"This is the fathom from Craiova of eight palms, Bujorianu" . Inscription on the wooden church in Mănăilești-Moșteni, Vâlcea county.The measures of the old Romanian system varied greatly not only between the three Romanian states (Wallachia , Moldavia , Transylvania ), but sometimes also inside the same country. The origin of some of the measures are the Latin (such as iugăr unit), Slavic (such as vadră unit), Greek (such as dram unit) and Turkish (such as palmac unit) systems.
This system is no longer in wide use since the adoption of the metric system in 1864, however some rural communities still use a small subset of these units.
Palmă (palm) - 1/8 of a stânjen
Stânjen - 2 m (approximately)
Palmac - 3.48 cm (Moldavia)
Poștă - 8–20 km (depending on the country)
Pas mic (small step) - 4 palme (Wallachia) (palme is the plural noun for palmă)
Pas mare (large step) - 6 palme (Wallachia; Moldavia)
Lat de palmă (palm width) - 1/2 palmă
Cot (cubit) - 664 mm (Moldavia); 637 mm (Wallachia)
Funie (rope) - 20–120 m (depending on the place)
Leghe (league) - 4.444 km;
Deget (finger) – the width of a finger
Prăjină – 3 stânjeni (stânjeni is the plural noun for stânjen)
Verstă – 1067 m (3,500 ft)
Picior (foot) – 1/6 of a stânjen Note: the "quarts" in this table are imperial quarts , not US quarts. Similarly for gallons.
Unit
Value in Moldavia
Value in Wallachia
Value in Transylvania
Oca
1.5 litres ; 1.32 quarts
1.25 litres; 1.1 quarts
–
Litră
0.25 litres; 0.22 quarts
0.25 litres; 0.22 quarts
0.25 litres; 0.22 quarts
Baniță
21.5 litres; 18.3 quarts
33.96 litres; 29.9 quarts
–
Chiup
30–40 litres; 26–35 quarts
Câblă
unknown
Merță
110–120 litres; 97–106 quarts
–
22.5 litres; 20 quarts
Ferdelă /Felderă
20 litres[1]
Obroc mare
66 litres; 58 quarts
55 litres; 48 quarts
–
Obroc mic
33 litres; 29 quarts
27.5 litres; 24 quarts
–
Giumătate
1200–1500 litres; 264-330 gallons
Vadră
15 litres; 13 quarts
12.88 litres; 11 quarts
–
Pintă
–
–
3.394 litres; 2.988 quarts
Tină
–
–
15 litres; 13 quarts
Sau
3.22–3.80 millilitres ; 0.11–0.13 fluid ounces
–
–
Unit
Metric value
Imperial value
Dram
3.18 - 3.25 g
50.155 Gr
Font
0.5kg
17.64 Oz
Unit
Metric value
Imperial value
Feredelă
1.25 m2
11.61 ft2
Stânjen pătrat
3.59665 m2
38.714 ft2
Pogon
5,000 m2
46.45 ft2
Falce
14.3 m2
132.85 ft2
Prăjină
195 m2
1812 ft2
Iugăr
5.700 m2
52954.73 ft2
Iugăr – the area ploughed in one day by two oxen – 7166 m2 (Transylvania in 1517); 5,700 m² (in other states)
Stânjen pătrat – Embracing squareNicolae, Stoicescu: Cum măsurau strămoşii, metrologia medievală pe teritoriul româniei, Editura Ştiinţifică, București, 1971.
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