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Old Russian measures of length, weight, volume

In children's fairy tales and not only we often come across measures of length and weight that have long gone out of use. How can we figure out what corresponds to, for example, a verst or a fathom. And if this is, for example, an oblique fathom or a Kolomna verst, then in what difference? We will try to give answers to these and many other questions and convert ancient measures of length, weight and volume into more familiar units of measurement.
Since ancient times, people needed to know how to describe size, height, distance. At the same time, such measurements had to be understandable (standard) for everyone. To calculate the necessary parameters, it was convenient to use measures that would always be at hand.
It is not surprising, therefore, that the first measures of length were correlated with anthropological parameters of a person.

First let's talk about length measures. For the convenience of measuring length, the following were adopted constants. Verst, fathom, arshin, elbow, span and vershok.

Length measures

The meaning of the word "Arshin" lies in its root. "Ar" - in ancient Rus' denoted earth or furrow. And to measure the distance traveled it was convenient to use a step. It was decided to use its length as a measure of length. Therefore, along with “arshin” you can often find “step”. Their length was 0.7112 meters. The well-known saying “Don’t measure everyone with one yardstick” should be attributed to the merchants who used a special one - the “government yardstick”. Tyutchev’s lines should be attributed to the same method of measurement: “Russia cannot be understood with the mind, but cannot be measured with a common (official) arshin.” The unit of measurement was the top. It was a wooden ruler on which it was necessary to make state seal. In the absence of such measuring instrument people used "elbow" or "palp" (carpus or hand).
To measure short lengths, smaller values ​​were used. The most common of which was “span”. It was equal to one-quarter of an arshin, so it was also called a “quarter” or “chet.” The span in Rus' has been used since the 17th century and was divided into three types.

1. "Small span (quarter arshin)" - the length between the ends of the separated large and index finger. Other names are pyadyka, pyady, pyaden, pyadyka = 4 vershkas = 17.78 centimeters.
2. ""Big span" - the distance between the ends thumb and little finger (22-23 cm).
3. "Span with a somersault" ("span with a somersault") - a span with the addition of two joints of the index finger = 27-31 cm

“Verst” or as it was also called “field”. Used to measure long distances. Initially it indicated the length of the plowing path from one turn of the plow to another.Before Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the verst was equal to 1000 fathoms - the “boundary verst” (2.16 kilometers). Under Peter I verst already consisted of 500 fathoms and received the name “travel (five hundred) verst” (1066.8 meters).

"Verstoy" was also called a milestone on the road. The roads on which such “miles” were placed were called pillar roads. “Versts” or mileposts were usually painted with inclined stripes, so that it was easier to see, the number of versts was written on the post. Milestones began to be erected in Russia under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1645-1676). These pillars were especially tall on the way from Moscow to the village of Kolomenskoye. This is where the expression Kolomenskaya verst came from, which in a figurative sense characterizes very tall and thin people.

Fathom is one of the most common measures of length. It comes from the verb to reach (reach) - the length that can be reached with your hand. There were fathomed measuring ropes and wooden “foldings”. There are more than ten fathoms distinguished by type and name.

1. “Makhovaya fathom” is the distance between the ends of the fingers of an adult man’s widely spaced hands.
2. “Oblique (oblique) fathom” - the distance from the toe of the left foot to the end of the middle finger raised up right hand. She is famous for the saying: “slant fathoms in the shoulders,” which is used to describe people of heroic physique.
3. "City fathom" was equal to 284.8 centimeters
4. "Untitled" - 258.4 centimeters
5. "Great fathom" - 244 centimeters
6. "Greek fathom" - 230.4 centimeters
7. "Government fathom" - 217.6 centimeters
8. "Tsarskaya fathom" - 197.4 centimeters
9. "Church fathom" - 186.4 centimeters
10. "People's Fathom" - 176 centimeters
11. "Masonry fathom" - 159.7 centimeters
12. "Simple fathom" - 150.8 centimeters
13. "Small fathom" - 142.4 centimeters
14. "Sea fathom" - 182.88 centimeters
15. "Four arshin fathom" = 4 arshins = 284.48 centimeters
16. "Pipe fathom" - for measuring the length of pipes - 187 centimeters
17. “A fathom without a meter” is the greatest distance between the sole of the left foot and the end of the thumb of the raised right hand - 197.2 centimeters.

The cubit is a measure of length, the first mention of which dates back to the 11th century. Its numerical value was in the range from 10.25 to 10.5 vershok (46 - 47 centimeters). The elbow received its main distribution in trade. It was very convenient for merchants to measure their goods (this mainly concerned canvas, linen, fabrics) in this way.

Palm - the sixth part of the elbow (7.5 - 7.8 centimeters).

Vershok (half an inch; a quarter inch) - in modern terms, approximately equal to 4.45 centimeters.

When determining human height, counting was carried out after two arshins (mandatory for a normal adult): if it was said that the person being measured was 14 vershoks in height, then this meant that he was 2 arshins 14 vershoks, i.e. 205 cm. The height of animals was measured in tops, and of trees - in arshins.

Measures of length (used in Russia after the Decree of 1835 and before the introduction of the metric system):

1 verst = 500 fathoms = 50 poles = 10 chains = 1.0668 kilometers

1 fathom = 3 arshins = 7 feet = 48 vershoks = 2.1336 meters

Volume measures

In Old Russian measures and in vessels used for drinking, the principle of volume ratio is 1: 2: 4: 8: 16.

The bucket was divided into 2 half-buckets or 4 quarters of a bucket or 8 half-quarters, as well as into mugs and cups. The volume of the bucket was 134.297 cubic inches.

Mug (the word means - for drinking in a circle) = 10 glasses = 1.23 liters.

Tub - height - 30-35 centimeters, diameter - 40 centimeters.

A handful is a palm with fingers folded into a boat. A large (kind, good) handful - folded so that it holds a larger volume. A handful is two palms joined together.

Balakir is a dugout wooden vessel, 1/4-1/5 in volume, a bucket.

Weights

The word "hryvnia" was used to denote both weight and monetary unit. This is the most common measure of weight in retail trade. It was also used for weighing metals, in particular gold and silver.

Who hasn't heard the saying: "small spool but precious". The spool was originally identified with a gold coin. It was equal to 1/96 of a pound, or 4.27 grams in modern terms. In the old days, tea was sold using gold coins. In addition to the spools, the “octah” measure was used for its sale.

Berkovets - this measure of weight was used for weighing wax and honey. Its mass corresponded to a barrel of wax that one person could roll onto a merchant ship (163.8 kg).

Pound (from Latin word pondus - weight, weight) was equal to 32 lots, 96 spools, 1/40 pood, in modern terms 409.50 g. Used in combinations: “not a pound of raisins”, “find out how much a pound of raisins is.” This measure was used by sugar traders.

Lot is a unit of mass measurement equal to three spools or 12.797 grams.

A fraction is a unit of mass equal to 1/96 of a spool or 0.044 grams.

Pud - (from the Latin pondus - weight, heaviness) is not only a measure of weight, but also a weighing device. When weighing metals, the pud was both a unit of measurement and a unit of counting.

Area measures

The main measure of area was considered to be a tithe, as well as fractions of a tithe: half a tithe, a quarter (a quarter was 40 fathoms of length and 30 fathoms of latitude).

Land surveyors mainly used the official three-arshine fathom, equal to 2.1336 m.

Currency units

Quarter = 25 rubles
Gold coin = 5 or 10 rubles
Ruble = 2 half rubles = 100 kopecks
Tselkovy is the colloquial name for the metal ruble.
Fifty, fifty kopecks = 50 kopecks
Quarter = 25 kopecks
Two-kopeck = 20 kopecks.
Five-altyn = 15 kopecks
Pyatak = 5 kopecks.
Altyn = 3 kopecks
Dime = 10 kopecks
kidney = 1 half
2 money = 1 kopeck
1/2 copper money (half a coin) = 1 kopeck.
Grosh (copper penny) = 2 kopecks.

Polushka (otherwise half money) was equivalent to a quarter of a penny. This is the smallest unit in the ancient money account.

Elbow is one of the original ancient Russian measures, equal to length from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, was introduced already in the 11th century.
According to various sources the size ranged from 38 to 47 cm. However, from about the 16th century, the cubit was in less and less demand and three centuries later it was completely replaced by the arshin.

Arshin and step

An arshin, according to modern concepts, was approximately equal to 0.7112 m. There are several theories about the appearance of the arshin measure of length. The main version assumes the origin of this measure from the average human step (on flat terrain at an average walking pace). An arshin was a segment equal to approximately 70 cm. The value was the base for larger measures of length or distance, such as a verst. The theory is confirmed by the “arshin”. The root (“ar”) in the Old Russian language meant “surface of the earth.” Therefore, this measure could be used specifically to determine the distance traveled on foot. However, there was another, more obvious name for the arshin - step.

It is known that when selling goods, merchants, for speed and greater convenience, measured “from the shoulder” or with a special ruler with marked divisions, called “arshin”. But over time, in order to avoid measurement, a kind of standard (“government arshin”) was introduced in the form of a wooden ruler with a state mark riveted on both ends of the rod.

The step (71 cm) was used when it was necessary to measure a relatively short distance. In addition, the length could be calculated in “small fathoms” or in pairs of steps of an adult. For example: one-two - one, one-two - two, one-two - three. There was also a “breech” equal to three steps of an adult (one-two-three - one, one-two-three - two...)

Span

The span was also considered an old Russian measure of length and was used for smaller quantities. Around the 17th century, the “span” was renamed to the “quarter arshin” (“quarter”, “chet”). It was convenient, even by eye, to single out half of a span (equal to two inches), as well as ¼ of a span, respectively, equal to an inch.

There were two types of span: small and large. The small span was 17.78 cm and was the distance from the thumb to the index finger. Large span (22-23 cm) - the distance from the thumb to the little finger.

Vershok

1/16 arshin, 1/4 quarter equal to an inch, 4.44 cm in modern system. The term goes back to the lexeme “top”. In the literature of the 17th century there are references to fractions of an inch (half an inch and a quarter of an inch, and the like).

Fathom

The most common and popular measure of length in Rus' was the fathom. There were more than ten fathoms, they all differed in length and purpose. “Makhovaya fathom” - was the distance between the tips of the middle fingers of the hands, placed apart, and was about 1.76 m. “Oblique fathom” (2.48 m) was the name given to the gap between the toe of the left foot to the tip of the middle finger of the right hand extended upward . Over time, for convenience, planted ropes and wooden “warehouses” began to be used in construction.

Verst

A mile was the distance covered from one turn of the plow to the next. The size of the verst varied until the concept of “boundary verst”, a multiple of one thousand fathoms, was introduced in 1649. And in the 18th century, a “way mileage” of 500 fathoms appeared.

The foot and inch, which began to be used in Russia, are multiples of English measures in size.

In Rus', the following weight measures (Old Russian) were used in trade:

• Berkovets = 10 poods
• pud = 40 pounds = 16.38 kg
• pound (hryvnia) = 96 spools = 0.41 kg
• lot = 3 spools = 12.797 g
• spool = 4.27 g
• fraction = 0.044 g

The hryvnia (later pound) remained unchanged. The word "hryvnia" was used to designate both a weight and a monetary unit. This is the most common measure of weight in retail and craft applications. It was also used for weighing metals, in particular gold and silver.

BERKOVETS - this large measure of weight was used in wholesale trade mainly for weighing wax, honey, etc.
Berkovets - from the name of the island of Bjerk. This is what was called in Rus' a measure of weight of 10 pounds, just a standard barrel of wax, which one person could roll onto a merchant boat sailing to this very island. (163.8 kg).
There is a known mention of Berkovets in the 12th century in the charter of Prince Vsevolod Gabriel Mstislavich to the Novgorod merchants.

The spool was equal to 1/96 of a pound, in modern terms 4.26 g. They said about it: “the spool is small and expensive.” This word originally meant a gold coin.

POUND (from the Latin word “pondus” - weight, weight) was equal to 32 lots, 96 spools, 1/40 pood, in modern terms 409.50 g. Used in combinations: “not a pound of raisins”, “find out how much a pound of raisins is”.
The Russian pound was adopted under Alexei Mikhailovich.

Sugar was sold by the pound.

They bought tea with gold coins. Spool = 4.266g.

Until recently, a small packet of tea weighing 50 grams was called an “octam” (1/8 pound)

LOT is an old Russian unit of mass measurement equal to three spools or 12.797 grams.

SHARE is the smallest old Russian unit of mass measurement, equal to 1/96 of a spool or 0.044 grams.

PUD was equal to 40 pounds, in modern terms - 16.38 kg. It was already used in the 12th century.
Pud - (from the Latin pondus - weight, heaviness) is not only a measure of weight, but also a weighing device. When weighing metals, the pud was both a unit of measurement and a unit of counting. Even when the results of weighings were reported to tens and hundreds of poods, they were not transferred to Berkovites. Back in the XI-XII centuries. they used various scales with equal-armed and unequal-armed beams: “pud” - a type of scale with a variable fulcrum and a fixed weight, “skalvy” - equal-armed scales (two-cup).

The pud as a unit of mass was abolished in the USSR in 1924.

Measures of weight used in the 18th century:

Note: the most used at that time (XVIII century) are highlighted

Area measures

The main measure of area was considered to be a tithe, as well as shares of a tithe: half a tithe, a quarter (a quarter was 40 fathoms of length and 30 fathoms of latitude) and so on. Land surveyors used (especially after the “Cathedral Code” of 1649) mainly the official three-arshine fathom, equal to 2.1336 m, so a tithe of 2400 square fathoms was equal to approximately 1.093 hectares.

The scale of use of tithes and quarters grew in accordance with the development of land and the increase in the territory of the state. However, already in the first half of the 16th century it became clear that when measuring lands in quarters, the general inventory of lands would take many years. And then in the 40s of the 16th century, one of the most enlightened people, Ermolai Erasmus, proposed using a larger unit, the tetrahedral field, which meant square area with a side of 1000 fathoms. This proposal was not accepted, but played a certain role in the process of introducing the large plow. Ermolai Erasmus is one of the first theoretical metrologists, who also sought to combine the solution of metrological and social issues. When determining the areas of hayfields, tithes were introduced with with great difficulty because lands due to their location and irregular shapes were inconvenient to measure. The yield measure of the haystack was used more often. Gradually, this measure acquired a meaning linked to the tithe, and was divided into 2 half-shocks, 4 quarter-shocks, 8 half-quarters of a hay, etc. Over time, a haystack, as a measure of area, was equated to 0.1 tithes (i.e., it was believed that an average of 10 copecks of hay were taken from a tithe). Labor and sowing measures were expressed through the geometric measure tithe.

Rus' had its own dimensions. The oldest measures of length are the cubit and fathom. The exact original length of both measures is unknown. Elbow was the length from the elbow to the front joint of the middle finger and was equal to half an English yard. Name fathom comes from the Slavic word syag - step. At first it meant the distance one could step. Then they began to distinguish fathoms - fly, oblique, breech, measured, large, Greek, church, royal, sea, pipe. The flywheel or measured fathom is the distance between the outstretched fingers of outstretched hands (176 cm). A simple fathom (152 cm or 4 cubits) is the distance between the span of a person’s outstretched arms from the thumb of one hand to the thumb of the other. Fathom oblique (248 cm) - the distance between the sole of the left foot and the end of the middle finger of the outstretched right hand. The pipe fathom was used only to measure the lengths of pipes in salt mines.

Short distances in Rus' were measured in tops, quarters, spans and arshins. Vershok - m A length measure equal to the width of two fingers (index and middle). Quarter- the distance between the spread thumb and index fingers. Span- the distance from the end of the thumb to the end of the little finger with their greatest possible extension. The smallest ancient Russian measures of length include dot, equal to the line. Perhaps this is where the word accuracy comes from.

To measure large distances in ancient times, a measure called field, and then it appears instead verst. The name verst comes from the word vert, which meant the distance from one turn of the plow to another when plowing. Length of verst in different time was different - from 500 to 750 fathoms. And there were not one verst, but two: a track - they used it to measure the distance of the path, and a boundary - they used it to measure plots of land.

In the 17th century as a result of the development of trade with eastern peoples, the measure came into use arshin(from Persian " arsh" - elbow). It is equal to 71 cm 12 mm. He came to Rus' together with merchants from distant countries.

A government arshin - a ruler as long as someone's arm - was made in Moscow, then copies were made from it and sent to all parts of Russia. To prevent the wooden arshin from being shortened, its ends were bound with iron and marked with a seal.

Abuse of measures did not only occur in trade. With the emergence and growth of national trade and the establishment of taxes for the treasury from the entire population of the united country, the question arises of unified system measures for the entire state. In the 18th century, Peter I, by decree, established the equality of a three-arshin fathom to seven English feet. The former Russian system of length measures, supplemented by new measures, received its final form: mile = 7 versts (≈7.47 kilometers); verst = 500 fathoms (≈1.07 kilometers); fathom = 3 arshins = 7 feet (≈2.13 meters);

arshin = 16 vershoks = 28 inches (≈ 71.12 centimeters);

foot = 12 inches (≈ 30.48 centimeters); inch = 10 lines (≈2.54 centimeters); line = 10 points (≈2.54 millimeters).

In Russia, scientists from early XIX centuries understood the meaning of a unified metric system and tried to widely introduce it into practice. In the years from 1860 to 1870, after the energetic speeches of D.I. Mendeleev, the campaign in favor of the metric system was led by academician B.S. Jacobi, professor of mathematics A.Yu. Davidov, the author of school mathematics textbooks that were very widespread in his time, and academician A.V. .Gadolin. Russian manufacturers and factory owners also joined the scientists. The Russian Technical Society commissioned a special commission to develop this issue. This commission received many proposals from scientists and technical organizations that unanimously supported the proposal to switch to the metric system. The law on weights and measures, published in 1899, developed by D.I. Mendeleev, included § 11:

“The international meter and kilogram, their divisions, as well as other metric measures are allowed to be used in Russia, along with the main Russian measures...”

The final decision on the issue of the metric system in Russia received after the Great October Socialist Revolution. In 1918, a decree was issued which proposed: “To base all measurements on the international metric system of weights and measures with decimal divisions and derivatives. Take the unit of length as the meter. As a sample of the basic unit of the metric system, take a copy of the international meter bearing sign No. 28 made of iridescent platinum, transferred to Russia by the First International Conference of Weights and Measures in Paris in 1889 and now stored in the Main Chamber of Weights and Measures in Petrograd.

From January 1, 1927, the metric system became the only system of measures and weights allowed in the USSR. To popularize the new measures, the poet V.V. Mayakovsky wrote poetic texts dedicated to the new measures.

Series "A" (O metric measure length)

Accepted among the trading people Remember, calculation is very important:

An arshin is measured in this way: Two meters is approximately a fathom.

We draw the distance from the finger to the shoulder so that everyone can remember:

They are used to calling it arshin. four centimeters - one inch.

So you can measure a meter: Remember, this work is not hard:

Approximately from the fingers One centimeter - a quarter of an inch.

to the opposite shoulder. Cut it on your nose, trading people:

Three decimeters is one foot.

Not a tricky machine - Let’s find out without spending a lot of guesswork:

Use your palm to measure a quarter arshin. 2½ centimeters equals an inch

The spreader is large and

index fingers:

About a quarter

the arshin will fall off.

Centimeter also

Easy to measure using your palms.

So that I can measure 10 centimeters,

Place your palm across, not lengthwise.

Remember also (no difficulty):

10 centimeters is one decimeter.

Since ancient times, the measure of length and weight has always been a person: how far he can stretch his arm, how much he can lift on his shoulders, etc.

The system of Old Russian measures of length included the following basic measures: verst, fathom, arshin, elbow, span and vershok.

ARSHIN is an ancient Russian measure of length, equal, in modern terms, to 0.7112 m. Arshin was also the name given to a measuring ruler, on which divisions in vershoks were usually applied.

There are different versions of the origin of the arshin measure of length. Perhaps, initially, “arshin” denoted the length of a human step (about seventy centimeters, with normal walking on the plain, at an average pace) and was the base value for other large measures of determining length, distances (fathom, verst). The root "AR" in the word a rsh i n - in the Old Russian language (and in other neighboring peoples) means "EARTH", "surface of the earth", "furrow" and indicates that this measure could be used in determining the length distance traveled on foot. There was another name for this measure - STEP. In practice, counting could be done in pairs of steps of an adult of normal build ("small fathoms"; one-two - one, one-two - two, one-two - three...), or in threes ("official fathoms"; one-two -three - one, one-two-three - two...), and when measuring small distances in steps, step-by-step counting was used. Subsequently, they also began to use, under this name, an equal value - the length of the arm.

For small measures of length, the base value was the measure used from time immemorial in Rus' - “span” (from the 17th century - a length equal to a span was called differently - “quarter arshin”, “quarter”, “chet”), from which it is easy to visualize it was possible to get smaller shares - two inches (1/2 inch) or an inch (1/4 inch).

Merchants, when selling goods, as a rule, measured it with their arshin (ruler) or quickly - measuring “from the shoulder”. To exclude measurements, the authorities introduced, as a standard, the “government arshin,” which is a wooden ruler with metal tips with a state mark riveted at the ends.

STEP - average length human step = 71 cm. One of the oldest measures of length.

PYAD (pyatnitsa) is an ancient Russian measure of length. SMALL SPAND (they said - “span”; since the 17th century it was called “quarter”) - the distance between the ends of the spread thumb and index (or middle) fingers = 17.78 cm. BIG SPAN - the distance between the ends of the thumb and little finger (22-23 cm). SPAND WITH A TUMPLER ("span with a somersault", according to Dahl - "span with a somersault") - span with the addition of two joints of the index club = 27-31 cm

Our old icon painters measured the size of icons in spans: “nine icons - seven spans (1 3/4 arshins). The Most Pure Tikhvin on gold - pyadnitsa (4 vershoks). Icon of George Great deeds four spans (1 arshin)"

VERSTA - old Russian travel measure (its early name- ""field""). This word originally referred to the distance traveled from one turn of the plow to another during plowing. The two names have long been used in parallel, as synonyms. Known references in written sources 11th century. In manuscripts of the 15th century. there is an entry: “field of 7 hundred and 50 fathoms” (750 fathoms long). Before Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, 1 verst was considered 1000 fathoms. Under Peter the Great, one verst was equal to 500 fathoms, in modern terms - 213.36 X 500 = 1066.8 m. “Verstoy” was also called a milepost on the road. The size of the verst changed repeatedly depending on the number of fathoms included in it and the size of the fathom. The Code of 1649 established a “boundary mile” of 1 thousand fathoms. Later, in the 18th century, along with it, a “travel mile” of 500 fathoms (“five hundredth mile”) began to be used.

Mezhevaya Versta is an old Russian unit of measurement equal to two versts. A verst of 1000 fathoms (2.16 km) was widely used as a boundary measure, usually when defining pastures around major cities, and on the outskirts of Russia, especially in Siberia - and to measure distances between populated areas.

The 500-fathom verst was used somewhat less frequently, mainly for measuring distances in the European part of Russia. Long distances, especially in Eastern Siberia, were determined in days of travel. In the 18th century boundary versts are gradually being replaced by travel ones, and the only verst in the 19th century. there remains a “travel” mileage equal to 500 fathoms.

SAZHEN is one of the most common length measures in Rus'. There were more than ten fathoms of different purposes (and, accordingly, size). “Makhovaya fathom” is the distance between the ends of the fingers of an adult man’s widely spaced hands. “Oblique fathom” is the longest: the distance from the toe of the left foot to the end of the middle finger of the raised right hand. Used in the phrase: “he has slanting fathoms in his shoulders” (meaning - hero, giant)

This ancient measure of length was mentioned by Nestor in 1017. The name sazhen comes from the verb to reach (reach) - as far as one could reach with one’s hand. To determine the meaning of the ancient Russian fathom, a major role was played by the discovery of a stone on which the inscription was carved in Slavic letters: “In the summer of 6576 (1068) of the 6th day of indictment, Prince Gleb measured... 10,000 and 4,000 fathoms.” From a comparison of this result with the measurements of topographers, a fathom value of 151.4 cm was obtained. The results of measurements of temples and the value of Russians coincided with this value. popular measures. There were fathomed measuring ropes and wooden “folds”, which were used in measuring distances in construction and in land surveying.

According to historians and architects, there were more than 10 fathoms and they had their own names, were incommensurable and not multiples of one another. Fathoms: city - 284.8 cm, untitled - 258.4 cm, great - 244.0 cm, Greek - 230.4 cm, state - 217.6 cm, royal - 197.4 cm, church - 186.4 cm, folk - 176.0 cm, masonry - 159.7 cm, simple - 150.8 cm, small - 142.4 cm and another one without a name - 134.5 cm (data from one source), as well as - courtyard, pavement.

FLY FATTH - the distance between the ends of the middle fingers of arms outstretched to the sides is 1.76 m.

OBLIQUE SAZHEN (originally “oblique”) - 2.48 m.

Fathoms were used before the introduction of the metric system of measures.

ELBOW was equal to the length of the arm from the fingers to the elbow (according to other sources - “the distance in a straight line from the elbow to the end of the extended middle finger of the hand”). The value of this ancient measure of length, according to different sources, ranged from 38 to 47 cm. Since the 16th century, it was gradually replaced by the arshin and in the 19th century it was almost not used.

Elbow - native Old Russian measure length, known already in the 11th century. The value of the Old Russian cubit of 10.25-10.5 vershoks (on average approximately 46-47 cm) was obtained from a comparison of measurements in the Jerusalem Temple made by Abbot Daniel, and later measurements of the same dimensions in an exact copy of this temple - in the main temple of the New Jerusalem Monastery on the Istra River (XVII century). The cubit was widely used in trade as a particularly convenient measure. In the retail trade of canvas, cloth, and linen, the elbow was the main measure. In large wholesale trade, linen, cloth, etc., were supplied in the form of large pieces - “postavs”, the length of which at different times and in different places ranged from 30 to 60 cubits (in places of trade these measures had a specific, well-defined meaning)

VERSHOK equaled 1/16 arshin, 1/4 quarter. In modern terms - 4.44 cm. The name "Vershok" comes from the word "top". In the literature of the 17th century. There are also fractions of an inch - half an inch and a quarter inch.

When determining the height of a person or animal, counting was carried out after two arshins (mandatory for a normal adult): if it was said that the person being measured was 15 vershoks in height, then this meant that he was 2 arshins 15 vershoks, i.e. 209 cm.