A Medieval Comic as Online Homework

Part of the rich collection of the Regionaal Archief Zutphen is the Maan- en Klaagbrief (a reminder and complaint): a proto-comic from 1493 that tells of a conflict between duke Karel van Gelre and his cousin Bernhard van Meurs, who was abandoned bij Karel during years of imprisonment in France.

For the younger pupils of secondary education Pictura and the Regionaal Archief developed an educational assignment around this top piece. The old document can be studied online in a user friendly application. Hotspots provide explanations for the drawings and the incomprehensible medieval handwriting. This allows users to recreate the history of Karel and Bernhard.

The viewer of the Maan- en Klaagbrief in use.

 

The application Pictura developed is very flexible. It makes it possible for Regionaal Archief Zutphen to highlight more archive pieces on her site in the future.