Billet (wood) was a specific and standardised form of
wood fuel
Wood fuel (or fuelwood) is a fuel such as firewood, charcoal, chips, sheets, pellets, and sawdust. The particular form used depends upon factors such as source, quantity, quality and application. In many areas, wood is the most easily availabl ...
of significant importance in the traditional pre-
fossil fuel
A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels m ...
economy.
The term could also be applied to a
cudgel
A club (also known as a cudgel, baton, bludgeon, truncheon, cosh, nightstick, or impact weapon) is a short staff or stick, usually made of wood, wielded as a weapon since prehistoric times. There are several examples of blunt-force trauma caused ...
.
Nature and use
Billets were especially designed for burning on open hearth fires, often in conjunction with
spits.
Measurements and cost
The 16th C standardised a billet as three foot four inches in length, and ten inches around.
A century later,
Anthony A Wood recorded a load of billet wood as costing 12s 6d; while extravagance consisted of "burning in one yeare threescore pounds worth of the choicest billet".
Literary references
*The William Shakespeare play ''
Measure for Measure
''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604, according to available records. It was published in the ''First Folio'' of 1623.
The play's plot features its ...
'' contains the phrase "beat out my brains with billets".
See also
Bavin (wood)
Fascine
A fascine is a rough bundle of brushwood or other material used for strengthening an earthen structure, or making a path across uneven or wet terrain. Typical uses are protecting the banks of streams from erosion, covering marshy ground and so ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Definition of billet
Firewood
Fuels
Wood fuel