Length/Distance 

Convert from feet [international, U.S.] to ell [Scotland]

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Unit Definition (feet [international, U.S.])
The human foot has long been a standard unit for the measurement of length. Over history this size has varied from region to region and there is some discrepancy as to an exact standard or origin of the standard measurement for feet that we use today. In England, the Roman foot was replaced after the fall of Rome by the natural foot. The modern foot (1/3 yard or about 30.48 centimeters) did not appear until after the Norman conquest of 1066. It may be an innovation of Henry I, who reigned from 1100 to 1135. Later in the 1100's a foot of modern length, the "foot of St. Paul's," was inscribed on the base of a column of St. Paul's Church in London.

Unit Definition (ell [Scotland])
See the English El (or Ell). This Scottish length is shorter than the English El. It may reflect an old practice of cloth merchants in giving an extra inch with each yard, to allow for any irregular cutting at the ends of the piece. However, the English cloth ell is definitely longer than the yard; it seems to be the distance from the shoulder to the fingers of the opposite hand. This reflects a practice of cloth merchants of holding the cloth at the shoulder with one hand and pulling the piece through with the opposite hand. This cloth ell was used with a similar length in France, where it was called the aune. The Dutch el and German elle are a little more than half the English ell; they may represent "arm's-length" units like the Italian braccio, the Russian sadzhen, and the Turkish pik


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