LoreWeaver: COMMON MEASUREMENTS

COMMON MEASUREMENTS

Acre: An area of 43,560 square feet (4,840 square yards),
640 of which make up a square mile. It is based on the area a yoke of oxen could plow in one day.

Bowshot: A distance of 220 yards, the same length as a furlong, from the distance at which longbowmen shoot at butts for practice.

Chain: A length of 66 feet, based on the surveyor’s tool of the same name, 10 of which make up a furlong and 80 of which make up a mile. It is divided into 100 links.

Cubit: A length of 18 inches. Derived from the Latin word for 'elbow,' it represents the distance between a typical human’s elbow and the tip of his middle finger.

Dwarven Chainlength: A length of 60 feet (20 yards), used by dwarves and other subterranean folk for measuring distances underground or in built-up areas. Fractions of this measurement are typically expressed in sixthes and twelfths, especially when used for map keys and notations.

Fathom: A distance, specifically a depth, of six feet. While this unit of measurement is usually used to refer to depth beneath the sea, it is not unreasonable to assume that those dwelling beneath the earth might have adopted a "subterranean fathom" for measuring depth below ground.

Furlong: A length of 660 feet (220 yards), eight of which are equal to a mile. A tenth of a furlong is called a chain.

Gunter's Chain: Unit of length equal to 66 feet, or 4 poles. Developed by English polymath Edmund Gunter early in the 1600's, the standard measuring chain revolutionized surveying. Gunter's chain was 22 yards long, one tenth of a furlong, a common unit of length in the old days. An area one chain wide by ten chains long was exactly an acre. In 1595 Queen Elizabeth I had the mile redefined from the old Roman value of 5000 feet to 5280 feet in order for it to be an even number of furlongs. A mile is 80 chains.

Hand: Typically four inches, the measure of an average hand’s breadth.

Hide A very old English unit of area, a hide was of variable size depending on locale and the quality of the land. It was the amount of land to support a family, and ranged from 60 to 180 acres. After the Norman conquest in 1066 it became standardized at around 120 acres.

Hunter-Gatherer’s Section: A square unit of measurement 1.32 miles on each side, calculated on the assumption that a single man-sized hunter-gatherer requires an area of 1.75 square miles for adequate game and forage. GMs can use this unit of measurement when calculating the area required for non-agricultural hunter-gatherer communities, using one section for each person in the group. Sophisticated groups of such people in the game might actually use this unit of measurement to calculate the amount of space they need to survive.

Hunting Radius: Assuming that a single man-sized predator, scavenger, or omnivore requires an area of 1.75 square miles, it would have an operational radius of about 740 yards from its lair. This distance is for forests, jungles, moors, and plains and assume the existence of hunting trails. Because some areas have a smaller density of resources than others, multiply the given distances by 1.5 for hills, mountains, and swamps, and double them for deserts/sandy areas and tundras/frozen areas. All these distances should be extended as appropriate for creatures larger than man-sized.

League: A variable measure of distance, usually used to mean a length of three statute (land) miles. It is derived from the medieval Latin word leuga, meaning "a measure of distance."

Link: A length of 7.92 inches, 25 of which are equal to a rod and 100 of which are equal to a chain.

Megalithic yard: A unit of measurement derived from precise measurements of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments from several European countries, equaling 27 1/4 inches.

Mile: On land, a statute mile is a distance of 5,280 feet (1,760 yards). At sea or in the air, a nautical mile is a distance of 6,076 feet (c. 2,025 yards). Derived from the Latin mille passuum, meaning "a thousand paces."

Morgen: Unit of area equal to about .6309 acres. It was used in Germany, Holland and South Africa, and was derived from the German word Morgen ("morning"). It represented the amount of land that could be plowed in a morning.

Out: An 'out' was ten chains. When counting out long lines, the chain carriers would put a stake at the end of a chain, move the chain and put a stake at the end, and so on until they ran "out" of ten stakes.

Pace: A variable length that is generally taken to be 30 inches. The ancient Roman measure of the same name was considerably longer, some 58.1 inches.

Pole: Unit of length and area. Also known as a perch or rod. As a unit of length, equal to 16.5 feet. A mile is 320 poles. As a unit of area, equal to a square with sides one pole long. An acre is 160 square poles. It was common to see an area referred to as "87 acres, 112 poles", meaning 87 and 112/160 acres.

Rod: A length of 16 1/2 feet (5 1/2 yards), 40 of which are equal to a furlong.

Stone: 14 pounds or about 6.35kg. A person's weight is often quoted in stones or pounds in English speaking countries

Stone’s-Throw: A length of 100 feet, often used by farmers, villagers, and other common-folk, especially for measurement of agricultural land, the distance between farmsteads, the depth of groves of trees, and the like. It is based on the assumed distance that a typical human can, with a bit of effort, hurl a fist-sized rock. A rough measure, it is sometimes expressed in halves, but is usually just rounded up or down (e.g., "five or six stone’s-throw past the edge of the village").

Sylvan Bowlength: A length of 500 yards, often used by elves and other forest dwellers as a convenient measure of distance. It is based on the normal maximum range of an arrow fired by an elven warrior.

Ton: 2240 pounds or about 1016kg.

Virgate: An old English unit of area, equal to one quarter of a hide. The amount of land needed to support a person.

COMMON MEASUREMENTS

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