Today we easily calculate the distance using a ruler, tape measure and even a laser. A single measurement system allows you to communicate in the world in a single mathematical language. Everyone knows what a meter or kilometer is, but what length measures were used in Russia? In the works of Russian writers the word "versta" is often found. How much does it translate into a modern measurement system? The proposed article is devoted to the answer to this question.
Length measures in Russia
In the absence of instruments, measurements were carried out using body parts. To answer the question: how many miles is it, you need to get acquainted with other measures.
The length of the phalanx of one of the fingers (index) corresponded to the tips (4.4 cm).
Using the palm of your hand, you can measure a span, both small and large. The proposed picture shows how this happened. The small span was about 18 cm, and the big one was 23.
Since the 16th century, in Russia, an elbow was used for measurement. They called the distance from the elbow to the clenched fist. If the measurement was made with outstretched hands, then they counted to the end of the middle finger. Therefore, the length was not constant: from 46 to 38 cm.
Arshin is the length of an outstretched arm, which was 71 cm. And to avoid confusion, a wooden ruler with metal tips was made. She was considered as a state arshin.
One of the most used measures of length was fathom (from the verb "to contract"). She used the scope of her hands and calculated how far a person could reach with their help. The distance between arms spread apart in different directions was more than 213 cm.
But the path was counted using versts. It was originally called the "field". Where did the new name come from?
Origin of the concept
There are two versions of the appearance of the word "verst":
- Linguists believe that it is derived from the verb "twirl". And equal to the length of the furrow, which the peasant could go tirelessly before turning the plow.
- There is an assumption that the concept is based on the old Russian word "versta", where the sound "in" gradually decreased in the process of colloquial speech. It is close to the concepts of “verw,” “entrapment,” a measurement of space. Until today, we use, for example, the verb "catch up." It means hurry to catch up. "Imposition" is a measurement of distance, and "imposition" means measuring in length.
But still, how many miles is it? To answer this question, we will understand what they are.
Track verst
The named measure of length is mentioned in historical sources from the 11th century. Moreover, under the verst all the time different meanings were understood. It all depended on how many fathoms were included in it and what was their length. Today we are guided by the figures determined by the reform of the 18th century.
To understand, versts are how many fathoms, let us turn to the Council Code of 1649. There, their number was indicated by the number 500. But how to translate this into meters and kilometers? Since the size of the fathom itself has constantly changed, the data taken after the reform of Peter I, when it was 213.36 cm, are taken as the basis. And to calculate how many meters in versts, you need to multiply the fathom size expressed in meters by 500:
- 2.1336 m × 500 = 1066.8 m
And now we will translate the received data into kilometers:
Boundary milestone
Until the 18th century, there was a boundary milestone in Russia, which allowed a narrow strip to separate one property from another and determine the distance between settlements. Its name comes from the word "boundary" - the boundary between land. The named verst included 1000 fathoms.
And in order to determine this time how many kilometers are in verst, you must perform the following steps:
- 2.1336 m × 1000 = 2133.6 m = 2.1336 km
Square verst
To measure the area, both fathoms and versts had indicators squared. What are they equal? The square fathom is 4552 m², and the square verst is 1,138,062.24 m².
"Versta Kolomenskaya"
Everyone heard the mention of the Kolomna verst, but where did this expression come from? In the old days, special posts were usually placed along the roads, which, by the way, were called versts. And the most popular route during the time of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was the route along the route: Moscow - Kolomenskoye. Pillars of gigantic size stood along this road. Since then, it has been the custom of very tall people to call it “Kolomenskaya verst”.