Novgorod, is the oldest known document in any Finnic language. ...

See also

• See the Old Novgorod dialect article for samples of some texts
• Bryggen inscriptions, documents of the same age found in Bergen, Norway

Old Novgorod dialect (Russian древненовгородский диалект, also translated as Old Novgorodian or Ancient Novgorod dialect) is a term introduced by Andrey Zaliznyak (Андр&#1077... The Bryggen inscriptions are a find of some 600 runic inscriptions on wood (mostly pine) and bone found from 1955 and forth at Bryggen (and its surroundings) in Bergen, Norway. ...

References

Yanin, Valentin L. (Feb 1990). "The Archaeology of Novgorod". Scientific American, p.84. Covers, History, "Kremlin of Novgorod", "Novgorod Museum of History", preservation dynamics, and the production of 'Birch bark documents'. This article contains examples of birch bark documents, styluses, and photographs. Valentin Lavrentievich Yanin (born 6 February 1929 in Kirov) is a leading Russian historian who authored more than 700 books and articles. ...

External links

• The University of Chicago Slavic Department has a page with a number of photographs of Birch bark documents and Old Novgorodian artifacts.
• (Russian) Online library of 956 Russian birch bark documents and modern translations