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I, as a reader (and sometimes aspiring writer), enjoy a great amount of realism when it comes to a world; be it ours or one fabricated from the mind of another. One such point of realism I have a high regard for is distances and time, be them just spoken of or in relation to traveling. However, sometimes it is an oversight many do not directly remark and others explicitly avoid. It is even worse when one writing a fanfiction for a game such as Skyrim, where the map is already greatly compressed and must base travel on contextual evidence; such as those two days from Darkwater Crossing to Helgen.
I make no claim to being an expert on the calculation of geographical masses; I can make no claim on being any sort of science whiz. But the math itself is no more than a matter of area, something that is a staple of 4th grade (I think? It’s been to long) mathematics. So I took a painstaking couple hours taking a stab at estimating both Tamriel and its provinces from the furthest points of longitude and latitude. How, one might ask, do I come up with these distances? I’ll explain. It seems right to start with Skyrim, as I had started with Skyrim when beginning this endeavor.
In the lore, Skyrim is approximately 105,500 sq. miles. On its own, the number is no good; all it tells us is the area of the province. However, using a program called AUTORealm, which has a tool to measure distance with changeable units and grid size, I began the long work of finding the unknown distances. Yet, I still had I issue to resolve: how would I know if the distances are accurate?
It is true that measuring from west to east and north to south and multiplying those distances together give only the area of a rectangle. Obviously Skyrim is no rectangle. This means I must cross reference the area given in the lore by finding it myself. How do I find the find the area of an irregular shape? Well, evidently I must use regular shapes.
This process involves using rectangles, squares, and triangles (sometimes circles, but not in this case) and placing them inside the irregular shape. There is a margin of error, of course, which depends on how well one places these regular shapes in every nook and cranny of a map. I did not spend several hours placing rectangles in .1 cm spaces. Thus I can tell you, there is a margin of error.
I used a grid of cubes, each 1.29 square inches, that each equal 12.8 miles (strange dimensions, yes? Well, I hadn’t really cared to look when I started), I estimate that Skyrim is 504 miles across longitude and 336 miles along latitude.
As of November 26th, 2016
Now I couldn’t completely let this work finish there, especially since I knew my margin of error had I wide range—so revisited. Unfortunately, I have no evidence to give to solidify my claims because of how I approached the situation this time around. Fortunately, I think I have far more accurate calculations. Don’t get me wrong; there’s still a margin of error, but I think I can safely say it's ballpark range.
I found this site called SketchAndCalc, which allowed me to upload an image and then sketch lines around the perimeter of Skyrim. The site, through a coded algorithm, automatically spits out the area of the drawn shape. It’s a great site, has both straight lines and pencil roaming; I opted for the straight lines—easier to work with. Unfortunately, it costs money to access the actual calculation bit; I was lucky enough to find it with a Black Friday deal. Share it to any of the major social sites and get a free day of access. So I took that free access and put it to good use.
Now I think the Longitudes and Latitudes are much more accurate with a margin (I’d wager) of about 10 miles.
I shall begin by giving the distances of longitude and latitude of Tamriel (of the furthest points) and move from the largest to the smallest provinces
Tamriel:
Area: Added together, the areas of the other provinces make up a estimated (Summerset Isles and Elsweyr are given no area size, so I gave about 60,000 to both) area of 892,300 square miles
Longitude: 1300 miles
Latitude: 960 miles (estimated with Solstheim)
Before I begin with the largest province, Morrowind, I must address an issue.
When finding the area of both Morrowind and Cyrodiil, they came out very near each other; and I never finished checking the area of Cyrodiil. I did, though, check all of Morrowind. I came up with about 158,000 square miles, whereas my calculated area of Cyrodiil is just about 152,000 square miles. However, as I did not finish Cyrodiil, it is possible the area I could have calculated was larger than my area of Morrowind, even though the distances in lore are 170,200(M) and 162,300(C).
This could possibly be error on my part somewhere, as it might include the bodies of water running through both provinces, but I did not include them in my calculations. It may be Solstheim, which I also did not include in calculations. Maybe the map I used. Or it could be an error on Bethesda’s part; but I don’t know. However, I shall continue assuming everything based on my calculations of Skyrim’s area.
Nov. 26th 2016 – Something I’d like to further note on the matter is that I think Bethesda is the one in error. I know, I know; who am I to make such a claim. But when I calculated Cyrodiil’s area on SketchAndCalc—crossing referencing it’s longitude on that of a map of Tamriel, which was cross referenced with Skyrim’s longitude and latitude—I found it to be near exactly as much as Morrowinds should be. Unless they took into account the water running through the province—of which I’m skeptical. But I had to put it out there for so people who actually want to take it a step further and check the area of every single province, they know to come back here and further correct me or support me.
Morrowind:
Area: ~170,200 square miles
Longitude: 525 miles
Latitude: 550 miles
Cyrodiil:
Area: ~162,300 square miles
Longitude: 625 miles
Latitude: 535 miles
Hammerfell:
Area: ~162,300 square miles
Longitude: 510 miles
Latitude: 375 miles
Skyrim:
Area: ~105,500 square miles
Longitude: 465 miles
Latitude: 320 miles
Valenwood:
Area: ~61,300 square miles
Longitude: 313 miles
Latitude: 325 miles
High Rock:
Area: ~57,500 square miles
Longitude: 430 miles
Latitude: 343 miles
Elswyr:
Area: none given, estimated 60,000 square miles
Longitude: 218 miles
Latitude: 330 miles
Summerset Isles:
Area: none given, estimated 60,000 square miles
Longitude: 266 miles
Latitude: 261 miles
Nov. 26th, 2016
I just realized I never did Black Marshes. I can’t believe I completely missed an entire province; I even had the entire map of Tamriel sitting in front of me the entire time. Ah well, here it is now—and I decided to given Solstheim a slot as well.
Black Marshes:
Area: none given
Longitude: 325 miles
Latitude: 395 miles
Solstheim:
Area: none given
Longitude: 107 miles
Latitude: 115 miles
Again, I must remind that there is a margin of error to these calculations; but, this should be accurate enough for fanfics. Imagine, Skyrim is only a bit bigger than Gabon; a small country on the west coast of Africa.
For the actual time it takes to travel from one hold/city/village or whatever else, it’s a bit trickier. I suggest finding a fantasy novel or historical fantasy novel that actually addresses traveling; especially if said novel as a map with a distance legend. The one I would use myself is Mary Stewart’s Arthurian Saga (specifically the Merlin Trilogy) because I’m already so familiar with the series—as one might guess from the other large work I have posted. But, make no mistake, it’s tricky.
From what I can gather it could take anywhere from 7 to 9 days to walk from Darkwater Crossing Helgen—maybe 5 or 6 if by wagon like in Skyrim’s intro. I’d give a ballpark range to account for bad weather or brigand attacks, or a hard ride by horse.; it depends on preference. From Whitrun to Riften, around half a month by horse; from Solitude to Riften, easily over a month. Also keep in mind the different paths that can be taken.
I think it’s pretty fair, but if anyone has any suggestions—whether to make a correction to the calculatons or to offer insight on traveling—leave your comments; I’d like to make it more accurate if I can. I also enjoy the task, whether I can fix it or not.