The great Gallic league. J Dassié. Page 6.
In its work of 1997, its opinion changes and it specifies p 64) : " the assumption, advanced per T Pistollet deSaint-Fergeux (1852), concerning the existence of two modules of the latter (" Gallic " league - value of about 2415 m - and " Roman " league 2208 to 2220 m) is not retained any more today, which does not exclude, in our opinion, which there was of the alternatives of them ile, as in old France " ...
Metric relations in the old units.
Origin of the old units.
With the origin of all these measurements are physical sizes,in direct connection with human physiology : the foot and bent. Other measurements result from this almost always. Roman measurements practically derived from former equivalent Greek measurements.
Greek foot old = 0,296296 m | Bent Greek = 1,5 foot |
Bent = 0,444444 m |
Pace = 5 feet |
Pace ( passus ) = 1,48148 m |
Mile = 1000 paces |
Mile = 1481,5 m |
Mile = 8 stages |
Stage = 185,14 m |
Stage = 125 paces = 625 feet |
League (" romanized " Gallic unit) = 2222 m |
League = 1,5 mile = 5000 bent = 7500 feet |
All this is the value of the starting unit exact, provided that, the foot, remains constant ?
The great Gallic league.
Determination of the value of the Gallic foot with often made starting from monumental statements. The results, obtained starting from different sources and relating to different Gallic people, explain the disparity of the values (320 to 332 mm). The Gallic league had the same relationship with the foot which the romanized one, is 7500 feet. At Tongres, a foot of 332 mm represented league of 2490 meters. In the same way, Grenier quotes a foot of 0,3192 m (which would correspond to one league of 2394 meters).
A measurement recent, but former to the metric system, is the "Toise de Paris = 1,949 meter. There are 6 feet per toise, from where 1 foot of Paris (or foot of Roy) =0,3248m. If we calculate one league, starting from this "Pied de Paris", with the same report/ratio that for the Gallic foot, we obtain : 1 league = 0,3248333 x 7500 = 2436 m. It is one of the values of the Gallic league most frequently met. One can thus reasonably suppose that the foot of Paris is only the continuation of a Gallic foot which would have lasted until the modern time.
This great league presents various values (leagues of 2410, 2415,2436 2440 or 2490m, etc.) whose fluctuations (about 2%) remain well in on this side systematic errors due to the round-offs.
The diversity even of the results according to the various authors testifies well to the existence of one league larger than the league of 2222 m. the inaccuracy of the statements and the calculations, associated with the diversity of value of the Gallic feet can explain the noted variations length. |
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