I think that the pre-1066 Old English unit of 1007 mm was called the yard
and the hand. Too bad there was no BWMA in that era! The present-day BWMA
hates 'foreign' metric units, but defends a set up that was imported long
ago from France, Italy (in the 18th century joined by Germany - Fahrenheit),
which destroyed a native Britsh system of units!!!!!
Han
----- Original Message -----
From: "Pat Naughtin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2005 9:18 AM
Subject: [USMA:33055] French foot
Bill Hooper wrote: "Do I try to report this 456 mi. figure as 57 furlongs
...?"
I certainly hope not, seeing as there are 8 furlongs to a mile.
Perhaps you were thinking of leagues.
Dear Bill, Bill, and All,
Whether there are eight furlongs to a mile depends on which bit of history
you choose.
According to the 11th Edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica there were 10
furlongs to a mile prior to the year 950. (Google for "Encyclopedia
Britannica" +"weights and measures" and then search for the writer William
Matthew Flinders Petrie or W. M. F. Petrie or W. M. F. P.)
Apparently, it wasn't until the introduction of the French foot (the foot
that is still used in England) in about 1066 that the measurement methods of
England fell into almost complete disarray.
The idea of 8 furlongs to a mile came about following the Assizes of 1304
after the then king of England threw up his hands in horror at the
complexity of the English measures (using the French foot) and handed over
the control of measurement to the London merchants. To my mind this has
always smacked of giving the keys of the hen house to a neighbourhood fox.
By the way, if Petrie is right, the French foot has only been in use for
about 700 years in England. Prior to that time the English apparently used a
decimal system based on a wand that was about 1007 millimetres long � an
interesting coincidence of length!
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin ASM (NSAA), LCAMS (USMA)*
PO Box 305, Belmont, Geelong, Australia
Phone 61 3 5241 2008
