![[DrupalCon London icon]](http://sharonkrossa.com/sites/default/files/images/drupalcon-london.png){kind=small}
Help Sharon win a trip to attend DrupalCon London!
| Last updated 8 Feb 2006 | Copyright ©1997, 2005-2006 by Sharon L. Krossa. All rights reserved. |
An ell is a linear measurement, often used for cloth. The precise length of the ell varied from place to place and era to era.
The length of the medieval Scottish ell was set to 37 inches by King David in the 12th century, and in 1426 King James I reaffirmed this. (Though keep in mind that a medieval inch was not quite as precise a measurement as the modern inch.) Scottish Medieval towns usually kept a standard ell to which merchants' measuring tools could be compared.
In 1504, at least, the Flemish ell was apparently shorter than the Scottish one. In that year the Scottish treasurer's accounts indicate that 24 Flemish ells were equivalent to 18 Scottish ells.
| Gemmill, Elizabeth and Nicholas Mayhew. Changing Values in Medieval Scotland: A Study of Prices, Money, and Weights and Measures. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Hardcover at Amazon.com (w/Search Inside) - Amazon.co.uk (w/Search Inside) - Barnes&Noble; Paperback at Amazon.com - Amazon.co.uk | pp. 392-393 |
Medieval Scotland is published by Sharon L. Krossa (contact). Shopping online? How you can support this site.
© 1996-2008. All rights reserved. Copyright of individual articles belongs to their authors. Please do not copy or redistribute without proper permission!
http://MedievalScotland.org/gloss/ell.shtml