The Wiardunek (also referred to as wiardunk, czwartak or ferton; German: Viertel,[1] Latin: ferto) was a Mediaeval Central European unit of mass most widely used in Poland and Germany.[1] Wiardunek was also used as a unit of account, and as a such as commodity money.
As a unit of mass 1 wiardunek (ca. 49 g) was equivalent to 1/4 of grzywna.[2] Two ounces made up one wiardunek, and in turn each ounce consisted of two lots.
As a unit of currency, the wiardunek was introduced probably around 14th century, first in Bohemia and then in other Central European states.[2] This usage followed the same scheme as for other commodities, that is 1 wiardunek of pure silver was equivalent to 1/4 of grzywna, which in turn was composed of 64 groschen.[2] This usage was true regardless of changes in overall weight of grzywna, which was the basic unit of mass in this system.[3]
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References
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edit- (in German) Leopold Einsle (1846). Systematische Zusammenstellung der vorzüglichsten europäischen Maße, Gewichte und Münzen. Kempten: Jos. Kösel’sche Buchhandlung. pp. 122-124.
- (in Polish) Józef Andrzej Szwagrzyk (1990). Pieniądz na ziemiach polskich: X-XX w. Wrocław: Zakład Narodowy Imienia Ossolińskich. pp. 51, 58–60. ISBN 978-83-04-01123-6. Retrieved 24 October 2014.