Cubit (unit)

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Rheinische Elle and Rheinischer Fuß , public measure at the old town hall Mannheim (1711)

The cubit is a unit of length outside the International System of Units .

It is considered to be one of the oldest natural measures. It was originally derived from the length of a forearm (containing the long bones, the spoke and ulna). In the Holy Roman Empire , cubits were very different. The unity was particularly widespread among tailors . Because of the unity, one also says colloquially very long . Even today, the 50 cm or 100 cm long rulers are called tailors in the tailoring trade .

In different regions a distinction was made between small and large cubits or they were named wool and silk cubits after the goods .

Regionally different names

Depending on the region, the cubit was given different names. The length often varied significantly. The specified areas of application are only representative:

  • Alen / Aln / Alin / Öln: Scandinavia
  • Arshin : Russia
  • Arshine : Persia
  • Arşın : Ottoman Empire
  • Aune : Switzerland, Basel, France
  • Braccio : Italy, Venice, Bergamo
  • Cade or Moorish Spades: Algiers
  • Cobid / COBIT : Basrah
  • Cubit : Ceylon
  • Covado (small cubit): Brazilian Empire, Bombay
  • Deral : East India
  • Ell : England (one cubit 45 inches up to the 14th century)
  • Guz / Gues / Gés: India
  • Halibiu / Halebi: Moldova
  • Łokieć : Poland, Krakow
  • Metro : Lombardy, Sardinia
  • Palmo : Italy, Genoa
  • Pik beledi: Cairo
  • Stambulin spades: Cairo
  • Raso : Italy, Nice
  • Rod
  • Vara (Spanish cubit): Spain
  • Yard (large cubit in the Anglo-American system of measurement )
  • In the French East Indies , the cubit was the coudée and had a length of 2 spans, i.e. 0.5198  meters . The Romans also knew this measure of length and called it cubitus.

comparison

Country / language place Usage time designation meter definition source
Egypt royal cubit 0.52
Egypt small cubit 0.45
Mesopotamia approx. 2000 BC Chr.
About 2500 BC. Chr.

Nippur cubit
0.52
0.52

Persian Empire 0.533
0.548
Greece Antiquity Pechys 0.46
Ceylon (today's Sri Lanka ) around 1200 BC Chr. Hattha or Rattana measured from the elbow to the tip of the little finger; 7 Hattha = 1 yaṭṭhi
Arabic 0.5404 27 six barley grain widths
German Alsfeld - -
German augsburg - 0.587 -
German Bamberg Bamberg cubit 0.67 2.5 feet by 26.8 cm
German Badische Elle 0.6
German Bavaria 0.833015 34 ¼ in
German Brabant 0.695
0.565
different, the latter after Hirsau Church
German Braunschweig Brunswick cubit 0.5707
German Bremen Bremen yardstick 0.547
German Frankfurt 0.5473
German Freiburg i. Br. 0.54 30/16 dimensions of 0.288 m
20 inches each 2.7 cm
(Freiburg foot 32.4 cm)
German Halle (Saale) Old hallish cubit 0.602
German Hamburg short cubit 0.5731
German Hamburg long cubit 0.6877
German Homberg (Efze) short cubit 0.574
German Kitzingen Kitzinger cubit 0.83 264.3 (or 267.33) French lines
German Electoral Palatinate 0.53
German Nuremberg 0.6565
German Oldenburg 0.5809
German Prussia Berliner Elle 0.6668 25 ½ inches
German Ravensburg Ravensburger cubit 0.6159
German regensburg Regensburg cubit 0.811
German Rostock Rostock cubit 0.5754 255,072 Paris lines
German Saxony 0.5 m to over 0.8 m. 1844 at the time construction began on the Görlitz – Dresden railway line, 0.5661 m
German legal from 1858 Dresden cubit 0.56638
German Stralsund Stralsund Ellen 0.581 0.842 Brabanter ells
258 French lines (Paris lines)
63/64 Hamburger ells
0.749 Wiener ells
German Stephansdom Leinenelle 0.896
German Württemberg 0.6134
German Sinzig 0.575
Austria Vienna Wiener Tuchelle 0.776 ½√3 Stephansdom Leinenellen
Swiss Switzerland in the 19th century 0.6 2 feet
Swiss Switzerland until the 19th century different between cities of the same canton
Swiss Switzerland, Canton of Zug 0.6104
Swiss Switzerland, Canton of Bern Bernese cubit 0.5417
Swiss Switzerland, Canton of Lucerne 0.498
English ell 1.143 45 inch
Iceland Before the 16th century Law-Elle
lögalin
0.48 19 Danish customs
Iceland 16th century to 1776 Hamburger Elle
hamborgaralin
0.578 22 inches
Iceland by 1776 Danish Elle
dönsk alin
0.628 24 inches
Italian Parma braccio 0.54 see old dimensions and weights (Tuscany)
Italian Papal States braccio 0.75
polish, poland Warsaw, Krakow, Lviv łokieć 0.596
Czech 1268-1756 Prague Elle
pražský loket
0.59376 two Prague feet
two Roman feet
Czech 1756-1871 Viennese Elle
Vídeňský sáh
0.778 31 ½ Prague inches
slightly larger than the Vienna Tuchelle
France old Parisian Elle
aune de Paris
1.188446 526.8333 Paris lines
Mallorca Cana (double cell) 1.713 8 Palmos
32 Cuartillos
759,366 Paris lines
Ferrara Wool Elle
Brassio da Panno
0.674
Ferrara Silk cubit
Brassio da Seta
0.634
Verona long Elle
Brassio longo
0.648991
Verona short cubit
Brassio corto
0.642469

North German Ellen selection

  • Bockhorn
    • Dimension 1 Brabant cubit = 306.7 Parisian lines
    • Linen trade 1 Jeversche Elle = 298,464 Parisian lines
    • Other trade 1 Oldenburg yard = 257.5 Paris lines
    • 1 East Frisian yardstick = 298.1 Parisian lines
  • Aurich 1 East Frisian yardstick = 298.3 Parisian lines
  • Emden 1 East Frisian yard = 297.2 Parisian lines
  • Driefel , broken pig
    • 1 Jeversche cubit = 298,464 Parisian lines
    • 1 East Frisian yardstick = 297.2 Parisian lines
  • Delmenhorst , Berne , land dignitaries
    • 1 yard in Bremen = 256.4 Parisian lines
  • Zetel
    • unbleached linen 1 Brabant cubit
  • Wildeshausen
    • 1 yard from Wildeshausen = 1 yard from Bremen = 256.4 Parisian lines
    • 49 Wildeshausener cubits = 41 Brabant cubits
  • Vechta , Oyten , Lutten
    • 1 Vechta yardstick = 258.4 Parisian lines
  • Goldenstedt
    • 1 Vechter Elle = 258.4 Parisian lines
    • 1 Hanoverian yardstick = 1 Calenberger yardstick = 258 Parisian lines
  • Basbeck
    • 1 Cloppenburger yardstick = 254,979 Parisian lines
  • Steinfeld , Dinklage Bakum , Friesoythe
    • 1 Gröninger yardstick = 260 Parisian lines
  • Loeningen
    • 1 yard in Bremen = 256.4 Parisian lines
  • Barßel , Saterland
    • 1 East Frisian yardstick = 298.3 Parisian lines
  • Cloppenburg
    • 1 Kölln cubit = 254.979 Parisian lines
    • Emstek
    • 1 Emsteker yardstick = 262.7 Parisian lines
  • Dams
    • 1 Dammener yard = 268.1875 Parisian lines

(Sources below)

Osnabrück

Osnabrück's cubit was characterized by nine different cubits. Seven cubits are to be assigned to Osnabrück and two to the Calenberg principality . They were modified by the announcements of the Landdrostei district of Osnabrück: May 1, July 11, September 11, 1837, January 27, October 8, 1838 and April 30, 1839. These cubits are the following

  • 1 commercial yard (Osnabrück) = 1 yard (old Hanoverian) = 258.885 Parisian lines = 0.584 meters = 0.999676 yards (new Hanoverian)
  • 1 Brabant cubit = 0.6914 meters = 306.5 Paris lines = 1.1835 cubits (new hannov.)
  • 1 stick (Paris.) = 1.1875 meters = 526.4 Parisian lines = 2.0327 cubits (new hannov.)
  • 1 aune (silk goods) = 528 Parisian lines = 1.191 meters = 2.0389 cubits (new hannov.).
  • 1 aune (linen) = 524 Parisian lines = 1.182 meters = 2.0234 cubits (new hannov.)
  • 1 canvas cubit = 0.6384 meters = 283 Parisian lines = 1.0928 cubits (new hannov.)
  • 1 Legge-yard (Osnabrück) = 541.22 Parisian lines = 1.2209 meters = 2.0899 yards (new hannov.) (Common with the Legge)
  • 1 commercial yard (Calenberger) = 282.4 Parisian lines = 0.6370 meters = 1.0905 yards (new hannov.)
  • 1 legge yard (Calenberger) = 259.2 Parisian lines = 0.5847 meters = 1,0009 yards (new hannov.)
  • source

Canton of St. Gallen (Switzerland)

There were 5 different cubits here.

  • 1 Wollenelle (common) = 270.8 Parisian lines = 0.6109 meters
  • 1 Wollenelle (small) = 268.5 Parisian lines = 0.6057 meters
  • 1 canvas cell (large) = 326 Parisian lines = 0.7354 meters
  • 1 canvas cell (small) = 324 Parisian lines = 0.7309 meters
  • 1 Parisian staff = 522.66 Parisian lines = 1.17905 meters

source

Elle, ancient units of measurement

See also

literature

  • Helmut Kahnt, Bernd Knorr: Old measures, coins and weights. VEB Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig 1986, ISBN 3-323-00013-7 .
  • JM Knell: Theoretical-practical arithmetic book using the shortest and easiest methods. Self-published by the author, Landau in der Pfalz 1845, page 288 ff.

Web links

Commons : Elle (unit)  - collection of images, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Latest money, coin, measure and weight for merchants, businessmen and newspaper readers. Verlag des Kontors der Allgemeine Handelszeitung, Nuremberg 1814, p. 97.
  2. Eduard Doering: Handbook of Coin, Exchange, Mass and Weight or Explanation of exchange, currency and government paper rate notes, the customs of exchange, measures and weights of all countries and trading venues, along with the general German exchange regulations. Verlag J. Hölscher, Koblenz 1854, p. 408.
  3. ^ Christian Friedrich Schwan: Nouveau dictionnaire de la langue françoise et allemande: composé sur le dictionnaire de l'académie Françoise, et sur celui d. M. Adelung: enrichi des termes propres…. Qui contient les lettres A – C de l'alphabet françois expliqué par l'allemand. Volume 1, Schwan et Fontaine, Mannheim 1787, p. 664.
  4. Nippur cubit
  5. Thomas William Rhys Davids : On the Ancient coins and measures of Ceylon. London 1877; Sert .: Numismata Orientalia.
  6. See Indian weights and measures .
  7. ^ Elle on the website of the University of Würzburg , accessed on April 11, 2013.
  8. JHD Bock, Carl Krüger (ed.): JC Nelkenbrecher's general pocket book of coin, measure and weight for bankers and merchants. 14th edition. Sandersche Buchhandlung, Berlin 1828, p. 499.
  9. Elle in Meyers Großem Konversations-Lexikon, Volume 5. Leipzig 1906, p. 718.
  10. a b c d e f Leopold Carl Bleibtreu : Handbook of coin, measure and weight, and the exchange, government paper, banking and stocks of European and non-European countries and cities. Published by J. Engelhorn, Stuttgart 1863.
  11. ^ Railway map Dresden - Bautzen
  12. Friedrich Alb. Niemann: Complete manual of coins, weights and measures of all countries in the world…. Verlag Gottfried Basse, Quedlinburg and Leipzig 1830.
  13. http://www.visindavefur.is/svar.php?id=244
  14. http://www.althingi.is/altext/116/s/0007.html%20%20Frumvarp%20til%20laga%20um%20vog,%20m%C3%A1l%20og%20faggildingu%20(1992)
  15. http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=2047796
  16. http://www.visindavefur.is/svar.php?id=244
  17. http://www.althingi.is/altext/116/s/0007.html%20%20Frumvarp%20til%20laga%20um%20vog,%20m%C3%A1l%20og%20faggildingu%20(1992)
  18. http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=2047796
  19. http://www.visindavefur.is/svar.php?id=244
  20. http://www.althingi.is/altext/116/s/0007.html%20%20Frumvarp%20til%20laga%20um%20vog,%20m%C3%A1l%20og%20faggildingu%20(1992)
  21. http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=2047796
  22. Leopold Einsle: Systematic compilation of the most excellent European measures, weights and coins…. Publishing house Jos. Kösel'sche Buchhandlung, Kempten 1846, p. 41.
  23. Oldenburg State Calendar: on the year of Christ 1824. Schulze Verlag, Oldenburg 1824, p. 299.
  24. ^ Christian Noback, Friedrich Noback: Complete paperback of the coin, measure and weight ratios, the government papers, the exchange and banking system and the customs of all countries and trading places. Volume 1, FA Brockhaus, Leipzig 1850, p. 781.
  25. Carl LW Aldefeld: The measurements and weights of the German Customs Association countries and Veler other countries and trading centers in their mutual relations. JW Cotta'sche Buchhandlung, Stuttgart / Tübingen 1838, p. 255.