3:32 am
NWBA Member
Board Member
April 26, 2010
We were discussing anvil weight nomenclature today.
A "hundredweight" is 112 pounds. A "Quarter" is 28 pounds. A "pound," of course, is one pound. Anvils were once marked with the first number designating hundredweights, the second number designating quarters, and the third designating individual pounds.
But none of us there knew where the terms came from. Why was the hundredweight not 100 pounds?
So I did some digging on the net this evening. I learned that the British were a stubborn folk. They were fond of using "stones" (14 pounds) and "cloves" (7 pounds), and wanted the hundredweight to be eight stones, or sixteen cloves.
The French of the 14th century preferred to use a unit of 100 "livres" (100 Roman pounds). But the French did not win at Crecey, at Poitiers, or at Agincourt. The English kept the 112 pound hundredweight in place up through the 19th century.
No matter where you go... there you are.
Most Users Ever Online: 668
Currently Online:
14 Guest(s)
Currently Browsing this Page:
1 Guest(s)
Top Posters:
Larry L: 1566
Grant: 1420
Bruce Macmillan: 625
Lee Cordochorea: 595
Lynn Gledhill: 572
JNewman: 520
Gene C: 504
J Wilson: 426
Eric Sprado: 383
Tom Allyn: 340
Member Stats:
Guest Posters: 22
Members: 8710
Moderators: 4
Admins: 1
Forum Stats:
Groups: 23
Forums: 97
Topics: 3532
Posts: 20280
Newest Members:
Lionel42, briana2211, LawlessForge, Jim Cameron, hsmac02, Theresa Mae Oborn, Anthony Parker-Hoang, PJF, Adamphipps, JackstakesModerators: Steve McGrew: 77, N.W.B.A.: 72, webmaster: 0, bluehost: 0
Administrators: admin: 539