Weights and Measure S

NOTES

trn T(tF.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURE S

OF MEDIEVAL ENGLAN D

Dy ti`l . H . Pstott

ABBREVIATIONS .

The following abbrevations are used in the text und fout-notes .

A88 . Pond. Mens . = Assise de Ponderibus et Mensuris . C . C . R. = Calendar of Close Rolls , C . P . R. = Calendar of Patent Rolls . C. R. = Close Rolls . C. S. = Camden Society Publications . C, Vcn . S . P. = Calendar of Venetian Slate Papers , E . D. S . = English Dialect Society Publications . R. E. T. S . = Early English Text Society Publications . N. E. D. = New English Dictionary . T. R. Il. S. = Transactions of the Royal Historical Society . R. S. = Rolls Series . S. S. = Surtees Society Publications . V. C . R. = Victoria County History .

CONTRACTIONS . Contractions for the Principal Authorities referred to in this Work .

A . Part. Scot . = Acts of the Parliament of Scotland . Cely Papers = Malden, H . E . ed ., Ccly Papers (C . S . 3rd Series, vol . I). Chadwick = Chadwick, H . M ., Studies in Anglo-saxon Institutions, 1908 . Chisholm = Chisholm, H . W ., The Science of Weighing and Measuring (Natur e Series), 1877 . Chron . de Bello = Chronicon Monasterii de Bello (Anglia Christiana Society Publication), 1846 ,

NULL . DU CANCI) . 192/s

78 W . ti. P11I :Oli . Corr. Lest Book = Harris, M. D . ed., Coventry Lect Book (E. E . T . S . Origina l Series), 1907 . Cast . Roff . = Thorpe, J . ed ., Custumale Ro/tense . London, 1788 . Dom. S . Paul's = Hale, W . H . ed., Domesday of S . Paul s (C, S .), 1858. Ducange = Ducange, Glossarium Mediae et Infimae Latinilatis . Dugdale = Dugdale, Sir W ., Monasticon Anglicanunr . Ed. Coley, Ellis and flan- dinel, 1817-1830 . Durham Ace . Rolls = Extracts from time Account Rolls of the Abbey o/ Durham , 3 vols . (S . S .), 1898-1900 . Pieta = Meta sea Comnmentarius Juris Anglicani sic nuncupatus sub Edenardo Rege primo .. . London, 1647 . Guilhiernzoz Guilhiormoz, Note sur les Poids du Moyen Age . 13iblioth5gao d e 1')cole clos Chartes, LXVII, 1906, p . 161-233, 402450 . Lecke = Lenke, Historical Account o/ English Money, 3rd ed . 1793 . Lib. Alb. = Riley, H . T. ed., Munimenta Gildhallae Londoniensis, I and III . Liber Allas (R . S .) . Lib . Cast . = Riley, H . T. ed., Munimenta Gildha/.lam Londoniensis . Il . Libre ('us- tumarum (R. S,) , Liebermann. = Liebermann, F . ed., Dic Gesetze der ,ringelsaehsen . Halle, 141113 . Macpherson _ Macpherson, Annals of Commerce . it vols ., 1805 . Maitland = Maitland, F . W ., Domesday Book and Beyond, 1007 . Reg. Worcester = Hale, W. II . ed., Register o/ Worcester Priory (C . 8 .), 1865 . Robertson = Robertson, E . William, historical Essays, 187(3 . Rogers = Rogers, J . E . T ., History of Agriculture and Prices in England, 18(16 - 1887 . Rymer = Rymer, T ., Foedera, Conventiones, .. inter rages Angllac, et a/nos rluus- vis iuperatores, .. London, 170 14-1735 . Seebohm = Seebohm, Frederic, Customary Acres, 1914 . Spellman = Spelman, H ., Glossarium. are/saiologicunm, 16(14 . Star Chamber, Cases = Leadam, I . S . ed., Select Cases before the King's Counci l in. the Star Chamber, 1477-1509 (Selden Soc . Publication) , Stal. at Large = Hawkins, W ., The Statutes at Large from Magna Chnrla to 1,/r e seventh year o/ King George the Second . London, 1735 . Stat . Realm = Statutes of the Realm, 1810 . Thom . of Walsingham. = Riley, H . T . ed ., Thomas of Walsingham . historia Anglicane (R. S .). Walter of Henley = Lomond, E . ed., Walter o/ hanky's husbandry, etc . London , 1890 . Wardrobe Book = Topbam, J. ed ., Wardrobe Book of Edward I. 1299 and 1300 . Pub, 1787 . NOTES ON 'rrlP; WhIG11'rS AND MEASURES OF MEDIEVAL ENaLAND ,

CHAPTER L

SYSTEMS AND STANDARDS .

Peoples, in an early stage of civilisation, have always base d their nioaHUrenrents on natural units, generally with some refe- rence to averages, as in Scotland, where the standard foot was to he that of the middle-sized man of three, according to the Assize of King 7)cr.a'id l . The medieval systems of weights and measures form one phase in the development of scientific from natura l units. The legal standards of weight were based upon the system s of classical antiquity as they were handed down through th e Roman imperial system . Thus, the .Mina, of Greece and Asia is the couinuua ancestor of the various pounds used in medieval an d modern Europe ; and M . Guilhiermoz has collected much evidenc e in support of his theory, which derives the numerous medieva l pounds from those of the Roman Empire 2 . In England, at the time of J)omesdaì, Jiook, the pound know n as the Saxon or Tower pound was in general use as a monetar y pound of account ; it was composed of 20 shillings of 12 pence of 32 wheat, grains (lite penny being equal to 22 . 5 grains Troy), or, alternatively, of 1.2 ounces of 20 such pennyweights . The Stilling or Solidus was the most common unit of account in Saxo n England ; its value is hard to determine precisely, for documen- tary evidence gives it dilterent values in various districts 8 . Later, the Saxons used the North European system of the Mark and it s eighth part, the Ore . Old English scribes were apt to confuse th e word mark in its Latin form Marca with the Manca, or Mancusa which was the usual weight for gold in pre-Conquest England , as in the Leges Henrici Primi; and this error was followed b y Ducang e 4 . The Maracas is defined by Aelfrie as equal to 30 pence : « thrittig penega [genaacjast] aênne naancas 5 » . In earlier documents it always has the saine value . It seems to have been the

1. A . Parc. Sea6 ., I, p . 309 . 2. Gullhicruioz, pp . 1e1-2:33, rt02-zi5ll . :3. Lieberman, pp . 19, 59, 176, 462463, 600, 565, 609 ; Chadwick, pp . it, 15, 18-20 . ti . Guilhiertuoz, p, 222, noto ; Damage, 49a n crtsa ; Robertson, p . ti2. 5 . lupitzu, J . ed ., .Aelpic 's Dialogue, p. 290 .

80 w . n . raioa . gold equivalent of an ox i . English references to the mucus as equal to 30 pence do not occur before the time of Aethelstan, bu t there is evidence for this value on the Continent in 8162 . The great variation in the weight of coins which have survive d must mean that the Saxon pound had no single fixed wcight 3. Similarly, the ore was a variable unit, the silver equivalent of a certain amount of gold, rather than a fixed weight itself '& .

After the Norman Conquest the system of weights and measure s can b'e traced more definitely, although historians disagree as to tll c identity of the different systems . The divisions of the pound int o shillings and pence, and ounces and pence, worn retained ; thoso units served as weights and money of account . In the thirtoonth century, a new unit, the wheat-grain, appeared, and this becam e the basis of the system . It was probably introduced from .F'i'aneu , where the denier was valued at 2lß grains' . The use of the grai n as a weight seems to have been adopted in the reign of Edward 1~f1 , for the two-grain weight discovered in the Pyx Chamber apparently dates from that time . Previously, the silver farthing had been the smallest actual Weight' . The pound defined by Fleta is known as the Saxon pound , although there is no sure evidence of its use in England before the eleventh century. It is thus described : « Per denarium An- gliae qui sterlingus appellatur, et sit rotundus, qui (lebet ponde- rare triginta duo grana frumenti medioeria, et unde viginti denari i faciunt unciam, et duodecim unciae faciunt libram viginti Solido - rum in pondere et numero 7. » This Saxon or Tower pound wa s used as a money of account in England for the greater part o f the later Middle Ages, but the number of wheat-grains in the penny sterling of currency was reduced to 24 in the time o f Edward III s . The Troy system came into use in England .in the fourteent h

1. Liebermann, p . 175 . 2. Chadwick, p. 23-24 . 3. Ibid., p. 33 . 4. Ibid., p . 44-46. 5. Chisholm, p. 56-57 . 6. Ibid ., p, 57 . 7. Fleta, p . 72-73, II, c . 12, ê 1 . 8. Red Book o/ the Exchequer (IL S .), p . 993 ; Guilbi.ermoz, p, 1.82 . NOTES ON THE WEIGHTS AND MEASURES OF MEDIEVAL ENGLAND . 81 century, possibly during the French wars of Edward III 1 . It is Brat, mentioned in an inventory of the first year of the reign of Henry V 2. The English Troy pound contains '12 ounces of 20 pennyweights of 24 Toy grains. In Scotland, as on the Continent , the Troy pound was composed of 16 ounces . The earlier Scottis h system was apparently based upon Caithness weight, a heavie r system analogous to that of the Northmen, with a pound of 1.6 ounces :3 . Customary measures were generally larger in Scot- land than in England, probably through the influence of the Caithness standard. Besides the Tower and Troy pounds of 12 ounces, there was a pound of 1.5 ounces ; Meta refers to it as Libra Mercatoria 44 . Each syste►n had its special uses ; the Tower pound was the monetar y pound, the Troy pound was used for weighing bullion, preciou s stones and spices, and the, merchant pound for other goods, like wool. In the fourteenth century, small goods sold by weight were known as Els, et'depoys, and in this way the term came to be applied to the weight standard, until, by the reign of Henry VII I the old Libra Met'eatoria had become the a laufull weighte called habei'depu7/ez 0 » . Some time during the sixteenth century befor e the reign of Elizabeth, perhaps in 1 .526, the pound cwerdepoys was raised to '16 ounces ; it has been adopted as the legal standard for commercial purposes, and retains its old name in th e corrupt form, avoirdupois . Troy weight was used for textiles in the fifteenth century ; in 1438 and 1441 decrees of the Venetian Senate mention English cloths sold by the thousand-weight Tro y7, and in 1485 the freight rates for the voyage of the Flemish an d English galleys include a silks of every sort, 20 ducats per thousand-weight Troy » . Metals, on the other hand, were weighed b y avoirdupois 8. The pounds used in medieval England were not limited to thes e three standards. Pegolotti, a merchant of the Bardi Company, who wrote his La Pratica della Mercatura, or Merchants' Guide ,

1. Chisholm, p. 5e. 2, Ibid ., p . 56 . 3 . Robevtson, p . 66. [i, Ilota, p . 73, II, c . 12, ¢ 1 , 5. Ibid . 0, Stat. Reaim,, III, p. 42(1 ; Guilhiermoz, p. 425, note . 7. C. Ven . S, P., I, p . 65-66 . 8. Ibid ., I, p . 149, 151 .

82 w. n . i'niotl . about 1315, says that dyed silk was sold in London by a poun d of '15 1/2 ounces, and raw silk (seta cruda) by a pound of 7.8 ounces l . This was possibly clue to the natural but confusin g custom of using different standards for raw and finished products . Variation in the same unit of weight for different commoditie s was characteristic of medieval times, so that pounds containin g from '12 to 27 ounces were used locally as well as the legal pounds . Pegolotti also mentions a pound used by English goldsmiths i n the fourteenth century 2 . Fle says that silver was weighed in tw o ways, by the Tower mark, equal to the mark of Cologne and use d for bullion and money, and by the Goldsmiths ' mark used fo r silver . The mark was a very common unit of weight ; it contained 8 ounces in England, as on the Continent, but the ounce of the Tower mark was, naturally, the English ounce . Thus, wherea s the French mark of 8 ounces was only half the pound Polls-tie- Troyes of 16 ounces 3 , the English mark of 8 ounces was two - thirds of the standard 12 ounce pound, in other words, its valu e was '13 s . ficl . Units of weight of a higher value than the pound were numerous ; these were officially defined in terms of pounds and ounces'' , but in practice there was great variety, one naine covering a number of different values . Measures of capacity, too, theoreticall y depended on the weight standards ; in the Ass . Pond . Mens , 8 pounds of London make a wine gallon, 8 wine gallons a Lon - don bushel, and 8 bushels a London quarter s. This table was repeated in later statutes, until in 1497 the London pound becam e known as the Troy pound . In practice, however, the same loca l variations existed as in weights, and many of the commones t measures were never defined in the legal systems . The adequate provision of true weight standards was one of th e problems of administration confronting the medieval government . Even in Saxon times regulations were made by the central authority, and from the end of the twelfth century continuous effort s

1 . Cunningham, W ., Growth of English Industry and Commerce, 1, p . (119 . 2, Ibid., p . (119 : u Il marco delta Zecca della Torre di Londra », and c il marco degli Orlevori D . 3. Guilhiermoz, p . 193 . 4. l'leta, p . 73 ; Stat. Realm ., I, p . 204-205 , 5. Mal. Realm ., 1, p . 204 . NOTES ON THE WEIGHTS AND MEASURES OP MEDIEVAL ENGLAND . 8 3 were made by the government to ensure this essential characteristic of a civilised conunonity .

CHAPTER IL

THE REGULATION OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES .

The regulation of weights, measures and prices began in Eng- land before the Norman Conquest . About the middle of the tenth century a law of Edgar ordained that there should be uniformity of measures throughout the realm, according to the standards o f London and Winchester 1 . The development of the Assize system under henry II made the regulation of weights and measures mor e practicable . Roger of Hovede n' s Chronicle describes an Assize o f weights and measures instituted by Richard I in 1'197 ; this pro- vided machinery to enforce uniformity, four or six men bein g appointed in each city, borough and county to superintend the use of weights and measnres 2. The government evidently coul d not over-ride local customs, and this law was re-enacted i n Magna Calla less than twenty years after Richar d' s Assize « Le t there be one measure throughout our realm, and one measure o f ale and one measure of corn, to wit, the London quarter, and on e width of cloths . . . moreover it shall be the saine for weights as for measures 3 . » A great effort to promote uniformity was made , probably in Edward I ' s reign, when the Ass . Pond. Mens . was drawn up, giving a list of the most important measures in use and their legal contents 4. In some clauses this Assize repeats the scale of weights given by Fleta a few years earlier 5. Similar regulations are found in Scottish law, for the Assize of King David defines a uniform scale for measures of length, and fo r weights from the stone of wool down to the sterling penny 6 . The central government became more powerful during th e

1. Liebermann, I, p . 204-205 . 2. Stubbs, W. ed., Chronica Magistri Rogeri de Houedene (R . S.), IV, p . 33-34 ; cited, Star Chamber, Cases, p. cxLVn-cxLvIII . 3. Magna Carla, c . 35 : e Una mensura vini sit per totum regnum nostrum et un a mensura ccrvisiae et una mensura bladi, scilicet quarterium Londoniense et un a latitudo pannoruna . .. de ponderibus autem sit ut de mensuris . e 4, Slat. Realm ., I, p . 204 . 5 . Meta, p . 72-73, II, c, 12, f f 'l, 2. IL A . /earl. Scot ., I, p . 30 ;1.

$4 W . Il . eciOn . fourteenth century and increased its legislative activity, Parlia- ments began to deal vigorously with the problem of weights an d measures, and numerous statutes were passed ; but local variation s persisted, and even Parliament had to yield to customary privilege s which were in direct contradiction of the work it was trying t o accomplish . The statute, which exacts that the quarter of cor n shall contain 8 bushels by the standard, and no more, and that measures of corn shall be striked (made level across the top s with a stick called a strike) adds, « saving the rents and farms o f the lords, which shall be measured by such measures as they wer e wont hitherto' » . This state of affairs continued through the fifteenth century ; Parliament passed statutes, local authorities swore to enforc e them, and custom proved stronger than both. Henry VII ordere d standard weights and measures to be sent round to every county , and set up « King's Beams » for large weights in numerous pur'Ls2 ; these standards were unsuccessful and had to be returned in 1497 . Another Act was then passed, ordering all measures to be marke d and common, and repeating the old standard scale with the ne w term, Troy weight s . Even so, the weights used for tin in Devon and Cornwall were exempt from regulation 4 . The Laws o/'L'clgar established the standards of Winchester an d London 5 ; the latter remained the formal standard in Englan d from the Conquest until the sixteenth century . After 1526, when Troy weight was legally enforced, the heavier South country standard was officially revived, and much used during the nex t three centuries° . London standard is said to have been establishe d by Richard I 7, and it was familiar by the time of Magna Carter s . For weights, London or Tower standard was also known as th e

1. 25 Ed. III, c. 10. Stat. at Large, I, p . 246 : « Sauvez les rentes et fermes des seignours Doles soient mesures par tide mesure come eles soleient avant ces heures . n 2. Star Chamber, Cases, I, p . CXLIX . 3. 12 Hen. VII, c . 5 . Stat, at Large, I, p. 671 . 4. 11 Hen. VII, c . 4 . Stat . at Large, I, p. 661 . 5. Liebermann, I, p . 205 . Quadripartitus . « Et sit una moneta per lotum regis imperium .. . et una mensura, sicut apud IVincestram, n Two A-S . texts add « o n Lundenbirig n before the word Winchester . 6. Robertson, p . 67. 7. Star Chamber, Cases, p. cxLVnl ; Lib . Gust ., p. 383 . 8. Magna Carta, c. 35. NOTES ON THE WEIGHTS AND MEASURES OF MEDIEVAL ENGLAND . 85 standard of the Exchequer I . No measures of this period have survived, but there are still in existence one or two standards of th e Winchester scale, which date from the time of Henry VI1 2 . Accor- ding to these, the Winchester corn bushel contains 2150 1/ 2 cubic inches, and the corn gallon 274 1/4 cubic inches . A standard ale gallon of Elizabet h's time contains 282 cubic inches, while the old wine standard established in 1707 held 231 cubic ínches 3 . This is important ; for if (as is probable) this last was macle in imitation of an older standard, it would correspond with the dif- ference in size which existed between measures for ale and win e in the Middle Ages . In 1321 an assay of weights and measure s was held in London ; the assayers recommended the custom o f the kingdom in the use of a larger gallon for ale than for wine , but the citizens objected, declaring that there should be one measure for wine and ale throughout all England, a sieut conti- netttr in Magna Charta de Libertatibus Anglie4 D . They failed to remark that Magna Carta ordained one measure for wine and one for ale, not one for wine and ale 5 . The examination of medieval documents shows how unsuccessfu l were these efforts on the part of the central authority to establish uniform measures, when confronted by local customs so stron g that many have survived to the present clay ; for there are still in use 25 local corn weights and measures, 12 different bushels , 13 different pounds, 10 different stones and 9 different tons 6. Variations of the pound have already been discussed ; the next common weight unit was the Nail or Clove, used for woo l7, cheese, butter s, and so forth . Pegolotti gives 7 English pounds as th e weight of a clove, and the same value was reckoned in the grea t wool subsidy of Edward 1II l °. The statute 9 Henry VI, e . 8 makes

1. 25 Ed . III, c. 9 . Sat . at Large, I, p . 240 . 2. Chisholm, p . 6fí . 3. Ibid ., p . 65 . 4. Lib . Gust ., p . 383 . 5. Magna Carta, c . 35. fi . Eastern Daily Press, April 1.9, 1.92'1 . 7, C . P . R. 1338-1340, p . 288 if . 8. Rogers, II, p . 359 ; Kitchin, G. W . ed., Obedientiary Rolls of S . Swilh n's , Winchester (Ilanzps . Bee, Soc .), 1888, p . '147 . 9. Cunningham, W ., Growth of English Industry and Commerce, I, p . 619 . 10. C. P, R. 1338-1340, p . 288,

86 w. n . muon . the clove of cheese weigh 7 pounds' . On the other hand, one entry in the Close Rolls, and another in the Patent Rolls, at, the time of the wool subsidy, count the clove as equal to the stone o f 14 pounds 2 ; this may be a scribal error, but in Roger's History of Agriculture and Prices we find stones of 7 pounds, evidentl y the sama as cloves 3 . The regulations for tronage payments, give n in Liber Albus'', mention a much larger clove, or smaller wey , than was usual, for a sack of more than 12 cloves was to pay th e same as one of 3 weys, which gives a wey of only 6 cloves, instea d of about 30. As the sack normally contained 2 weys a large clov e is probable, unless there is a scribal error . The clove was not such a common weight as its double, th e Stone, which was used for metals, wool and dairy produce . The weight of a stone varied greatly, according to district and commodity . Fleta gives 12 1./2 pounds of 15 English ounces to the stonë', but in the Ass . Pond. Hens . 12 1/2 pounds of 12 (mimes make the London stone ; this London stone was similarly define d nearly two centuries later 7. In Scotland the stone for wool and other goods contained '15 pounds, according to the Assize o/'King David3 , and of King Robert II1 9. The thirteenth century writer of Seneschaucie says that wool should be weighed by the righ t stone of 12 pounds 10, but in Flanders 13 pounds were reckone d to the stone of English wool sold by the Cistercian Abbeys I " . By the time of Edward ll:I the stone of wool had increased to 14 pounds, which is the scale of the Parliamentary grants fro m 1338 to 1341 12 , although there were some local variations in the collection . Ten years later, a case came before the King ' s courts in which a Lincolnshire wool merchant had used weights o f 14 pounds to the stone for wool, «whereas it has been customar y

1. Stat. at Large, I, p. 523-524 . 2. C. C. R. 1337-1339, p. 457 ; C. P . R. 1338-1340, p . 245 . 3. Rogers, H, p. 337 if . 4. Lib. Alb., p . 227 ; Glossary on Clou. 5. Pieta, p . 73, II, c. 12, g 1 . 6. Stat. Realm ., I, p . 204 . 7. Cou . Lest Book ; Quoted in N . E . D. Stone . 8. A . Pari . Scot., I, p. 309 . 9. Spelman, Petra. 10. Walter of Henley, p. 9fí-95 . 11. Varenbergh, E ., Histoire des relations diplomatiques entre le comte de "andre et l'Angleterre au moyen age, p, 152 . Archives de Douai ; cartulairo L . 12. C. P. R. 1340-'13fí3, p . 326 ; Cla.ronicon Jienrici Knighton (R . S .), II, p . 15-16. NOTES ON TIIE WEIGHTS AND 1H :AS11RES OF 1IEDIEVAL ENGLAND . 87 to take thirteen pounds only' D . The weight of the wool stone wa s fixed at 1/t pounds in the statute i3 Richard II, c . 9", but th e failure of this statute is illustrated by the despatch of a specia l commission to Oxford to enquire into the breaches of it 3. The statute II Henry VII, c . 4 confirmed that of Richard II 4. Ducang e quotes a French document, in which the stone of wool is equivalent to 9 pounds only ; this may be a misreading for 12 pounds :) . Rogers' prices for wool show stones varying from 8 to 20 pounds' . Lesser values of the stone were generally applied to weights of wax. Rogers' price lists for cheese give a stone of abou t 16 pounds at Rodeston (Northants) in 1263 7, and at Fountains in 14828 . At Yalamton in 1395 it was 13 pounds", while a stone of butter at Crowmarsh (Oxon) was only 10 pounds in 1336 11. A Pund, varying from 18 to 21 pounds, was used in Sussex fo r dairy produce 11, and also for wool and lead 12. Fleta requires lead to be weighed by the sane stone as wool , containing 12 1/2 merchant pounds of 15 ounces t3, but in the Ass . Pond . Mens. the stone for lead contained 12 pounds o f 25 shillings or 15 ounces in the reckoning by Fotmals, an d 12 1/2 pounds when valued directly by the stone and Charre 14. Rogers' prices for the fifteenth century make the stone of lead contain 14 to'16 pounds in Oxfordshire'', but at Clare (Suffolk) i t was only 8 pounds in 1351 16 . The Durham Account Rolls suggest that in the early fourteenth century a stone of 10 pounds was use d for tin 17 . The prices do not give satisfactory evidence for iron ;

1. C . P . R . 1348-1350, p. 537 . 2. Stat. Realm ., II, p. 64 . 3. C . P. R . 1461-1467, p . 278 . 4. N . E . D. Stone . 5. Ducange, Petra from Regcstnm Peaniorwn Parisicnsirtnt . 6. Rogers, I1, p. 337-352 . 7. Ibid ., II, p . 359 . 8. Ibid ., III, p . 214 . 9. Ibid ., II, p. 378 . 10. Ibid ., II, p . 372 . 11. Ibid., II, p . 363-364 . 12. Ibid ., II, p . 340, 350-351 (Alton Berries, Nil's), , 531 . 13. Flela, p . 73, II, c . 12, i3';;. 1, 2 . 14. Stat. Realm ., I, p . 204-205 . 15. Rogers, II, p. 534 ; III, p. 369 if . 16. Ibid ., II, p . 533 . 17. Durham Acc . Rolls, I, p. 7 ; II, p. 525,

88 w . ii . rams . the stone seems to have varied between '2 and 18 pounds I . Glas s was weighed by a stone of 5 pounds 2 . The Hundredweight (Centeno.) was much used, especially fo r spices . In the Ass . Pond. Mens . it is defined as a weight, of 13 1/2 stones of 8 pounds, but it is also given as 108 pounds, and a s 100 pounds of 25 shillings 3. The Sacrist Rolls or Ely mention mumerous purchases of wax by centenae which seem to have weighed from 100 to 120 pounds 4 . The centena was 100 pounds at Worcester in 1423' . In Pegolotti's l'ractica, the Gentinajo was 104 pounds for spices, and 112 for metals, wax, and heav y goods. The Wey varied even more than most weights . The Ass. Pond. Mens. makes the wey of lead, wool, linen, tallow and cheese equa l to 14 stones 7 , and a little more, according to Fl,eta 3 ; but in Scot- land the Assize of King David gives a wey of 12 stones" . The prices entered for tallow in the Sacrist. Rolls of Ely make the wey equal to about 200 pounds, that is, to 17 stones of 'f4 pounds' 11 '. The wey was, therefore, the same weight as that used for chees e called Pondus or Pisa (Peyse = Poise) . In Rogers ' lists the pondus of cheese in Northamptonshire, and the Pisa in Wiltshire , varied from '14 to 20 stones in the latter half of the thirteenth century l '1 , and weighed 23 cloves at Wolrichston (Warwick) in '1308 12 . According to the Obedientiary Rolls of S. S .eit/iun, nearly a century later, the pondus of cheese weighed 28 cloves or nails (anvils) , which is 14 stones 13 . The regulations of Abbot Fabricius of Abing- don in the early twelfth century ordered that the pondus of chees e should weigh '18 stones 144 , whereas in the tenth century the Pon-

1. Durham Ace . Rolls, II, p. 588 . 2. Stat. Realm ., I, p . 205. 3. Stat . Realm ., I, p. 205 . 4. Chapman, F . R. ed., Sacrist Rolls ofEly, 1907, passim. 5. Hamilton, S . G . ed ., Compotus Rolls of the Priory of Worcester (Wore. Mist . Soc .), 1910, p . 65 . 6. Cunningham, W ., Growth o/ English Industry and Commence, I, p. 619 . 7. Slat . Realm ., I, p. 205 . 8. Pieta, p . 73, II, c. 12, 2. 9. A . Parl. Scot ., I, p . 309 . 10. Chapman, F . R. ed., Sacrist Rolls of Ely, II, p. 66, 89 . 11. Rogers, II, p . 359-361 . 12. Ibid ., II, p. 368 . 13. Kitchin, G . W . ed ., Obedientiary Rolls of S. Sevilhun 's, p . 147. 14. Clwonicon Monasterü Abingdon (R. S .), II, p . 404 .

NOTES ON THE WIIIGI1TS ANI) MEASURES OIL MEDIEVAL ENGLAND . 89 talus Abbendunense of Abbot Ethelwold weighed 22 stones 1. The wey (peysa) mentioned in the Custurnale Ro/fense was very small`. The statute 9 Henry VI, c . 8 fixed the weight of a wey of chees e at 32 cloves of 7 pounds 3 ; however, this was disregarded in favou r of customary usage, and in 1665 the wey of cheese in Suffolk wa s 256 pounds, and in Essex 336 pounds 4 . The J,ondus was used for wool occasionally ; it seems to contain 26 cloves in the Obedien- tiary Rolls of S . Swithun:'. At Bosham (Sussex) and Alton Barne s (Wilts) the pond or pond of wool was only 21 pounds or 3 cloves , and was equal to the Taclll ; normally the tocl contained 2 stone s (28 pounds) 7. The wey or Pisa is mentioned in Liber Albus, but apparently it contained only 6 nails3 . Macpherson, writing abou t '1805, made the wey '182 pounds°. A. wey of load is mentioned in Rogers' price lists, but its amount is uncertain ty . In the Durham Account Rolls for 1470, a wey of salt evidently contained 5 quarters 11 ; this must be the sam e measure as the Ci'pha of salt, occurring in Liber Albus, which was 5 quarters 12. At Martock (Somerset) in 1465, the wey of lime was 6 quarters 13, Weights of greater value than the wey were differentiated according to iho commodity. The largest unit for wool was the Sack . Flan defines the sack as a weight of 28 stones of 12 1/2 merchant pounds, and this, he says, is equal in weight to a quarter of wheat 14 • Ile also gives the sack as 30, or at least 28, stones by the true weight of 12 1/2 pounds, and as 2 weys of '4 1/3 stones 15. These values are given in the Ass. Pond. Mens. which allows for weight

1. Dugdnle, I, p, 517 . 2. Gust . Roff., p . 35 : s De case() quatuor peysas secundum pondo archiepiscopi , id est, triginta duarum librarum . n 3. Stat . at Large, I, p. 523-524 . 4. Star Chamber, Cases, II, p. 230, note 3 ; from Shepherd's Clerk of tlw Market. 5. Obedientiary Rolls o/ S. Swithun, p. 224-227 . (3 . Rogers, II, p, 340, 350-351 . 7. Ibid ., II, p. 338, 350-352 ; N . E . D . Tod. 8. Lib . Alb ., p . 227 . 9. Macpherson, I, p . 285 . 10, Rogers, II, p . 533 . L1 . Durham Aar,. Rolls, II, p . 6(3, 78 ; III, p . 635, 043 . 12. Lib . Alb ., p . 238. 13. Rogers, III, p . 361 . tri. fileta, p . 73, II, c . 12, 1, . 73, TI, e. 12,'0 1 . 15 . Ibid ., p . 168, II, c. 79, 11 10 ; p

90 w . n . raton. by the greater and by the lesser pounds I . S'enescitaucie, written a few years earlier, says that the a sack shall weigh thirty ston e of wool by touch, or xxviij stone by stone and balance, well weigh - ed by the right stone of twelve pounds 2 » . A document in the Chai•tulary of Douai 3, concerning the wool to be supplied by the English Cistercian Abbeys, also reckons by the sack of 28 stones , but only gives 13 pounds to the stone . In the West country th e sack appears to have weighed heavier ; a transaction concernin g some wool at Bath Priory in 1.276 had sacks weighing 42 stones 4 , and six years later the custom on wool to be collected in Irelan d was assessed by the sack of 42 stones 5. The French document, quoted by Ducange, gives 36 stones of 9 pounds as the weight o f the sack of English woo1 6. An entry in the Close /lolls for 1275 , which makes the sack weigh only 4 stones, is probably n misreading, as it is an abnormally low valne 7. The sack decreased in weight in the fourteenth century . L'ogo- lotti gives its weight as 52 nails of 7 English pounds. Knight- on makes the sack contain 26 stones of 1.4 pounds in his accoun t of the great wool subsidy of 1338 to 1341. 0 . The prices of woo l given in the Patent ZIol/s at that time show that this was the usua l weight. In Lincolnshire, the sack was 28 stones and '13 pounds, o r more, by custom w ; in York, Cumberland and Derby as many a s 30 stones made a sack t1 , while in Derby payments were made by the sack and the Poise of 18 pounds 12 . The sack of 26 stones o f 14 pounds was legalised in the statute II Henry VII, e . 4r 1e ; but the sacks mentioned in the Cely Papers were apparently much larger, equal to 90 to 100 cloves 14 . In all these documents the we y

1 . Slat . Realm ., I, p . 204 . 2, Walter o/ Henley, p. 95 . 3. R . Varenhergh, Relations diplomatiques, p . 152 , 4. Hunt, W. ed ., Two Chartularies of Bath Abbey (Soin . Rec . Soc ., VII), p . 63, n° 290 . 5. C. P . R . 1281-1292, p . 36. 6. Ducange, Petra . 7. C. R. 1272-1279, p, 254. 8. W. Cunningham, op . cit., I, p . 619 . 9. Chronicon Henrici Knighton (R . S,), p. 15-16 . 10. C. P . R. 1338-1340, p. 474 ; 1348-1350, p. 537 . 11. C. P . R. 13404343, p . 411 ; 1343-1345, p. 257 . 12, C. P . R . 1338-1340, p . 291. 13. Slat . at Large, I, p . 246 , 14. Celt' Papers (C . S .), passim . NOTES ON THE WEIGHTS AND MEASURES OF MEDIEVAL ENGLAND . 91 of wool is very rarely mentioned, but the regulations for tronag e payments in Liber Albus show that the sack varied from 2 t o 4 weys in practice I . Lead weights were peculiar and very various ; the commonest were the Fotmal, Fother and Charre . Meta makes the sack o f wool equal to 1/6 of the charre of lead ; he also gives a reckoning , in which the charre weighs 12 weys or 172 stone s2. The Ass . Pond. Melts. differs again in that 120 stones, or 1,500 pounds, make th e great charre of London, but the Charre of the Peak is smaller 3 . This is a natural variation, since the charre, which was a cart - load, would be lighter in hilly country. Again, the charre contained 30 fotmals, each equal to 6 stones of 12 pounds of 15 ounces , less 2 pounds (70 pounds) ; thus the number of stones in th e charre was 175 . Another scale gives 172 stones to the charre o f 12 ways, as in Meta, Pegolotti makes the Ciarrea of lead equivalent to 6 sacks by the clove of 7 pounds, or 2,184 pounds, o r 156 stone s4 . A fourteenth century document defines the Fother a s rather lighter than the charre : « Sex Waxpunde makiet . j . led- pound . xij . ledpunde. j . fotmel . . . xxiij . fotmal. j . fothir of Bris- tollwe' . » In Liber Albus, the Karre of lead seems much smaller than the charre, containing apparently 100 pounds, since it pai d the same custom as the Karke of spices ; it is probably a different word, derived from the Italian Carica, a load, but not necessa- rily a cart-load . For some spices the karke only weighed 300 pounds 6. Prices of lead at Skipton about 1270 give a Carra t of about 15 weys 7 ; The value given by Pieta to the fother is found at lily about 13308. Other peculiar local lead weights occur i n Rogers' price-lists . In the fourteenth century, weights used at the Devonshire mines were the Pes of 80 pounds, corresponding to the official fotmal, and the Plaustrata, or waggon-load, o f 24 pedes, which resembled the greater charr e9. The Dorset fothe r seems to have contained 7 Rules, each of 18 Librae, a weight

1. Lib . Alb,, p. 227 . 2. Fleta, p . 73, II, c. 12, §1 1, 2, 3. Stat. Realm ., I, p. 204 . 4. W . Cunningham, op . cit., I, p . 619 . 5. N . E. D. Fot7nal. 6. Lib . Alb ., p. 230, 238. 7. Rogers, II, p. 530. 8. Chapman, F . R. ed., Sacrist Rolls o/ Ely, II, p. 97 . 9. Rogers, II, p . 531-532 .

92 w. U . PRIOR . much larger than the ordinary pound s . In the next century, evidence from Oxford shows stones of 14 and 9.5 pounds, and a fotma l of 5 stones, equal to the pest . Lead was also sold by the hundred - weight, and 20 hundredweight macle up the fother s. A Pontius of 10 stones is also mentioned 4. The (other of Yorkshire contained from '154 to '190 stones in different entries, the stone bein g 14 pounds 5, while at Cambridge and Yarmouth it weighed only about 50 to 55 stones of 14 pounds 6. The Teluni (tela) mentioned in Oxfordshire and Suffolk cannot be related to the other weight s with any certainty 7 .

Measures of capacity were based upon weight . According to the Ass. Pond. Mens. 8 London pounds made a London wino gallon, 8 wine gallons a London bushel, and 8 London bushels a London quarter s. Uniformity was attempted by the despatch o f standard measures to the officials of cities and counties, and b y periodical assays of weights and measures, like that described i n the Liber Custumarum of London in 1329. 9. In spite of these regulations, local differences were numerous ; a full bushel in one clic- trict would not be considered full elsewhere, where it was customary to use heaped-up measure . Evidence of the habit of takin g heaped measures is abundant . Richard I 's Assize of weights an d measures ordered that there should be one dry measure of capacity and that it should be striked, made level with the brim of th e measurelq. The statute 25 Edward III, o . 10 enacted that the quarter should contain 8 standard bushels only, and that the bushel s should be rased l1 ; similarly, in 1494, the Statute of Weights an d Measures ordained that r There be only VII Bushels raised an d stricken to the Quarter of Corn 12 » .

1. Rogers, II, p . 530-531 . 2. Ibid., III, p . 370-371 . 3. Ibid., III, p . 373 if. 4. Ibid., III, p . 373 . 5. Ibid., III, p . 369-373 . 6. Ibid., p, 370 if. 7. Rogers, II, p . 533 ; III, p . 370 (Hoxon . Suff.) . 8. Stat. Realm ., I, p . 204 . 9. Lib. Gust ., p. 382-383 . 10. Stubbs, W. ed ., Cronica Magistri Rogeri de Ilouedene (R. S .), IV, p . 33-34 : u Haec mensura sit rasa . » 11. Stat, at Large, I, p . 246 , 12. Ibid ., I, p. 661 .

NOTES ON ' 1'1113 WEIGI1TS AND MEASURES OF MEDIEVAL ENGLAND . 93 The statutes failed in practice ; that of Edward 111 defeated it s own ends by the clause which allowed the lords of manors t o take their rents and farms by customary measure I . The point of view of the lord is expressed in Senescltaucie, where the auditors of the dependent manors are advised to take 9 quarters for 8 b y sure measure striked, thus allowing for waste 2 . The Close and Patent Rolls contain numerous instances of the variation in mea - sures caused by this system of allowances . It was customary t o take 9 bushels for 8, and 21 quarters for 20, when the king macle purchases of corn s . It has been suggested that the custom of heap- ing up bushels led to the development of such abnormally large local measures as the Carlisle Bushel, which, in 1640, contained 24 gallons of 4 1/2 wine quarts ; the heaped-up bushel woul d become a local standard for the district, this would then begin t o be heaped., and so the size of the bushel would increase indefi- nitely rt . The size of the measure used varied locally . A list of the rent s due from various manors belonging to the Cathedral of S . Paul's shows that a different measure was used in the early part of the twelfth century from that which was in use in 1283, when a second list was compiled' : 1.8 1/2 quarters by the old measure tirade only 1.6 in the new list, and 31./2 quarters of barley became 3 quarters . in the earlier list the quarter only contained 7 bushels, but by the King's measure it held 8. The local measure wa s dill'erent again, for 1.5 quarters by the old measure of 1 bushel s became 1.2 quarters by the mensura vale . Robertson points ou t that the old London standard was much smaller and lighter tha n the modern standard, for the wine gallon of 8 Tower pounds hel d about 98 ounces, instead of 160, or a little under 5 imperia l pints ti . Similarly, the London bushel contained only 50 pound s avoirdupois, 5/6 of the present standard ; the local country mea - sures were generally still smaller than those of the King's standard scale . The Quarter has always been a very common measure, for it

1. Slat, at Large, I, p . 240 ; 25 Ed. III, e. 9 . 2. Walter o/ Henley, p . 108-100 . 3. C. C . R. 1313-1318, p. 251 ; 1323-1327, p . 57 . ti, Archaeological Journal, XLII, 188G, p . 303 if. G. Dons . S . Paul's, p . 164'', exam. 6 . Robertson, p . 119 . BULL . DU UANGE . 192 1E 7

94 w . II . PRIOR corresponds with the natural unit of a horse-load . It was the saine as the Samna or Seam, which was made the legal measure fo r dry goods in the Assize of Richard 1 1 . Quarter and Ammo officially contained 8 bushels 2, but the latter varied considerably . At Glastonbury, in the twelfth century, it was subdivided into 9 Sia- eae or Stakes 3 ; the stake would thus seem to be the same as the. rased bushel, 9 of which were so often reckoned to the quarter . The Summa contained about 8 bushels, according to an inquisition taken in Hertfordshire in 1233 1 . In Edward II's reign, th e Constitutions of the Abbot of Wincheombe included a settle b y which '12 summae of corn equalled 7 quarters and 4 strikes ; as- suming the strike equal to a bushel, the summa was 5/8 of th e quarter in that district s . The Obedientiary Rolls of S, Srt'itbnn make the quarter of lime very small in the fifteenth century, fo r apparently it was only about 2 bushels° . The Durham al Paulin ' Rolls, in the same century, suggest that sometimes the bushe l contained 3 pecks instead of ßi7 . The Doliunz or Tun was the largest unit of capacity, both fo r dry and liquid measures . It is not easy to determine its content . In the Wardrobe Accounts of Edward I it seems to hold about 6 quarters° ; in 1339, 12 tuns of flour contained 75 quarters, whic h makes the tun equal to 6 1/4 quarters t°. Rogers ' price lists give a dolium of flour of 6 quarters at Newcastle in 13841, 10, The doliu m of lime was about 6 quarters at Oxford in 1.33/ 11 , but about 3 quarters in the fifteenth century 12 ; this would be the saine as the Cam- bridge fother or load of lime, which was 3 to 4 quarters In

1. Cronica Magistri Rogeri de Houedene (R . S .), IV, p . 33 u Una bona summa equi. 2. Sta& Realm,, I, p. 204 . 3. Jackson, J. E. ed., Inquisition, of the Manors of Glastonbury Abbey, 118 9 (Roxburghe Club . Pub., 1882), p . 14, 79 . 4. C. R. 1231-1234, p. 190. 5. Dugdale, II, p . 30. 6. Kitthin, G . W. ed., Obedientiary Rolls o/ S. Swithun's (Halal's . Rec . Soc .), passim from p . 211 . 7. Durham Ace . Rolls, I, p. 66, 78. 8. Wardrobe .B1 ., p. 8. 9. C. C . R . 1339-1341, p. 32 . 10. Rogers, II, p . 158 . 11. Ibid ., II, p. 452 . 12. Rogers, III, p . 307-308 . 13, Ibid ., III, p. 360 if.

NOTES ON THE WEIGHTS AND MEASURES OR StEDIEVAL ENGLAND . 95 Somerset the wey of lime was 6 quarters l . Calculation, based o n the statutory requirement that the tun of wine should contai n 252 gallons 2 , and the quarter 64, suggests that the dolium was supposed to equal 4 quarters towards the end of the Middle Ages . The dolium would thus seem to be the same measure as the Nort h Country Chalclron or Celdron, which was generally equivalent t o 4 quarters°, but apparently varied from 5 to 3 quarters or less 4 . The Courtcelder of salt, mentioned in the Durham Account Rolls°, was much less, apparently the same as the quarter of 8 bushels ; the word is probably a corruption of a quartcelder » or quarter o f a ehaldron . The Scottish ehaldron (celdra) was equal to 16 Bolls; as the boll of the Assize of King David seems tohave been equivalent to 1.2 ale gallons, or 1 1/2 bushels, the chaldron was 3 quarters°. The dolium of 252 wine gallons was legally established in th e statutes regulating the wine trade from 18 Henry VI, c . 8 . It was , apparently, smaller before that time, as the Wardrobe Book of Edward I makes the dolium contain 240 gallons 7, and Pieta only 208 8 . The dolittm was twice the capacity of the Pipe°, which wa s evidently the same as the Butt of Malmesey Wine I° . Statutes of the late fifteenth century give several smaller wine measures ; the ter- tian was 84 gallons, the Hogshead 63 11, the Tierce 41 12, the Barrel 31 /2, and the Rundlet 1.8i/2 13 . The barrel was supposed to hold 36 gallons in 1.462 144 . The accounts for the Determination Feast of Richard, half-bro- ther of Richard Il, in 1395, refer to a Quart of wine, which was much larger than the modern quart, and apparently containe d 8 gallons (labenae) 15. This would be twice the size of the ordinar y

1. Rogers, III, p . 360 . 2. Seat . at Large, I, p . 558 ; 18 Hen . VI, c . 17 . 3. Durham Ace . Rolls, I, p. 228 . 4. Ibid ., III, p . 594, 604, 608 ; Rogers, III, p. 7-10, 49, 50, 55 . 5. Durham Ace . Rolls, III, p . 616 . G. A. Pare. Scot., I, p . 310-311 . 7. Wardrobe Bk., p . 109 . 8. Pieta, p . 73-74, II, N Dolium = 52 sextarii of 4 gallons. 9. C. P . R. 1370-1374, p. 341, 481 . 10. 1 Rich. III, c . 13 ; 7 Hen. VII, c. 7 ; 28 lien . VIII, c . 14. 11. Stat. Realm ., I, p . 383 ; 18 Hen . VI, c . 17 . 12. Stat. at Largo, I, p . 823-824 ; 28 Hen . VIII, c . 14 . 13. Stat, Realm., II, p. 497 ; 1 Rich. III, c. 13 . 14. C. P . R. 1461-1467, p . 76 . 15. Rogers, II, p . 643 if.

96 w, II . molt . wine Sextarius, which held 4 gallons ; it may refer to a quarter of a barrel . The ordinary modern quart, the quarter-gallon, is mentioned in the statute 28 Henry VIII, c . 14, which fixed the, retail price s of wine s ; it also occurs in the Household Accounts of the Duke o f Buckingham, where the gallon is called a pitcher 2 . The quart was not used, in medieval times, the Pottle (potellum) being the measure between the gallon and the pint . It contained two quarts;, but in the Household Roll of Bishop Swinfiele 6 potelli made a se.x'tcrrius, that is, the pottle was 2/3 of a gallon . In the Duke o f Buckingham's Accounts the Sextarius is wrongly translated « pottle n o . It should be noticed that wine and ale measures were based o n different standards ; this gave rise to complaint among the citizen s of London in 1321 1. The ale gallon was supposed to be of greate r capacity, and if so the ale Sextarius must have contained mor e than that of wine . It was certainly reckoned as holding mom i n several documents . The capacity of this measure will be discussed later 7 . Measures of quantity occur comparatively seldom in medieval documents . The most important were the Last, the Hundred an d Great Hundred, the Dicker, the Dozen, and fish measures . The Stick, used for small eels, was generally 25 8, and 1.0 sticks made a Bind in the Ass. Pond. Mens . 9. In Scotland, in 1.487 : « Tile Dar- rell bind of Salmound sould contein, . . fourteene gallonis 10 . » Th e bind was also used for skins, and was equal to 30 'J ìmbr'cs, or 33 skins l1 ; while the stick was also a length of cloth, varying accor - ding to the material12. The Dicker, or half-score, was used for hides and metal bars, while the Dozen was a measure for gloves an d metal bars, as well as for cloth 13 . It is interesting to note that fis h

1. Stat . at Large, I, p, 823-824 . 2. Archaeologia, XXV, p. 318 ff, 3. Inst. Mss . Commission, YI. App . pt . III, 1887, p, 221, 225 ; Stat . at Large, I, p . 823-824. 4. Honsehold Roll o/ Bishop St+infield (C . S .), p . xr,v. 5. Archaeologia, XXV, p. 318 6. Lib. Cast,, p. 382-383 . 7. See Chap, V. 8. N . E . D . Stick . 9. Slat . Realm., I, p. 205, 10. N . E . D . Bind. 11. Stat. Realm,, I, p. 205. 12. N . E . D . Stick . 13. Stat . Realm ., I, p, 205.

NOTES ON THE WEIGHTS AND MISASUHES OF MEDIEVAL ENGLAND . 97 are still sold by the Great Hundred of six score, which was a s common as the real hundred in the Middle Ages . The Last had many uses . It must originally have been the quantity carried by the vehicle generally used for a particular commodity . As a weight it was nominally 2 tons' ; of wool it was 12 sack s (03138 pounds)2. As a measure of capacity it was 16 quarters i n Lhe sixteenth century 'I, 21 combs (10 12 quarters) as a rule in the eighteenth century'', and is now 10 cuarters 5. Finally, as a mea - sure of quantity, it was generally connected with the number 12 ; thus the last of hides was 1.2 dozen((, but was 20 clickers in th e As . Pond. MO/I.8 . 7 . The last of red herrings was 12 thousands, eac h of l0 hundreds, and that of white herrings 10 thousands, each of 12 hundreds 8 . The last, of herrings was equal to 12 barrels, according to the Household Ordinances of 1/IG90 . The last of turves num- bered 10,000 10, (A suivre . )

I, N . IC . D, Laxt . 2, .Slat, Rnabn.,, I, p . '2111') . :1 . N, G;, D. /.ut. Ilrittom, ON Coaldlr,r/ and Farming IVorcln (E. D . S .), 1880, p . 104, 172 . ß, N . E . D . Lant . /bid , 7 . .Slat . Realm ., I, I) . 206 . 8, Ibid . (A Iona . inscu~tion, } IL D . Last , 110, lingers, II, p . 804 .