The Mystery of Skenderbeu's length

When it comes to those personalities that have left many traces in history, human curiosity seeks to learn about them even things and details from the smallest.

Thus, the largest figure of the Albanian people, Medieval Master Gjergj Kastriot, the so-called Skenderbe, is often portrayed and described as a strong and extremely powerful man.

But how long really was Gjergj Kastriot? Although Skenderbeu lived in the 15th century (1405-1468), thanks to a document of 26 pages preserved in the Venice State Archives, historians have managed to calculate his body length roughly.

This is estimated by Italian alboloologist and priest, Father Giussepe Valentini (1900-1979), in an article published in 1971 in the magazine “The Cezeza”. In this article, Valentin quotes a document dated July 8, 1457, written by Gjergj Kastriot to the Venice Senate through his envoy, apostolic priest Giorgio Pelini, abbet of St. Maria Ratac, near Antivar (Tivar).

In this letter, Skenderbeu addressed Venice with the words: “on the clothes promised to us will be given twice a year, please send me suitable clothes for my body, as others have been given, because they say it may be enough for me to have 16 arms (roba) for two pairs of clothing, the Eye broadcasts.

But gentlemen, consider how much arms I need for two pairs of clothes and give me”. So for Venice, eight arms of clothing (stoff) were enough to cover a medium - size body. Let's take the average height of 1.75m.

If Skenderbe was not sufficient for eight arms of clothing, that means he was longer than five feet [1.75 m] tall.

If he has asked for just one more arm of clothing, it turns out that he has been quite tall, because if for a body six feet [1.75 m] long, eight arms of clothing would be enough, then with nine arms of clothes a body of six feet [1.98 m] could be covered.

That means Skenderbeu, must have been about six feet long.