At the time of our ancestors, when there were no measures of length and weight, as such, it was decided to take the properties of the person himself as a basis. That is, taken into account, for example, the step size, the length of the outstretched arm, the distance from the thumb to the forefinger, and the like. The system of Old Russian measures included several basic values: verst, fathom, arshin, elbow, span and vershok.
Elbow
The elbow - one of the primordially ancient Russian measures, equal to the length from the elbow bend to the tip of the middle finger, was introduced already in the 11th century.
According to various sources, the value ranged from 38 to 47 cm. However, from about the 16th century, the cubit was in less demand and after three centuries it was completely replaced by the yardstick.
Arshin and step
Arshin, according to modern concepts, was approximately equal to 0.7112 m. There are several theories of the appearance of an arshine measure of length. The main version assumes the origin of this measure from the average human stride (on flat terrain at an average pace of walking). An arshin was called a segment equal to about 70 cm. The value was the base for larger measures of length or distance, such as fathoms or versts. The theory is confirmed by the etymology of the word "arshin". The root ("ar") in the Old Russian language meant "the surface of the earth." Therefore, this measure could be used precisely to determine the distance traveled on foot. However, there was another, more obvious, name for the yardstick - step.
It is known that merchants, when selling goods for speed and greater convenience, measured "from the shoulder" or a special ruler with marked divisions, called "arshin". But over time, in order to avoid measurement, a kind of standard ("state yardstick") was introduced in the form of a wooden ruler with a state stamp, riveted on both ends of the rail.
Pitch (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 "state fathom" 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, it was used for smaller values. Around the 17th century, “span” was renamed “quarter of an arshin” (“quarter”, “chet”). It was convenient even to distinguish by eye from a span half (equal to two inches), as well as ¼ of a span, respectively, equated to an inch.
There were two types of spans: small and large. The small span was equal to 17, 78 cm and represented the distance from the thumb to the index finger. A large span (22-23 cm) is the distance from the thumb to the little finger.
Vershok
1/16 arshin, 1/4 quarter equaled vershok, 4.44 cm in modern metric system. The term goes back to the lexeme "top". In the literature of the 17th century, there are references to the shares of a vershok (half-top and quarter-top, and the like).
Fathom
The most common and demanded measure of length in Russia was the fathom. There were more than ten fathoms, all of them varied in length and purpose. "Swing fathom" - was the distance between the tips of the middle fingers, set apart, and was about 1.76 m. "Oblique fathom" (2.48 m) was called the gap between the toe of the left leg to the tip of the middle finger of the right hand extended upwards … Over time, in construction life, for convenience, they began to use planted ropes and wooden "folds".
Verst
The mile was the distance covered from one plow turn to the next. The size of a mile varied until, in 1649, the concept of a “boundary mile” was introduced, which is a multiple of one thousand fathoms. And in the 18th century, a "milestone" of 500 fathoms appeared.
The foot and inch, which began to be used already in Russia, are multiples of English measures in magnitude.
