Łan (in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

''lan''; in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''laneus'', in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

''Lahn''), is an old unit of

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

measurement used in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. Since the 13th century, its value has varied from one location to another. A ''greater łan'' (also

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper Fr ...

n, King's, Old Polish) consisted of 43.2

morg Morg is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as a herald of Galactus. He was created by Ron Lim and Ron Marz and first appeared in ''Silver Surfer'' (vol. 3) #69 ...

s = 23 to 28

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...

s. A ''lesser łan'' (

Chełmno Chełmno (; older en, Culm; formerly ) is a town in northern Poland near the Vistula river with 18,915 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the seat of the Chełmno County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. Due to its regional importan ...

łan) was 30 morg ≈ 17,955 hectare. The term eventually derives from German ''Lehen'', "

fee A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for rights or services. Fees usually allow for overhead, wages, costs, and markup. Traditionally, professionals in the United Kingdom (and previously the Republic of Ireland) receive a fee in contra ...

" (

feudal land tenure Under the English feudal system several different forms of land tenure existed, each effectively a contract with differing rights and duties attached thereto. Such tenures could be either free-hold, signifying that they were hereditable or perpet ...

).Aleksander Brückner: Słownik Etymologiczny Języka Polskiego. Kraków: Krakowska Spółka Wydawnicza, 1927, p. 306. The term ''łan'' was also used to indicate an average size of a peasant's tenured farm. Łan was further subdivided into ''zagony'' ("belts") and further into ''skiby'' ("slices"). In

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

times the size of a ''łan'' was anywhere between 3 and 50 hectares, but from the 13th century to 1857 in ''Great

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska ( la, Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a s ...

(with

Podkarpacie Subcarpathian Voivodeship or Subcarpathia Province (in pl, Województwo podkarpackie ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship, or province, in the southeastern corner of Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów. Along w ...

)'', the Franconian ''Łan'' was consistently used.

References

Units of area Agriculture in Poland Science and technology in Poland {{Measurement-stub