The following information is from an original article by Gary Anderson with only minor editing by us. Gary is a founding member of the Viking Age Club, associated with the Sons of Norway, Minneapolis lodge, Syttende Mai 1-517. He spent a year and a half researching the data. He would be the first to recognize that it's probably not perfect, but until someone provides corrections...   The original article is here. Everything that follows is derived from that article. __________ The first thing you have to know is that in the math system used in Scandinavia during the Viking Age, they did have a '0', or zero. All their math was done on a base 10 system. Some might disagree, but nothing substantive proves otherwise. Length, Area, Volume and Weight are the areas that will be looked at in this article. For those who want to weave or construct (or just speak about) using the Viking system of measurements I have calculated the values as accurately as possible. Fot, or in English Foot, has had two different measurements that I know of during the Viking Age. The '*' next to the measurements listed below indicates the older of the two measurements. My charts use the later, or longer, measurements. If you wish to use the older (*) system in your crafts just multiply or divide by the conversion values noted below.

Measuring the depth from onboard a longship - from the Bayeux Tapestry

Viking Length Measurements

Name	Imperial	Metric	Reference to Standard
Fot	1.030 feet	0.314 m	12 Tomme (ancient)
Fot*	0.917 feet	0.280 m	Divide by 12 to get the (*) measurement
Alen	2.059 feet	0.628 m	24 Tomme or 2 Fot
Famn/favn	6.177 feet	1.883 m	6 Fot
Fjerding vei	9,266.2 feet	2824.2 m	9,000 Fot
Linje	0.0875 inches	0.0218 mm	1/12th of a Tomme
Lækt/Lakt	6.726 feet	2.050 m
Mil (ancient)	7.018 miles	11.295 km	36,000 Fot
Palm	3.503 inches	8.90 cm	3.4 Tomme
Pilskudd	275 yards	251.625 m	Average distance of an arrow shot (estimated)
Rast	7.018 miles	11.295 km	1 Mil or 36,000 Fot
Rode	10.293 feet	3.137 m	10 Fot
Spann	0.917 feet	0.280 m	1 Fot*
Steinkast	195 feet	59.475 m	Approximate distance
Stikke	2.059 feet	0.628 m	1 Alen
Tomme (ancient)	1.029 inches	2.617 mm	12 Linje
Vei	7.018 miles	11.295 km	1 Mil or 36,000 Fot
Vika	4.61 miles	7.421 km	1 Sjømil (ancient)

Old Norse Length Terms in English

Alen: Elbow. El is another spelling for this. This is a measurement done from the elbow to the tip of your fingers. This Measurement is between 22 inches to 24.7 inches! Now how's that for proof that Vikings were big boys. Singular and plural have the same spelling.

Favn or Famn: This difference in spelling is due to the difference in dialects between East and West "Old Norsk". Favn means within your arms, what you can gather between your arms. The distance is about 6 feet, so you have to have big arms. The plural spelling is Favner and Famner.

Fjerding Vei: Fjerding means one quarter, and Vei means road. What it means is 1/4 the distance of a Mil. The plural would be Fjerdinger.

Fot: Literally, foot. Here it means the length of an average foot. Singular and plural are the same.

Fot*: In doing the research for this I found that there were actually two measurements for Fot. One was very early and ran an exact 11 inches; the other was almost 1.03 feet. For all the measurements used here I used the later, and longer Fot.

Linje: Literally it means line. This is the width of a line drawn on the ground by a spear or sword tip. I believe the plural would be Linjer.

Lækt / Lakt: Literally bed sheet. This may have meant the length of a bed sheet or the length of the bed. The bed length is not a real sound guess as they did not sleep in a full reclined manner, except in the field camping.

Mil: The exact literal meaning is unsure. Distance, or full distance is a good guess. The measurement was the same as Rast , around 7 miles, so take a guess. This became the English word Mile, but the distance is not the same (Does this mean the word may be Latin?) The plural is the same as the singular.

Palm: Means palm of the hand. This would be the distance across the inside of the 'cup' in a cupped hand, or the bowl in a cupped hand. This section in my hand measured only 2.4 inches and theirs was 3.5! Palmer is the plural.

Pilskudd: Arrow shot . The distance (average I would guess) a war arrow would travel. We have no exact distance to gauge this by, so I used a distance I know my bow will shoot a flight arrow. You may wish to be conservative, and use a war arrow for this measurement. Plural has the same spelling.

Rast: Rest. This was the distance that a man could walk before he had to take a rest. Mil and Vei are other names for this same distance. Plural would be Raster.

Rode: Corner or 'that corner'. In this case it means a little piece of land or a small part of a piece of land. Roder would be the plural.

Sjømil: Literally a 'Sea Mil (mile)' I came across this in my research, and found that is was the same distance as a Vike. This measurement was used in the Viking times, but how often I don't know. This measurement is still used today, I think, but may not be the same distance. I put it in here just for reference, so if you know more about the use of this word please tell me.

Spann: Bucket or pail. Here it means the distance across the mouth of the bucket. This was also considered the distance of the spread of a man's hand, from outer tip to outer tip.

Steinkast: Stone throw. This measurement probably was used long before the Viking Age. I used the distance a good sized friend of mine could throw a stone that was of a size that could cause real damage. This was the same way it was done back then, and then became a measurement standard that is lost today. This distance was used to mark an area for some purpose that we can only guess at today. A real good guess is that you should not get in Steinkast of my friend when he's mad.

Stikke: Stick, pin or plug of a certain length. The measurement is equal to an alen, or about 2 feet. Add an 'r' at the end for plural.

Tomme: Thumb. This is really an old measurement from before the Viking Age. The distance across the root of the thumbnail. The actual measurement may have changed a lot over the years but it's now called an 'Inch', and it's what we Americans use everyday.

Vei: Road. Vei, Rast and Mil all are the same distance. This is believed to be the distance a man could travel before he needed a rest. I would guess that that would be a man with a load or heavy pack. When I was in the Army we would have a pack of about 55 pounds on a march, and at about 7 miles I was ready for a rest. Plural is Veier.

Vika: Means inlet or bay. Probably the shortening of Vike Sjø. This measurement was of the early Viking Age. Vike Sjø would mean 'Sea Bay', and it's easy to guess that it means Fjord. Given the distance of over 4.5 miles this would seem like the distance across the Fjord, or from navigation port to mouth. Plural of Vika is Viker, and plural of Vike Sjø is Vike Sjøer.

Viking Age Area Measurements

Listed here are some very old measurements from Norway. Some are not really from the Viking age, but do come close in the time of usage. I have listed both Sq. Feet and Sq. Meters here to help those that are not familiar with one or the other system of measurement. Also, Kvadrafot is the base measurement of the old system in Norway, so I have based a Relationship Standard segment to this measurement as a gauge. As in the Length Measurement chart I used the length of a Fot as 1.030 of a US (Imperial) foot. If you wish to use the older Viking Fot of 11 inches (0.917 US Feet) you can use the Relationship to Standard figures to convert the other measurements to the older system.

Name Standard	Sq. Feet	Sq. Meters	Relationship to
Kvadratomme	0.075	0.007	0.07 Kvadrafot
Kvadrafot	1.055	0.098	1 Kvadrafot (late)
Kvadrafot*	0.841	0.078	1 Kvadrafot (early)
Kvadratalen	4.241	0.394	4.00 Kvadrafot
Kvadratfavn	38.148	3.544	36.00 Kvadrafot
Rode	105.950	9.843	100.00 Kvadrafot
Mål	10,595.435	984.340	10,000.00 Kvadrafot
Tunne/Tønne	42,381.743	3,937.360	40,000.00 Kvadrafot

Definitions: Most of the measurement names are put together by using two words to make up the area name. Below are the names in English equivalents.

Kvadrat = square.

Kvadrattomme: tomme = thumb, measured across the root of the thumb nail at the wide part. Plural is Kvadrattommer. I believe this measurement is still in use in Norway. Kvadratfot: Fot = feet, or the average foot in length. Plural has the same spelling. This is the standard measurement, much like our square foot or square meter is today.

Kvadratalen: Alen = elbow, this is measured from the elbow to the tip of your fingers. Plural has the same spelling.

Kvadratfavn: Favn = to hold in your arms, or what you can gather up between your arms. Plural spelling is : Kvadratfavner.

Rode: The word literally means 'a part of'. What the 'part of' was is not known by me, but my guess is that it's Mål. Plural for Rode is Roder.

Mål: The word simply means measure. The plural has the same spelling.

Tunne or Tønne: Both words means barrel. Here it means a barrel of land. Possibly the word owes meaning to the contour of Norway's Fjord valleys. Plural is Tunner or Tønner.

Miscellaneous Measuring Systems (Non Viking)

Original Qty Name	Amount	Comments
Balle Papir	5,000 sheets of paper	10 Ris (see below)
Balle Tekstil	130 yards of cloth	12 pieces of 10.9 yds
Balle Seilduk	117 yards of sail cloth	12 pieces of 9.75 yds
Bok	25 sheets of paper	Bok = book
Deger Hud	10 hides	Tanned hides
Dusin	12 pieces	Dozen
Gross	144 pieces	12 Dusin (Dozen)
Hundrad	120 pieces (fish)	Sneis (10 dozen)
Kiste Vin	48 bottles of wine	Kiste (chest)
Kiste Jern	225 pieces of thin iron plates	Kiste (chest)
Last Fisk	14,400 pieces of fish	100 Gross
Last Hud	144 hides	1 Gross
Meis	240 fish	2 Hundrad
Ol	80 pieces of fish	1/3 of a Meis
Ris	500 sheets of paper	20 Bok
Skokk	60 fish	3 Sneis
Sneis	20 fish
Storgross	1,728 fish	12 Gross
Timber Hurd	40 small hides	Sheep, goats, etc.
Treve (grain)	24 bundled pieces	Equal to 24 Stalks
Tunne (unpressed)	367 fish	1 Tunne = Barrel
Tunne (pressed)	520 fish	1 Tunne = Barrel
Tlft	12 pieces	1 Dusin
Voll	80 pieces of fish	1/3 of a Meis
Vorde	10 fish	1/2 of a Sneis

Quantity is always a hard thing to figure out. It can change from generation to generation, or several times in one life time. Most of these quantity names are from later than the Viking Age, but still show some origins back to that time. The names are different than some used in the other Scandinavian lands, and so the quantity involved may differ from other Scandinavian lands. It's here just to help you get an idea of what was used post-Viking.

I owe much thanks to my sources:

• Universities of Scandinavia
• Oxford University
• Dan Carlson Phd, of Sweden

© 2005 Gary Anderson