Weights and Measures

Appendix C.

As stated in the preface, the nomenclature to be adopted for weights and measures has presented great difficulty. Agricola uses, throughout, the Roman and the Romanized Greek scales, but in many cases he uses these terms merely as lingual equivalents for the German quantities of his day. Moreover the classic language sometimes failed him, whereupon he coined new Latin terms adapted from the Roman scale, and thus added further confusion. We can, perhaps, make the matter clearer by an illustration of a case in weights. The Roman centumpondium, composed of 100 librae, the old German centner of 100 pfundt, and the English hundredweight of 112 pounds can be called lingual equivalents. The first weighs about 494,600 Troy grains, the second 721,900, and the third 784,000. While the divisions of the centumpondium and the centner are the same, the libra is divided into 12 unciae and the pfundt into 16 untzen, and in most places a summation of the units given proves that the author had in mind the Roman ratios. However, on p. he makes the direct statement that the centumpondium weighs 146 librae, which would be about the correct weight if the centumpondium referred to was a centner. If we take an example such as "each centumpondium of lead contains one uncia of silver", and reduce it according to purely lingual equivalents, we should find that it runs 24.3 Troy ounces per short ton, on the basis of Roman values, and 18.25 ounces per short ton, on the basis of old German. If we were to translate these into English lingual equivalents of one ounce per hundredweight, then the value would be 17.9 ounces per short ton.

Several possibilities were open in translation: first, to calculate the values accurately in the English units; second, to adopt the nearest English lingual equivalent; third, to introduce the German scale of the period; or, fourth, to leave the original Latin in the text. The first would lead to an indefinite number of decimals and to constant doubt as to whether the values, upon which calculations were to be based, were Roman or German. The second, that is the substitution of lingual equivalents, is objectionable, not only because it would indicate values not meant by the author, but also because we should have, like Agricola, to coin new terms to accommodate the lapses in the scales, or again to use decimals. In the third case, that is in the use of the old German scale, while it would be easier to adapt than the English, it would be more unfamiliar to most readers than the Latin, and not so expressive in print, and further, in some cases would present the same difficulties of calculation as in using the English scale. Nor does the contemporary German translation of De Re Metallica prove of help, for its translator adopted only lingual equivalents, and in consequence the summation of his weights often gives incorrect results. From all these possibilities we have chosen the fourth, that is simply to reproduce the Latin terms for both weights and measures. We have introduced into the footnotes such reductions to the English scale as we considered would interest readers. We have, however, digressed from the rule in two cases, in the adoption of "foot" for the Latin pes, and "fathom" for passus. Apart from the fact that these were not cases where accuracy is involved, Agricola himself explains (p. ) that he means the German values for these particular terms, which, fortunately, fairly closely approximate to the English. Further, we have adopted the Anglicized words "digit", "palm", and "cubit", instead of their Latin forms.

For purposes of reference, we reproduce the principal Roman and old German scales, in so far as they are used by Agricola in this work, with their values in English. All students of weights and measures will realize that these values are but approximate, and that this is not an occasion to enter upon a discussion of the variations in different periods or by different authorities. Agricola himself is the author of one of the standard works on Ancient Weights and Measures (see Appendix A), and further gives fairly complete information on contemporary scales of weight and fineness for precious metals in Book VII. p. etc., to which we refer readers.

ROMAN SCALES OF WEIGHTS.

Troy Grains.

1 Siliqua = 2.87

6 Siliquae = 1 Scripulum 17.2

4 Scripula = 1 Sextula 68.7

6 Sextulae = 1 Uncia 412.2

12 Unciae = 1 Libra 4946.4

100 Librae = 1 Centumpondium 494640.0

Also

1 Scripulum = 17.2

3 Scripula = 1 Drachma 51.5

2 Drachmae = 1 Sicilicus 103.0

4 Sicilici = 1 Uncia 412.2

8 Unciae = 1 Bes 3297.6

SCALE OF FINENESS
(AGRICOLA'S ADAPTATION).

4 Siliquae = 1 Unit of Siliquae

3 Units of Siliquae = 1 Semi-sextula

4 Semi-sextulae = 1 Duella

24 Duellae = 1 Bes

OLD GERMAN SCALE OF WEIGHTS.

Troy Grains.

1 Pfennig = 14.1

4 Pfennige = 1 Quintlein 56.4

4 Quintlein = 1 Loth 225.6

2 Loth = 1 Untzen 451.2

8 Untzen = 1 Mark 3609.6

2 Mark = 1 Pfundt 7219.2

100 Pfundt = 1 Centner 721920.0

SCALE OF FINENESS.

3 Grenlin = 1 Gran

4 Gran = 1 Krat

24 Krat = 1 Mark

ROMAN LONG MEASURE.

Inches.

1 Digitus = .726

4 Digiti = 1 Palmus 2.90

4 Palmi = 1 Pes 11.61

1/2 Pedes = 1 Cubitus 17.41

5 Pedes = 1 Passus 58.1

Also

1 Roman Uncia = .97

12 Unciae = Pes 11.61

GREEK LONG MEASURE.

Inches.

1 Dactylos = .758

4 Dactyloi = 1 Palaiste 3.03

4 Palaistai = 1 Pous 12.135

1/2 Pous = 1 Pechus 18.20

6 Pous = 1 Orguia 72.81

OLD GERMAN LONG MEASURE.

Inches.

1 Querfinger = .703

16 Querfinger = 1 Werckschuh 11.247

2 Werckschuh = 1 Elle 22.494

3 Elle = 1 Lachter 67.518

Also

1 Zoll = .85

12 Zoll = 1 Werkschuh

ROMAN LIQUID MEASURE.

Cubic inches. Pints.

1 Quartarius = 8.6 .247

4 Quartarii = 1 Sextarius 31.4 .991

6 Sextarii = 1 Congius 206.4 5.947

16 Sextarii = 1 Modius 550.4 15.867

8 Congii = 1 Amphora 1650.0 47.577

(Agricola nowhere uses the Saxon liquid measures, nor do they fall into units comparable with the Roman).