{{Short description|French units of measurement before 1789}} {{multiple issues| {{context|date=December 2016}} {{more footnotes|date=December 2016}} }} 200px|thumb|right|Woodcut dated 1800 illustrating the new decimal units which became the legal norm across all France on 4 November 1800
The traditional French units of measurement prior to metrication were established under Charlemagne during the Carolingian Renaissance. Based on contemporary Byzantine and ancient Roman measures, the system established some consistency across his empire but, after his death, the empire fragmented and subsequent rulers and various localities introduced their own variants. Some of Charlemagne's units, such as the king's foot ({{langx|fr|pied du Roi}}) remained virtually unchanged for about a thousand years, while others important to commerce{{mdash}}such as the French ell ({{lang|fr|aune}}) used for cloth and the French pound ({{lang|fr|livre}}) used for amounts{{mdash}}varied dramatically from locality to locality. By the 18th century, the number of units of measure had grown to the extent that it was almost impossible to keep track of them and one of the major legacies of the French Revolution was the dramatic rationalization of measures by the new metric system. The change was extremely unpopular, however, and a metricized version of the traditional units{{mdash}}the {{lang|fr|mesures usuelles}}{{mdash}}had to be brought back into use for several decades.
== History == [[File:Pernes - Mesures anciennes.JPG|thumb|Table of the measuring units used in the 17th century at Pernes-les-Fontaines in the covered market at Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France]]
Although in the pre-revolutionary era (before 1795) France used a system and units of measure that had many of the characteristics of contemporary English units (or the later Imperial System of units), France still lacked a unified, countrywide system of measurement. Whereas in England Magna Carta had decreed that "there shall be one unit of measure throughout the realm", Charlemagne and successive kings had tried but failed to impose a unified system of measurement in France.<ref name=histmet>{{cite web |url = http://www.french-metrology.com/en/history/history-mesurement.asp |title = History of measurement |publisher = Métrologie française |access-date = 2011-02-06}}</ref>
The names and relationships of many units of measure were adopted from Roman units of measure, and many more were added – it has been estimated that there were seven or eight hundred different names for the various units of measure. Moreover, the quantity associated with each unit of measure differed from town to town and even from trade to trade. Some of the differences were large: for example the ''lieue'' (league) could vary from 3.268 km in Beauce to 5.849 km in Provence. It has been estimated that on the eve of the Revolution a quarter of a million different units of measure were in use in France.{{sfn|Adler|2002|pp=2–3}} Although certain standards, such as the ''pied du Roi'' (the King's foot) had a degree of pre-eminence and were used by ''savants'', many traders chose to use their own measuring devices, giving scope for fraud and hindering commerce and industry.<ref name=histmet/>
== Tables of units of measure == thumb|17th-century engraving of the Grand Châtelet [[File:Tours pont Wilson repères hauteurs Loire.jpg|thumb|Flood levels at the ''pont Wilson'' at Tours in both metres and ''pied royal'']]
These definitions use the Paris definitions for the ''coutume'' of Paris,<ref>See :fr:Droit coutumier en France.</ref> and definitions for other Ancien régime civil jurisdictions varied, at times quite significantly.
=== Length === The medieval royal units of length were based on the ''toise'', and in particular the ''toise de l'Écritoire'', the distance between the fingertips of the outstretched arms of a man, which was introduced in 790 by Charlemagne.{{sfn|Rowlett}}
The ''toise'' had 6 ''pieds'' (feet) each of 326.6 mm (12.86 in). In 1668 the reference standard was found to have been deformed, and it was replaced by the ''toise du Châtelet'' which, to accommodate the deformation of the earlier standard, was around 11 mm (0.56%) shorter.
In 1747 this ''toise'' was replaced by a new ''toise'' of near-identical length – the ''Toise du Pérou'', custody of which was given to ''l'Académie des Sciences au Louvre''.{{sfn|Février}}
Although the ''pouce'' (inch), ''pied'' (foot) and ''toise'' (fathom) were fairly consistent throughout most of pre-revolutionary France, some areas had local variants of the ''toise''. Other units of measure such as the ''aune'' (ell), the ''perche'' (perch or rood), the ''arpent'' and the ''lieue'' (league) had a number of variations, particularly the ''aune'' (which was used to measure cloth).{{sfnp|Darcy-Bertuletti|2005}}
The ''loi du 19 frimaire an VIII'' (Law of 10 December 1799) states that one decimal metre is exactly 443.296 French lines, or ''3 pieds 11.296 lignes de la "Toise du Pérou"''.{{sfnp|Débarbat}} Thus the French royal foot is exactly {{sfrac|4500|13 853}} metres (about {{cvt|0.3248|m|in}}).{{efn|1=This can be shown by noting that 27,706 × 16 = 443,296 and that 9 × 16 = 144, the number of ''lignes'' in a ''pied''.}}
In Quebec, the surveys in French units were converted using the relationship 1 ''pied'' (of the French variety, the same word being used for English feet as well) = 12.789 English inches.<ref>[http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/W-6 Weights and Measures Act, Schedule III]</ref> This makes the Quebec ''pied'' very slightly smaller (about 4 parts in one million) than the ''pied'' used in France.
{| class="wikitable" |+Table of length units |- ! width=130px|Unit ! Relative<br />value<br />(''pieds'') ! SI<br />value<br><small>(approx.)</small> ! Imperial<br />value<br><small>(approx.)</small> ! Notes |- |align=center| ''point'' |align=right| {{frac|1|1728}} |align=left| 0.188 mm |align=left| 7.401 thou |{{frac|1|12}} of a ''ligne''. This unit is usually called the Truchet point in English. Prior to the French Revolution the Fournier point was also in use. It was {{frac|1|6}} of a ''ligne'' or {{frac|1|864}} of the smaller French foot. |- |align=center| ''ligne'' |align=right| {{frac|1|144}} |align=left| 2.256 mm |align=left| 88.81 thou | {{frac|1|12}} of a ''pouce''. This corresponds to the line, a traditional English unit. |- |align=center| ''pouce'' |align=right| {{frac|1|12}} |align=left| 27.07 mm |align=left| 1.066 in | {{frac|1|12}} of a ''pied du roi''. This corresponds to the inch, a traditional English unit. |- |align=center| ''pied du roi'' |align=right| 1 |align=left| 32.48 cm |align=left| 1.066 ft | Commonly abbreviated to ''pied'', this corresponds to the foot, a traditional English unit. Known in English as the {{nowrap|Paris foot}} (properly a separate, shorter unit), the {{nowrap|royal foot}}, or {{nowrap|French foot}}. |- |align=center| ''toise'' |align=right| 6 |align=left| 1.949 m |align=left| 6.394 ft, or<br />2.131 yd |Six ''pieds du roi''. This corresponds to the fathom, a traditional English unit. Unlike the fathom, it was used in both land and sea contexts.<br>The {{lang|fr|Toise du Chatelet}} was introduced in 1668 and defined by an iron bar on the Grand Chatelet. This was replaced by the {{lang|fr|Toise du Perou}} in 1766.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Nelson |first=Robert A. |date=December 1981 |journal=The Physics Teacher |page=597}}</ref> |- style="background: #f2f2f2" |align=center colspan="6"| '''Paris''' |- |align=center| ''perche d'arpent'' |align=right| 22 |align=left| 7.146 m |align=left| 7.815 yd | Related to, but not directly corresponding with, the English perch or rod (which is {{frac|16|1|2}} feet, approximately three-quarters of the French ''perche''). |- |align=center| ''arpent'' |align=right| 220 |align=left| 71.46 m |align=left| 78.15 yd | Ten ''perches''. |- |align=center| ''lieue ancienne'' |align=right| 10 000 |align=left| 3.248 km |align=left| 2.018 miles |This is an old French league, defined as 10 000 (a myriad) ''pieds''. It was the official league in parts of France until 1674. |- |align=center| ''lieue de Paris'' |align=right| 12 000 |align=left| 3.898 km |align=left| 2.422 miles |This league was defined in 1674 as exactly 2000 ''toises''. After 1737, it was also called the "league of bridges and roads" (''lieue des Ponts et des Chaussées''). |- |align=center| ''lieue des Postes'' |align=right| 13 200 |align=left| 4.288 km |align=left| 2.664 miles |This league is 2200 ''toises'' or 60 ''arpents''. It was created in 1737. |- |align=center| ''lieue de 25 au degré'' |align=right| ~13 692 |align=left| 4.448 km |align=left| 2.764 miles |Linked to the circumference of the Earth, with 25 ''lieues'' making up one degree of a great circle. (Compare the international nautical mile, of which 60 make one degree; one ''lieue'' therefore equaling 2.4 nautical miles.) It was measured by Picard in 1669 to be 2282 ''toises''. |- |align=center| ''lieue tarifaire'' |align=right| 14 400 |align=left| 4.678 km |align=left| 2.907 miles |This league is 2400 ''toises''. It was created in 1737. |- style="background: #f2f2f2" |align=center colspan="6"| '''North America''' |- |align=center| ''perche du roi'' |align=right| 18 |align=left| 5.847 m |align=left| 6.394 yd |This perch was used in Quebec and Louisiana |- |align=center| ''arpent (du roi)'' |align=right| 180 |align=left| 58.47 m |align=left| 63.94 yd |Ten ''perches du roi''. |- style="background: #f2f2f2" |align=center colspan="6"| '''Local''' |- |align=center| ''perche ordinaire'' |align=right| 20 |align=left| 6.497 m |align=left| 7.105 yd |This perch was used locally. |- |align=center| ''arpent (ordinaire)'' |align=right| 200 |align=left| 64.97 m |align=left| 71.05 yd |Ten ''perches ordinaires''. |}
* The French typographic point, the Didot point, was {{frac|1|72}} of a French inch, i.e. two royal points. The French pica, called ''Cicéro'', measured 12 Didot points or {{frac|1|6}} inch.
=== Area ===
{| class="wikitable" |+Table of area units |- ! Unit ! Relative<br>value<br>(''pieds carrés'') ! SI<br>value ! Imperial<br>value ! Notes |- |align=center| ''pied carré'' |align=right| 1 |align=left| ~1055 cm<sup>2</sup> |align=left| ~1.136 sq ft |The French square foot |- |align=center| ''toise carrée'' |align=right| 36 |align=left| ~3.799 m<sup>2</sup> |align=left| ~40.889 sq ft, or<br>~4.543 sq yd |The French square fathom |- style="background: #f2f2f2" |align=center colspan="6"| '''Paris''' |- |align=center| ''perche d'arpent carrée'' |align=right| 484 |align=left| ~51.07 m<sup>2</sup> |align=left| ~61.08 sq yd |This was the main square perch in old French surveying. It is a square 22 ''pieds du roi'' on each side. |- |align=center| ''vergée'' |align=right| 12 100 |align=left| ~1277 m<sup>2</sup> |align=left| ~1527 sq yd |A square 5 ''perches'' on each side, or one quarter of an acre. |- |align=center| ''acre'', or<br>''arpent carré'' |align=right| 48 400 |align=left| ~5107 m<sup>2</sup> |align=left| ~6108 sq yd, or<br>~1.262 acres |The French acre is a square 10 ''perches'' (one ''arpent'') on each side. (Does not exactly correspond to the English acre, which is defined as 43 560 square feet.) |- style="background: #f2f2f2" |align=center colspan="5"| '''North America''' |- |align=center| ''perche du roi carrée'' |align=right| 324 |align=left| ~34.19 m<sup>2</sup> |align=left| ~40.89 sq yd |This square perch was used in Quebec and Louisiana. It is a square 18 ''pieds du roi'' on each side. |- |align=center| ''vergée (du roi)'' |align=right| 8100 |align=left| ~854.7 m<sup>2</sup> |align=left| ~1022 sq yd |A square 5 ''perches du roi'' on each side. |- |align=center| ''acre (du roi)'', or<br>''arpent carré'' |align=right| 32 400 |align=left| ~3419 m<sup>2</sup> |align=left| ~4089 sq yd, or<br>~0.8448 acres |A square 10 ''perches du roi'' on each side. Certain U.S. states have their own official definitions for the (square) arpent, which vary slightly from this value. |- style="background: #f2f2f2" |align=center colspan="5"| '''Local''' |- |align=center| ''perche (ordinaire) carrée'' |align=right| 400 |align=left| ~42.21 m<sup>2</sup> |align=left| ~50.48 sq yd |This square perch was used locally. It is a square 20 ''pieds du roi'' on each side. |- |align=center| ''vergée (ordinaire)'' |align=right| 10 000 |align=left| ~1055 m<sup>2</sup> |align=left| ~1262 sq yd |A square 5 ''perches ordinaires'' on each side. |- |align=center| ''acre (ordinaire)'', or<br>''arpent carré'' |align=right| 40 000 |align=left| ~4221 m<sup>2</sup> |align=left| ~5048 sq yd, or<br>~1.043 acres |A square 10 ''perches ordinaires'' on each side. |}
=== Volume – liquid measures ===
{| class="wikitable" |+Table of (liquid) volume units |- ! Unit ! Relative<br>value<br>(''pintes'') ! SI<br>value !U.S.<br>value !Imperial<br>value ! Notes |- |align=center| ''roquille'' |align=right| {{frac|1|32}} |align=left| ~29.75 ml |align=left| |align=left| |One quarter of a ''poisson''. |- |align=center| ''poisson'' |align=right| {{frac|1|8}} |align=left| ~119 ml |align=left| |align=left| |A measure equal to a half a ''demiard''. There were different sizes based on the commodity measured: ''poisson de vin'' (wine), ''poisson de eau de vie'' (brandy), or ''poisson de lait'' (milk).<ref>[https://www.dictionnaire-academie.fr/article/A9C2127 ''Dictionnaire de l'Academie Francais'' (8th edition)]</ref> |- |align=center| ''demiard'' |align=right| {{frac|1|4}} |align=left| ~238 ml |align=left| ~0.5 pint |align=left| |''demi'' in French means "half": in this case, half a ''chopine'', and – coincidentally – also approximately half a US pint [237 ml]. |- |align=center| ''chopine'' |align=right| {{frac|1|2}} |align=left| ~476.1 ml |align=left| ~1 pint |align=left| ~0.84 pint | |- |align=center| ''pinte'' |align=right| 1 |align=left| ~952.1 ml |align=left| ~2.01 pint |align=left| ~1.68 pint |Although etymologically related to the English unit pint, the French pint is about twice as large. It was the main small unit in common use, and measured {{frac|1|36}} of a cubic ''pied du roi''. |- |align=center| ''quade'' |align=right| 2 |align=left| ~1.904 L |align=left| ~0.5 gallon |align=left| ~0.42 gallon | |- |align=center| ''velte'' |align=right| 8 |align=left| ~7.617 L |align=left| ~2.01 gallon |align=left| ~1.68 gallon | a ''velte'' was a measuring stick that was inserted into a cask or barrel to determine its depth. |- |align=center| ''quartaut'' |align=right| 72 |align=left| ~68.55 L |align=left| |align=left| | 9 ''veltes'', or two cubic ''pieds du roi''. |- |align=center| ''feuillette'' |align=right| 144 |align=left| ~137.1 L |align=left| |align=left| |align=right| |- |align=center| ''muid'' |align=right| 288 |align=left| ~274.2 L |align=left| |align=left| |Eight cubic ''pieds du roi''. |- style="background: #f2f2f2" |align=center colspan="6"| '''cubic''' |- |align=center| ''pouce cube'' |align=right| {{frac|1|48}} |align=left| ~19.84 ml |align=left| |align=left| |The French cubic inch. |- |align=center| ''pied cube'' |align=right| 36 |align=left| ~34.28 L |align=left| |align=left| |The French cubic foot. In ancient times, a cubic foot was also known as an ''amphora'' when measuring liquid volume. |}
=== Volume – dry measures ===
{| class="wikitable" |+Table of (dry) volume units |- ! Unit ! Relative<br>value<br>(''boisseaux'') ! SI<br>value ! Imperial<br>value ! U.S.<br>value ! Notes |- |align=center| ''litron'' |align=right height=30| {{frac|16}} | ~{{convert|793.5|cm3|impgal U.S.drygal|abbr=on|disp=table}} |{{frac|1|4}} of a ''quart''. The ''litre'' is etymologically related to this unit. |- |align=center| ''quart'' |align=right height=30| {{frac|4}} | ~{{convert|3.174|dm3|impgal U.S.drygal|abbr=on|disp=table}} |{{frac|1|4}} of a ''boisseau''. |- |align=center| ''boisseau'' |align=right| 1 | ~{{convert|12.7|dm3|impgal U.S.drygal|abbr=on|disp=table}} |Although etymologically related to the English unit bushel, the French bushel is about one third the size. A ''boisseau'' was defined as {{frac|10|27}} of a cubic ''pied du roi''. |- |align=center| ''minot'' |align=right| 3 | ~{{convert|38.09|dm3|impgal U.S.drygal|abbr=on|disp=table}} | |- |align=center| ''mine'' |align=right| 6 | ~{{convert|76.17|dm3|impgal U.S.drygal|abbr=on|disp=table}} | |- |align=center| ''setier'' |align=right| 12 | ~{{convert|152.3|dm3|impgal U.S.drygal|abbr=on|disp=table}} | |- |align=center| ''muid'' |align=right| 144 | ~{{convert|1.828|m3|impgal U.S.drygal|abbr=on|disp=table}} | |- style="background: #f2f2f2" |align=center colspan="6"| '''cubic''' |- |align=center| ''pouce cube'' |align=right height=30| {{frac|640}} |align=right| ~19.84 cm<sup>3</sup> |align=right colspan=2| ~{{convert|19.84|cm3|cuin|disp=out}} |The French cubic inch. |- |align=center| ''pied cube'' |align=right| {{frac|2|7|10}} |align=right| ~34.28 dm<sup>3</sup> |align=right colspan=2| ~{{convert|34.28|dm3|cuin|disp=out}} |The French cubic foot. Exactly 2.7 ''boisseaux''. |}
=== Weight === {| class="wikitable sortable" style="float:right;" |+ The Parisian equivalents (in livres) of 100 local livres in various towns in 1768{{sfn|Expilly|1768|p=712}}<br>(approximations per source) |- | Abbeville || align=right | 93–94 |- | Avignon || align=right | 83 |- | Beaucare || align=right | 95 |- | Bordeaux || align=right | 100 |- | Bourg-en-Bresse || align=right | 96 |- | Dunkirk || align=right | 87 |- | Lille || align=right | 87–88 |- | Lyon || align=right | 87 |- | Marseilles || align=right | 81 |- | Montepellier || align=right | 83 |- | Nancy || align=right | 94–95 |- | Nantes || align=right | 101–102 |- | La Rochelle || align=right | 101–102 |- | Rouen (''poids de vicomté'') || align=right | 103 |- | Strasbourg (''petit poids'') || align=right | 96 |- | Toulouse || align=right | 84 |} {| class="wikitable" style="float:right; clear:right;" |+ Differences between the nominal and actual weights (in ''marcs moyens'') in the parts of the ''pile de Charlemagne'' as measured by Jean-Charles de Borda{{sfn|Harkness|1888|p=lix}} |- ! Nominal<br>(''marcs'') !! Error in actual<br>(''grains'') |- | align=right | 20 || align=right | +1.4 |- | align=right | 14 || align=right | +4.5 |- | align=right | 8 || align=right | -0.4 |- | align=right | 4 || align=right | -2.1 |- | align=right | 2 || align=right | -1.0 |- | align=right | 1 (creux) || align=right | -0.7 |- | align=right | 1 (plein) || align=right | -1.7 |} Charlemagne's system had 12 ''onces'' (ounces) to the ''livre'' (pound).{{sfn|Saigey|1834|p=114}} Between 1076 and 1093 Philip I (1052–1108) instituted a system of ''poids de marc'' (mark weight) used for minting coin, with 8 ''onces'' to a ''marc''.{{sfn|Saigey|1834|p=114}}
Jean II (1319–1364) constructed a new standard of measures, including a ''livre actuelle'' ("current" pound, also known as a ''livre de poids de marc'' or "mark weight" pound) of 2 ''marcs'', i.e. 16 ''onces''.{{sfn|Saigey|1834|pp=114–115}} The Charlemagne 12-ounce ''livre'' became known as the ''livre esterlin'' ("true" pound) in order to distinguish it.{{sfn|Saigey|1834|p=116}}{{sfn|Blome|Stocking|Watts|1939|p=30}} ″Esterlin″ was an Old French word (ca. 1190, Anglo-Norman dialect) that referred to Scottish coin (sterling, or ″denier″).<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |editor-last=Greimas |editor-first=Algirdas Julien |editor-link=Algirdas Julien Greimas |title=Esterlin |publisher=Larousse |encyclopedia=Dictionnaire de l'ancien français: le Moyen Age |date=1992 |page=265}}</ref> As references cited later on this page show, its application changed over time in accordance with the changing historical context, though it is not current in Modern French.
The ''livre actuelle'' could be sub-divided into 2 ''demi-livres'' (half-pounds), 4 ''quarterons'', or 8 ''demi-quarterons''.{{sfn|Du Mersan|1833|p=635}} Conversely, there were 100 ''livres'' in a ''quintal'' (cf. English hundredweight).{{sfn|Du Mersan|1833|p=635}} The fractional parts of an ''once'' had different names in Apothecary measure (used in medicine) and measure of precious metals, but the fractional ratios were themselves the same: 1 ''once'' was 8 ''drachme'' (Apothecary, cf. English dram) or ''gros''; 1 ''drachme''/''gros'' was 3 ''scruples'' (Apothecary, cf. English scruple) or ''deniers'', and 1 ''scruple''/''denier'' was 24 ''grains''.{{sfn|Saigey|1834|p=115}}{{sfn|Crease|2011|p=73}} This makes 384 ''deniers'' in a ''livre'' in weight measure, which contrasts with the old monetary ''livre'' in France which was divided into 240 deniers.{{sfn|Garnier|1841a|p=1356}}
Jean II's standards are preserved in the Conservatoire Nationale des Arts et Métiers, which also holds a set of later-still physical standards from the 15th century, the so-called ''pile de Charlemagne''.{{sfn|Crease|2011|p=73}}{{sfn|Morin|1864|p=248}} This ''pile'' defined the weight of 50 ''marcs'', i.e. 400 ''onces'', and thus 25 ''livres actuelles'', or 33{{frac|1|3}} ''livres esterlins''.{{sfn|Saigey|1834|p=114}}{{sfn|Zupko|1990|p=116}} It had been kept in the royal palaces originally.{{sfn|Savary|Savary|1742|p=26}} In 1540 François I (1494–1547) had transferred it to the Cour des monnaies, where it had been held in a cabinet with three locks, whose keys had been held separately by the president of the Cour, one of its counsellors, and a clerk.{{sfn|Savary|Savary|1742|p=26}}
The thirteen individual pieces that made up the Parisian ''pile de Charlemagne'' comprised an outer containing cylinder nominally weighing 20 marcs, and a set of hollow nesting cups within, topped with a filled weight as the smallest piece.{{sfn|Zupko|1990|p=116}}{{sfn|Witthöft|2018|p=249}}{{sfn|Daumas|1970|p=207}} The heaviest cups were nominally 14, 8, 4, and 2 ''marcs'', sub-totalling 48 marcs (including the 20 marc outer container); followed by a nominally 1 marc hollow cup which was termed the ''marc creux'' (hollow mark); and followed by 6 further cups (4, 2, and 1 ''onces'', and 4, 2, and 1 ''gros'') with a final seventh filled 1 ''gros'' weight, all totalling 1 marc, which was termed the ''marc plein'' (filled mark).{{sfn|Zupko|1990|p=116}}{{sfn|Witthöft|2018|p=249}}{{sfn|Mongez|de La Métherie|1799|p=171}}{{sfn|Daumas|1970|p=207}}
Unfortunately, the weights were not consistent, with the ''marc plein'' not being the same weight as the ''marc creux'', and neither being the same as a mean 1 marc weight determined from the weight of the whole ''pile''.{{sfn|Zupko|1990|p=116}}{{sfn|Mongez|de La Métherie|1799|p=171}} So when the time came to work out the conversion factors between these measures and the metric system, the whole ''pile'' was taken to define 50 Parisian standard ''marcs'', and thus 230 400 ''grains'' (the number of grains in 50 ''marcs'').{{sfn|Zupko|1990|p=116}} Louis Lefèvre‑Gineau initially determined that the metric weight of the whole ''pile'' was 12.227 947 5 kg,{{sfn|Mongez|de La Métherie|1799|p=171}} later corrected to 12.2376 kg,{{sfn|Doursther|1840|p=427}} thereby making (by division and rounded to three decimal places) a ''marc'' 244.753 g, a ''livre esterlin'' 367.129 g, and a ''livre actuelle'' 489.506 g.{{sfn|Saigey|1834|p=115}}{{sfn|Garnier|1841a|p=1355}} Hence further the (Parisian) ''once'' was 30.594 g, the ''gros''/''drachme'' was 3.824 g, the ''denier''/''scruple'' was 1.274 g, and the ''grain'' was 0.053 g.{{sfn|Du Mersan|1833|p=635}}{{sfn|Saigey|1834|p=116}}
However, the actual weights of the pre-metric measures were nowhere near even this simple.{{sfn|Crease|2011|p=74}} These were just the Parisian standards, and individual provinces, cities, and even guilds, all had their own reference physical standards, which were not checked against one another and which sometimes conflated ''esterlin'' and ''actuelle''.{{sfn|Crease|2011|p=74}} For just some examples: the Marseille ''livre'' was 399.6 g, the Montpelier one 394.9 g, the Toulon one 465.5 g, and the Toulouse one 413.2 g; with all of the fractional subdivisions having different values accordingly.{{sfn|Garnier|1841a|pp=1355–1356}} The Limoges ''marc'' was 240.929 g, the Tours one 237.869 g, and the Troyes one 250.050 g.{{sfn|Garnier|1841b|p=1447}}
Furthermore, there were also ''livres'' comprising different numbers of ''onces'' to both the ''actuelle'' and ''esterlin'', including ''livres'' of 14, 18, and 20 ''onces'', confusing things yet further.{{sfn|Saigey|1834|pp=116–117}} The ''livre'' in the ''poids de table'' (table weight) systems used in Provence and Languedoc (and a common name for provincial weight systems in general alongside ''poids de pays'', country weight, and ''poids de ville'', town weight) was the same weight as 15 ''onces'' or even as low as 13 ''onces'' in the Parisian ''poids de marc'',{{sfn|Guilhiermoz|1906|p=402}}{{sfn|Peuchet|1801|loc=poids de table}}{{sfn|Kelly|1811|p=294}}{{sfn|Expilly|1768|p=712}} and the ''livre'' in the ''poids de soie'' (silk weight) system of Lyon was similarly just {{frac|15|16}} the weight of the Parisian ''livre''.{{sfn|Peuchet|1801|loc=poids de soie}}{{sfn|Expilly|1768|p=712}} This caused an erroneous belief that these ''livres'' comprised 13, 14, or 15 ''onces'', however this was a confusion stemming from the equivalent ''poids de marc'' weights, and both ''poids de table'' and ''poids de soie'' had 16 of their own, lighter, ''onces'' and so forth,{{sfn|Peuchet|1801|loc=poids de soie}}{{sfn|Peuchet|1801|loc=poids de table}}{{sfn|Expilly|1768|p=712}} Rouen had a ''poids de vicomté'' system.{{sfn|Expilly|1768|p=712}}
== See also == {{div col|small=yes|colwidth=20em}} * International System of Units * Jean-Antoine Chaptal * Mansus * Mesures usuelles * Réaumur scale * Systems of measurement * Weights and measures {{div col end}}
== Notes == {{notelist}}
== References == {{Reflist|20em}}
=== Sources === * {{cite book|title=The Measure of all Things—The Seven-Year-Odyssey that Transformed the World|last= Adler|first=Ken|year=2002|publisher=Abacus|location=London|isbn=0349115079}} * {{cite book|title=Fundamentals of Pharmacy: Theoretical and Practical|author1-first=Walter Henry|author1-last=Blome|author2-first=Charles Howard|author2-last=Stocking|author3-first=Edward Cecil|author3-last=Watts|publisher=Lea & Febiger|year=1939}} * {{cite book|chapter=France: 'Realities of life and labour'|title=World in the Balance: The Historic Quest for an Absolute System of Measurement|author1-first=Robert P.|author1-last=Crease|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|year=2011|isbn=9780393082043}} * {{cite web|url = http://www.beaune.fr/IMG/pdf/Metrologie.pdf|title = Tableau des mesures les plus courantes en usage dans le pays beaunois|author1-first = Yvette|author1-last = Darcy-Bertuletti|language = fr|trans-title = Table of the most widely used measurents in the Beaune locality|publisher = Ville de Beaune|year = 2005|access-date = 2011-02-25}} * {{cite book|title=A History of Technology & Invention: The expansion of mechanization, 1725–1860|volume=2|editor1-first=Maurice|editor1-last=Daumas|publisher=Crown Publishers|year=1970|isbn=9780517520376|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/historyoftechnol03daum}} * {{cite web |url=http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/actualites/celebrations/metre.htm |language=fr |title=Fixation de la longueur définitive du mètre |trans-title=Establishing the definitive metre |author1-first=Suzanne |author-link=Suzanne Débarbat |author1-last=Débarbat |publisher=Ministère de la culture et de la communication (French ministry of culture and communications) |access-date=2011-03-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605073444/http://www2.culture.gouv.fr/culture/actualites/celebrations/metre.htm |archive-date=5 June 2011}} * {{cite encyclopaedia|encyclopaedia=Dictionnaire universel des poids et mesures anciens et modernes|author1-first=Horace|author1-last=Doursther|publisher=l ́académie|year=1840|location=Brussels|article=Pile de Charlemagne}} * {{cite encyclopaedia|article=Livre (poids et monnaie)|encyclopaedia=Encyclopédie des gens du monde|date=1833|author1-last=Du Mersan|location=Paris|publisher=Treuttel et Würtz}} ({{Internet Archive|name=Encyclopédie des gens du monde|id=bub_gb_DckUAAAAYAAJ|page=649}}) * {{cite encyclopaedia|article=Poids|encyclopaedia=Dictionnaire géographique, historique et politique des Gaules et de la France|author1-first=Jean-Joseph|author1-last=Expilly|publisher=Desaint et Saillant|year=1768|location=Amsterdam}} ({{Internet Archive|id=bub_gb_T1Q_AAAAcAAJ|page=719|name=Dictionnaire géographique, historique et politique des Gaules et de la France}}) * {{cite web|url = http://www.industrie.gouv.fr/metro/aquoisert/metre.htm|title = Un historique du mètre|language = fr|author1-first = Denis|author1-last = Février|publisher = Ministère de l'Economie, des Finances et de l'Industrie|access-date = 2011-03-10}} * {{cite encyclopaedia|article=Livre (poids)|encyclopaedia=Encyclopédie du commerçant: Dictionnaire du commerce et des marchandises|volume=2|editor1-first=M.|editor1-last=Guillaumin|author1-first=Joseph|author1-last=Garnier|location=Paris|publisher=Guillaumin et Cie|date=1841a}} ({{Internet Archive|name=Encyclopédie du commerçant|id=bub_gb_q7CnU_n5CZIC|page=363}}) * {{cite encyclopaedia|article=Marc (poids)|encyclopaedia=Encyclopédie du commerçant: Dictionnaire du commerce et des marchandises|volume=2|editor1-first=M.|editor1-last=Guillaumin|author1-first=Joseph|author1-last=Garnier|location=Paris|publisher=Guillaumin et Cie|date=1841b}} ({{Internet Archive|name=Encyclopédie du commerçant|id=bub_gb_q7CnU_n5CZIC|page=455}}) * {{cite journal|title=Note sure les poids do Moyen Age|author1-first=P.|author1-last=Guilhiermoz|journal=Bibliothèque de l'École des chartes|volume=67|year=1906|pages=402–450|publisher=Librairie Droz|jstor=43004870|doi=10.3406/bec.1906.460058}} * {{cite book|title=On the Progress of Science as Exemplified in the Art of Weighing and Measuring|url=https://archive.org/details/onprogressscien00harkgoog|author1-first=William|author1-last=Harkness|publisher=Judd & Detweiler|year=1888}} * {{cite book|title=The universal cambist, and commercial instructor|volume=1|chapter=Lyons|author1-first=Patrick|author1-last=Kelly|year=1811|location=London|publisher=Lackington, Allen, & Co.}} * {{cite journal|journal=Journal de physique, de chemie, d'histoire naturelle et des arts|volume=49|editor1-first=Jean André|editor1-last=Mongez|editor2-first=Jean-Claude|editor2-last=de La Métherie|location=Paris|publisher=Bachelier|year=1799|title=Suite du rapport fait à l'Institut national des sciences et arts sur le mètre, etc.}} * {{cite book|title=Catalogue des collections|author1-first=A.|author1-last=Morin|edition=4th|publisher=Bourdier|year=1864|location=Paris}} * {{cite encyclopaedia|encyclopaedia=Vocabulaire des termes de commerce, banque, manufactures, navigation marchande, finance mercantile et statistique|author1-first=Jacques|author1-last=Peuchet|publisher=Testu|location=Paris|year=1801}} * {{cite web|url = http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/dictT.html|author1-first = Russ|author1-last = Rowlett|publisher = Center for Mathematics and Science Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill|title = How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement|access-date = 2011-02-28|archive-date = 2012-12-24|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121224005450/http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/dictT.html|url-status = dead}} * {{cite web|title = Les poids et mesures sous l'Ancien Régime|language = fr|trans-title = The weights and measures of the Ancien Régime|url = http://www.histoire-genealogie.com/spip.php?article396|author1-first = Thierry|author1-last = Sabot|date = 1 October 2000|access-date = 2011-02-10|publisher = histoire-genealogie}} * {{cite book|chapter=Système Français|title=Traité de métrologie ancienne et moderne: suivi d'un précis de chronologie et des signes numériques|url=https://archive.org/details/traitdemtrologi00saiggoog|author1-first=Jacques Frédéric|author1-last=Saigey|date=1834|publisher=Hachette|location=Paris}} ({{Internet Archive|name=Traité de métrologie ancienne et moderne|id=traitdemtrologi00saiggoog|page=115}}) * {{cite encyclopaedia|encyclopaedia=Dictionnaire universel de commerce, d'histoire naturelle et des arts et metiers|author1-first=Jacques|author1-last=Savary|author2-first=Philemon Louis|author2-last=Savary|publisher=Les heretiers Cramer|location=Geneva|year=1742|article=Étalon}} * {{cite book|title=Southwest China in a Regional and Global Perspective (c.1600–1911): Metals, Transport, Trade and Society|editor1-first=Ulrich|editor1-last=Theobald|editor2-first=Jin|editor2-last=Cao|publisher=BRILL|year=2018|isbn=9789004353718|author1-first=Harald|author1-last=Witthöft|chapter=numerical Communication in Intercontinental Trade and Monetary Matters: Coins, Weights, and Measures in China and East Asia in Merchants' Picketbooks and Commercial Guides}} * {{cite book|chapter=Beginning of Revolution in France|title=Revolution in Measurement: Western European Weights and Measures Since the Age of Science|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_uYCNFkRgXCoC|issn=0065-9738|author1-first=Ronald Edward|author1-last=Zupko|publisher=American Philosophical Society|year=1990|isbn=9780871691866}}
== Further reading == * {{cite web|title=Pile de poids de 50 marcs dite "pile de Charlemagne" et son écrin|url=https://www.arts-et-metiers.net/musee/pile-de-poids-de-50-marcs-dite-pile-de-charlemagne-et-son-ecrin|publisher=Musée des Arts et Métiers}} * {{cite book|title=Les anciennes mesures locales du Midi méditerranéen, d'après les tables de conversion|editor1-first=Pierre|editor1-last=Charbonnier|publisher=Presses universitaires Blaise Pascal|location=Clermont-Ferrand|isbn=9782877410649|date=1990}} * {{cite journal|url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/rhs_0151-4105_1971_num_24_3_3211|title=Étalons bisontins de poids et de mesure|author1-first=François-G.|author1-last=Lavagne|journal=Revue d'histoire des sciences|year=1971|volume=24|issue=3|pages=213–232|doi=10.3406/rhs.1971.3211}} * {{cite book|last=Cardarelli|first=François|title=Encyclopaedia of Scientific Units, Weights and Measures: Their SI Equivalences and Origins|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediaofs0000card|url-access=registration|year=2003|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-1-85233-682-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediaofs0000card/page/79 79]–83}} * {{cite book|title=Métrologie universelle, ancienne et moderne|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_k0tyBHmAD9sC|author1-first=Jean-François-Gaspard|author1-last=Palaiseau|publisher=Lavigne jeune|location=Bordeaux|date=October 1816}} ({{Internet Archive|name=Métrologie universelle, ancienne et moderne|idbub_gb_k0tyBHmAD9sC}})
{{systems of measurement}}
{{interwiki extra|qid=Q358848}}
Category:Traditional French units of measurement Category:Systems of units Category:Science and technology in France