The elbow is a measure of length. The length of the elbow. Measure with elbow

The elbow as a part of the body, or rather, "the place of the bend on the arm," is well known to everyone. Also, no one has any questions or surprises about the second meaning of this word, which has to do with clothes. This place on the sleeve, where it touches the elbow joint. But today not everyone knows that for several centuries this word was widely used in the third, now obsolete meaning: the elbow is a measure of length. It was used in many times by many peoples in different parts of the world, including residents first of the Old Russian state, and later - of the Russian Empire.

Elbow - a measure of length?

The reason for the appearance of such an unusual word from the point of view of modern man was actually quite simple. Until the appearance of traditional centimeters and other units of measurement familiar to us today, it was easiest to focus on what is familiar. This, for example, different parts of the human body. In addition, they were always "with them." What is the length of the fingers and hands or the mean step size? How much weight can a person lift at a time? What is the distance between the extended thumb and forefinger? Answers to these and other similar questions helped in the old days to determine the weight, length, height of objects. Of course, the data obtained were approximate and usually varied, but in the absence of a common measurement system for all, they almost completely solved the problem of determining the values. Trying to improve and improve the results of their work, people gradually came to the conclusion that quite specific data began to be assigned to each unit in separate territories (sometimes even within the same state).

What did our compatriots use in the olden days?

Ancient measure of length on Russian lands Could have different names: top, span, elbow, arshin (or step), sazhen, verst. Some appeared earlier, others a little later, but all of them for a long time represented a generally accepted system of the calculus in the state . Small units were widely used in the domestic sphere, the last two - most often to determine the large distances between postal stations and populated areas.

Measurement of elbow was widespread in the trade business and at first ideally suited merchants and shopkeepers when selling small pieces of canvas, canvas, cloth. The landlords with his help could easily determine the length of the rope from hemp or yarn of wool in a skein. Used elbow and in construction, for example, to determine the size of window and doorways.

In Russia, there were several options for this simple and convenient measure. Thus, they distinguished a large elbow, which was twice the normal length and was the length of the arm from the shoulder to the fingertips. For some time it was the most popular system of measurement in trade (later in this way the arshin was measured). Also there were incomplete, double-armed, Ivanovo (it was officially fixed in Veliky Novgorod and its environs) elbow. For at least five or six centuries, this ancient measure of length was officially recognized and used throughout the Russian state. And the very word "elbow" for a very long time was associated primarily with this meaning. And it was only from the beginning of the 16th century that in written sources, a well-known meaning became attached to it-a fold on his hand.

How to determine the size of the elbow

The main question that usually interests people who are discovering the meaning of the word out of use today: "The elbow is how much?"

In search of an answer, you should first turn to official sources - explanatory dictionaries. Their very well-known and authoritative compilers S. Ozhegov and D. Ushakov in one of the meanings give a similar definition, now already marked as "obsolete". They have an elbow - a measure of length, used on the territory of the ancient Russian state and equal to about half a meter. However, if you look at other literature, you can find completely different figures. Most often, 46-47 cm are cited. Somewhere you can find a size of 38-46 cm and even more than 50 cm. Naturally, the question arises: "What was the elbow in the old days and what caused such a difference in the definition of its length?"

Reasoning on this topic, it should be recalled that, initially, before the dissemination of figures and units of measurement of various magnitudes, the "source" for determining their size, including the same elbow, were parts of the human body. However, all people have different physical data and capabilities. Consequently, the distance from the elbow of the arm to the tip of the middle finger or a clenched fist (this is how the size of this unit was determined) was individual for each person. So it turned out that on the territory of virtually every province in the Russian state the length of the elbow was different from the others. In order to somehow come to uniformity and establish order in at least one locality, mayors sometimes set specific units for this unit of measurement, and then all merchants in markets and shops and buyers were already oriented on them. This order existed for quite some time: from XI (in any case, at that time the first mention of the elbow in the "Russian Truth" of the Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise refers) and up to the 16th century. Then it replaced arshin, which operated in the Russian Empire until the appearance of modern units of measurement.

From the history of elbow size determination

Very often, the key to understanding the past historical phenomena are written sources that for centuries preserved the evidence of the events that took place. Here, data on the existing units of measurement can be obtained from books.

One of the earliest Old Russian literary monuments was "The Journey of the Hegumen of Daniel to the Holy Land," written at the very beginning of the 12th century. Its author, a former monk, led a pilgrimage to Palestine and, on the basis of his findings, compiled a kind of report. It is this work that partly helped contemporaries find the answer to the question: "The elbow is how much?"

The fact is that in "Walking ..." a detailed description is given of the main shrine of Jerusalem - the Holy Sepulcher, including its actual dimensions. So, Daniel noted that the length and width of the monument are related as four cubits to two. Later, already in the middle of the 17th century, another Russian clergyman - Patriarch Nikon - carried out a very unusual and, for someone even a daring dream. On the bank of the river Istra under his leadership was built the majestic Resurrection New Jerusalem Monastery, practically repeating, but in a smaller amount, the famous Palestinian buildings. In it was arranged and an exact copy of the Holy Sepulcher, which had the same dimensions as in the Holy Land, but only indicated by the builders in arshins and tops. It is these two facts, connected with the names of Daniel and Nikon, that later allowed to find out by comparing the available data and simple arithmetic calculations that officially 1 cubit was equal to 46.6 cm. This figure is most often encountered when it is mentioned.

Ivanskii elbow

There are other evidence of what this popular unit of length measurement was.

So, in the middle of the twentieth century, during the archaeological excavations on the territory of the ancient city of Nizhny Novgorod, interesting things from a historical point of view and related things were discovered. One of them was a rod made, most likely, from a hollow trunk of a juniper and well polished by the palms of hands (this fact proves that he was constantly on the move). And evenly and neatly trimmed edges indicated that the thing was preserved in its original form. After examination and determining the age of this unusual "wand", it was concluded that it could be a kind of benchmark measure and acted in the city around the XI-XII centuries. In this case, the length of the elbow (and the found rod in size more closely corresponded to it) was 54.7 cm.

A few years earlier, in the same area, a fifteen centimeter fragment of a similar line was found, most likely related to a later period - the XIV century. Despite the damage, it even preserved the Slavic inscription "svatogivanos".

These finds indicate that such standards could indeed exist, if not all, in the largest provincial centers. And they played the role of a control measure of length when selling. Thus, the authorities tried to protect the interests of traders and buyers.

What is longer: sazhen or elbow?

In 1017, the famous monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, Nestor, who went down in history as the first chronicler, mentions another primordially Russian unit of measurement. This is the sazhen, which occupies a place in the scale following the elbow. Its length was again approximate and was determined in several ways. The most famous and common is the distance between the tips of the fingers of the arms, which are divorced in different directions (this is a flying sazhen). Another measurement option is from the top down from the shoulder level to the floor. Finally, a straight line diagonally from the toe of the left leg to the tips of the fingers of the right hand, raised up (oblique sazhen). The word itself was formed from the Old Russian verb "shyagat," meaning "how far can you reach out with your hand". All this already, in fact, gives an answer to the question of what is longer - sazhen or elbow.

More precise information can be obtained by getting acquainted with the following facts. In Russia, more than ten names of different variants of fathoming were distributed: small, oblique (or oblique), policeman, mahovaja, royal, masonry and others. Their value ranged from 1.34 meters to two and a half or more. In addition, the story of the found stone with an inscription in the Slavic language is known. Prince Gleb mentioned in it undertook to measure the distance in the district, and to fix the results he used the most suitable for this measure of length - sazhen. Much later, surveyors, having studied the record and terrain on the ground, concluded that on average it was about one and a half meters. These data coincided with the size of the sazhen, which were indicated by architects in various sources related to construction. It also often served to determine not very large distances.

Thus, data analysis leads to the conclusion that a larger measure of length is sazhen. The elbow was an order of magnitude shorter, which means it was more suitable for measuring small objects in everyday life.

Arshin instead of the elbow

Since the XVI century, elbow measurement is gradually disappearing into the past. And you can identify several reasons for this phenomenon. One of them is connected with the fact that at the turn of the XVI-XVII centuries the "Trade Book" was published, intended for merchants and other sellers. She introduced a new dimensional unit - arshin - and fixed its approximate size - 71 cm. It was determined by measuring the distance from the shoulder to the end of the middle finger of the outstretched arm. Unlike the original Russian "elbow", this word was "foreigner". It came to Russia from the East in the period of active development of trade relations between countries. The book gave a table of measures of length, in which the following ratio of the new and old units was indicated: two arshins were equal to three cubits. For a time they existed in parallel and differed in the sphere of use. Russian merchants still resorted to the elbow, foreign ones to the arshin. Gradually, the latter began to be used more often. The first began to lose its importance, and this despite the fact that it was the main unit of measurement in trade for a long time.

Another reason is that not all goods sold can be comfortably wrapped around an elbow. In meters, the same cloth was much more convenient to measure. In addition, despite all the steps taken in the provinces, the size of the elbow was significantly different for different traders. And this eventually led to an increase in discontent on the part of the population. As a result, by the end of the 17th century, the truly Russian unit of measurement-the elbow-had almost completely disappeared. Arshin also survived in Russia until the beginning of the twentieth century, when a new system of measurement close to the European system was introduced.

A certain role in the "struggle" between Russian and "foreign" units was played by the standards - the so-called wooden rulers with the divisions marked on them. It was they who soon began to play the role of arshin. The next stage of its approval in Russia is noted at a time when the small span and top are correlated with the new unit. And to exclude the deception of buyers (each merchant initially measured the goods with his ruler - it is enough to recall the saying "Measure to your yardstick"), the state introduced the so-called "official arshin", which had at its ends special metal rivets. Naturally, such a measurement of length was more convenient than with the elbow.

As for the origin and meaning of the word "arshin", there was not given an unambiguous explanation. Some associated his appearance with the Turkic "ar" ("land"), others - with the Persian "arsh" ("elbow"). Moreover, the supporters of the first variant concluded that when arshin appeared, it could correlate with the size of the human step.

The country's past in folklore

For about a hundred years in Russia there is a new system for measuring length, but evidence of the use of ancient Russian units can often be found in artistic and folklore works. In the latter case, this is not only a testimony to the historical development of the people and the country as a whole, but also a kind of moral standard that has been developed for centuries.

For example, the well-known proverb: "Himself with a fingernail, and a beard with elbows" indicates a person with unremarkable appearance, but With a strong credibility in the society, earned thanks to the mind, a great life experience or simply a stable social position. The roots of this interpretation goes back to pre-Petrine times. Then the magnificent well-groomed beard was a subject of pride of notable people. That is why, having lost it on the orders of Peter the Great, the boyars felt humiliated and insulted. That's how a unit of length "elbow" began to be used in a figurative, namely value.

Another example. Proverb: "In foreign hands a nail from the elbow," which perfectly characterizes an envious and greedy person. Or: "You say to the nail, and retell to the elbow" - about the unintelligible rumor, which has the property to spread fairly quickly.

Elbow in other countries of the world

Such a measure of length was used not only in Russia. For many peoples, it was known since ancient times (and in some countries of Europe it operated until the beginning of the XIX century). As you can guess, the size of the elbow in each country was different. As an example, the following international table of measures of length with this unit can be given.

Like Russia, there were also varieties of elbow: large, small and even double (99-99.6 cm) - the Sumerian king Lagash Gudea, who operated in the 22nd century BC. E. Traders usually measured the cloth or other similar goods.

Remnant of the past or a convenient version of the line?

In our time, the obsolete meaning of the word "elbow" - a measure of length, of course, is no longer used, and knowledge of its history is more indicative of the intellectual level of human development. However, in life there are often cases when one urgently needs to measure something, and next to it there is neither a ruler nor a so-called centimeter. This is where the man-made standards spread in the distant past can come to the rescue. They will help in a split second to determine the value of small objects. To do this, it is enough to know, for example, the size of the distance between the extended thumb and thumb (this is the Old Russian span) or the arms spread out by hand (flapping saben).

It is very easy to learn and what is equal to the elbow. The distance from the tip of the middle finger to the ulnar fold is your individual measure of length.