. Medieval France had a multitude of weights and measures typical of premetric Europe. This condition was due primarily to the fierce provincialism of duchies, counties, royal and aristocratic estates, cities, and manors. By the 16th century, France had more than 1,000 units of measurement accepted as standards in Paris and the provincial capitals, with approximately 250,000 local variations. Unit names were often superfluous and confusing, and physical standards bore little relationship to one another. Hundreds of ambiguous and misleading decrees and laws had been issued, beginning with the modest reforms of Charlemagne in the late 8th century. Control over weights and measures belonged to feudal lords, churchmen, guildsmen, judges, city officials, and others as part of their administrative rights, and, since taxes were based on units of measure, it was to their best interests to establish their own systems and standards.
Medieval French weights and measures varied depending on whether they were used in retail or wholesale trade. There were special units employed at warehouses, harbors, ports, foundries, mines, and workshops. They differed on the highways, the seas and waterways, inside and outside town walls, and in the forests. Product variations abounded especially for grains, liquors, and textiles. Units based upon a complex array of numbers, multiples, submultiples, accounts, coinages, wages, prices, land functions, time allotments, production spans, and labor needs were commonplace. Many other types flourished, but certain weights and measures could be considered national standards by the later Middle Ages.
Among linear measures, for example, the aune, lieue, perche, pied, and toise were of paramount importance. The aune, a textile measure, was 3 pieds, 7 pouces, lignes, or lignes (1.188 meters) in all. For road and sea measurements, the lieue had six official standards ranging from 2,000 to 3,000 toises (3,898.08 to 5,847.12 meters). The perche employed in agriculture was either 18, 20, or 22 pieds (5.847, 6.497, or 7.146 meters). The pied was 12 pouces (0.325 meters) or 144 lignes, while the toise was 6 pieds (1.949 meters).
For area measurement, the arpent de Paris was 32,400 square pieds (34.189 ares); the arpent de commun, 40,000 square pieds (42.208 ares); and the arpent des eaux et forêts, 48,400 square pieds (51.072 ares). All were 100 square perches, but the length of the perche was different in each standard.
In capacity measurement, the boisseau, mine, muid, and setier dominated. The boisseau contained 655.78 cubic pouces (13.008 liters), but had different subdivisions for wheat, oats, charcoal, and plaster. The mine totaled 3,934.68 cubic pouces (78.05 liters) for all dry products except salt, oats, and coal. The muid had six recognized standards for liquids and dry products. The setier was 4 quartes (7.45 liters) for most liquids and two mines (156.10 liters) for most dry products.
The livre was the principal unit of weight. During the late 8th century under Charlemagne, the livre esterlin was fixed at 5,760 grains (367.1 grams) and consisted of 20 sous, 12 onces, 240 deniers, 480 oboles. This livre was the first national standard; it was retained until the middle of the 14th century, when the government of King John II the Good authorized the employment of a new, heavier, livre called the livre poids de marc. Totaling 9,216 grains (489.506 grams), it was subdivided for valuable goods, such as gold and silver, into 2 marks or 16 onces and for cheaper goods into 2 demi-livres or 16 onces. There were other official livres for pharmacists, physicians, and merchants.
Further diversification and proliferation of these weights and measures continued after 1500, especially in the wake of increasing industrialization. Prior to the late 18th century, significant progress in French metrology took place only in the manufacture of physical standards. The French Revolution and its radically new metric system replaced these weights and measures by the early 19th century.
Ronald Edward Zupko
Guilhiermoz, Paul. “Note sur les poids du moyen âge.” Biblio-thèque de l’École des Chartes 67(1906):161–233, 402–50.
——. “Remarques diverses sur les poids et mesures du moyen âge.” Bibliothèque de l’École des Chartes 80(1919):5–100.
Zupko, Ronald E. French Weights and Measures Before the Revolution: A Dictionary of Provincial and Local Units. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1978.
——. Revolution in Measurement: Western European Weights and Measures Since the Age of Science. Philadelphia: Ameri-can Philosophical Society, 1989.
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lignes, or 
lignes (1.188 meters) in all. For road and sea measurements, the lieue had six official standards ranging from 2,000 to 3,000 toises (3,898.08 to 5,847.12 meters). The perche employed in agriculture was either 18, 20, or 22 pieds (5.847, 6.497, or 7.146 meters). The pied was 12 pouces (0.325 meters) or 144 lignes, while the toise was 6 pieds (1.949 meters).
