Welsh units
'Erw' redirects here. For electronic-resistance welding, see ERW.
Welsh units are the historical units of measurement in Wales separate from those imposed by the English following their 13th-century Edwardian conquest. Modern Wales no longer employs any of these but – like the rest of the UK – instead uses a mixture of metric and British imperial units.
Length
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See also: maenor
In the Laws of Hywel Dda:
- 2 rods × 18 rods = 1 erw (acra)[3]
- 312 erwaw = 1 rhandir
- 3 rhandiroedd (held by taeogion) = 1 taeogtref
- 4 rhandiroedd (held in freehold) = 1 tref ryd
- 7 taeogtrefi = 1 maenor vro = 936 erwau
- 12 trefi ryd = 1 maenor wrthdir = 1248 erwau [4]
The cymydau and cantrefi, meanwhile, were fixed political entities with quite various sizes.
Subsequently, at least in theory:
Time
Main article: Celtic calendar
The Welsh seem to have used an eight-[7] or nine-day week,[8] rather than a seven-day one, long after their conversion to Christianity.
References
- ^ Lewis, Timothy. A glossary of mediaeval Welsh law, based upon the Black book of Chirk. Univ. Press (Manchester), 1913.
- ^ One version of the Laws of Hywel Dda, the Latin Peniarth MS. 28, instead gives 16½ feet to the 'long yoke'.
- ^ a b Wade-Evans, Arthur. Welsh Medieval Law, p. 339. Oxford Univ., 1909. Accessed 1 Feb 2013.
- ^ Wade-Evans. p. 344
- ^ Lewis's account, based on Gwynedd's Black Book of Chirk, gives the gafael as holding 34 erwau rather than 64.
- ^ Williams, Jane. A History of Wales. Cambridge Univ, 2010. Accessed 1 Feb 2013.
- ^ The modern Welsh word for "week" is wythnos: "eight nights"
- ^ Wade-Evans, Arthur. Welsh Medieval Law, n. 5 by Mary Jones. Accessed 1 Feb 2013.
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