The Wiardunek (also referred to as wiardunk, czwartak or ferton; german: viertel, la, ferto) was a
Mediaeval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
Central European unit of mass most widely used in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. Wiardunek was also used as a
unit of account, and as a such as
commodity money
Commodity money is money whose value comes from a commodity of which it is made. Commodity money consists of objects having value or use in themselves (intrinsic value) as well as their value in buying goods.
This is in contrast to representati ...
.
As a unit of mass 1 wiardunek (ca. 49
g) was equivalent to 1/4 of
grzywna. Two
ounces made up one wiardunek, and in turn each ounce consisted of two
lots
Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to:
Common meanings Areas
*Land lot, an area of land
*Parking lot, for automobiles
*Backlot, in movie production
Sets of items
*Lot number, in batch production
*Lot, a set of goods for sale together ...
.
As a unit of currency, the wiardunek was introduced probably around 14th century, first in Bohemia and then in other Central European states. 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. This usage was true regardless of changes in overall weight of grzywna, which was the basic unit of mass in this system.
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
* {{cite book, author=Józef Andrzej Szwagrzyk, title=Pieniądz na ziemiach polskich: X-XX w, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tU1mAAAAMAAJ, access-date=24 October 2014, year=1990, publisher=Zakład Narodowy Imienia Ossolińskich, location=Wrocław, isbn=978-83-04-01123-6, pages=51, 58–60, ref={{sfnRef, Szwagrzyk
Units of mass