Re: A Modest Proposal from John Hughes on 2002-03-22 (HeroQuest RPG)

From: John Hughes <nysalor_at_...>
Date: Fri, 22 Mar 2002 21:11:18 +1100

Correcting myself here, some more information on the value of a hide. I have been confusing some mythological stories about a bull's hide (founding of Byzantium, frr instance) with the actual OE measure of land.

According to the OED a hide is "measure of land, as much as would support one free family and dependents [from 60 to 100 acres depending locality] Its from the OE 'higid', related to OE 'hig', meaning household.

Apart from the fact that the meaning of 'family' can be problematic in a Heortling context, a hide is

bigger than I first thought, and
as big as you need it to be.

According to the Foot Rule (www.omnis.demon.co.uk/ ) a hide is 100 acres, so it sounds like the touchy-feely OE unit was legislated at defined at some later point.

(BTW, The Foot Rule will also convert your Scots and Irish acres and roods, jugerums, centeriums and badisher morgens, among others, to much less exciting units like square metres).

So a 200 hide clan tula is 20,000 acres (the upper end of the OED definition), or 8,093 hectares or 81 square kilometres, 0r 31.2 square miles. Which sounds about right.

John

nysalor_at_...                              John Hughes

Questlines: http://home.iprimus.com.au/pipnjim/questlines/

The cloaked one's hero heat shakes wide the city wall. With feat and spear and magic bolt the final rite begins. War-band's white bull, a dragon in strife, Feeds he most fulsome the dogs of the Death-Lord.

The Righteous Wind returns to range free! Open your arms, let it hurl against your faces, hair and eyes streaming. You have breath,

voice, limb and power.
Hurricane rebels, what you must.

The Raven Speaks.