Traditional French units of measurement

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The traditional French units of measurement prior to metrication were established under Charlemagne during the Carolingian Renaissance. Based on contemporary Byzantine and ancient Roman measures, the system established some consistency across his empire but, after his death, the empire fragmented and subsequent rulers and various localities introduced their own variants. Some of Charlemagne's units, such as the king's foot (French: pied du Roi) remained virtually unchanged for about a thousand years, while others important to commerce—such as the French ell (aune) used for cloth and the French pound (livre) used for amounts—varied dramatically from locality to locality. By the 18th century, the number of units of measure had grown to the extent that it was almost impossible to keep track of them and one of the major legacies of the French Revolution was the dramatic rationalization of measures as the new metric system. The change was extremely unpopular, however, and a metricized version of the traditional units—the mesures usuelles—had to be brought back into use for several decades.