In France, at least as early as the 13ᵗʰ century – 19ᵗʰ century, a unit of dry capacity with many regional variations. It comes from the Latin sextarius, meaning a sixth (of a conge). Also spelled cestier, sester, setiere, sextiere, sextier, sextere, sestier, sestiere, sestaire, sesterot, sesterium, septier, septarius, septerium.
In the Système Usuel, early 19ᵗʰ century, the setier = 100 liters.
Several sources from the mid-19ᵗʰ century list Parisian values that differed by commodity :
Commodity | Value of setier in boisseaux |
Liters | Additional Equivalences |
---|---|---|---|
grain | 12 | 156.099 | = ¹⁄₁₂ muid = 2 mines = 4 minots = 48 quarts = 192
litrons A setier of wheat was a mass of 240 poids de marc. |
salt | 16 | 208.13 | = ¹⁄₁₂ muid = 2 mines = 4 minots = 256 litrons |
oats | 24 | 312.20 | = ¹⁄₁₂ muid = 2 mines = 4 minots = 96 picotins = 384 litrons |
charcoal | 32 | 416.27 | = 1/10 muid = 2 mines = 4 minots |
Locale | Equivalents | Value |
---|---|---|
Abbeville | = 10 Parisian boisseaux | 130 liters |
Agde | = ½ èmine; 60 poids de marc of wheat | 29.4 kg |
Albi | = 9 Parisian boisseaux | 117 liters |
Amien | = 4 piquets; = 50 – 52 poids de marc of wheat | 24.5 - 25.5 kg |
Arles | = 93 poids de marc of wheat | 45.5 kg |
Boulogne | = 13½ Parisian boisseaux | |
Briel | 1 setier of oats = 16 boisseaux | 384 liters |
Calais | = 13 Parisian boisseaux; = 260 poids de marc of wheat |
127.3 kg |
Carcassone | 84 liters | |
Castelnaudary | 79 liters | |
Castres | = 2 èmines = 8 mègères = 32 boisseaux; = 170 poids de marc of wheat |
83.2 kg |
Châlons-sur-Marne | = 200 poids de marc of wheat; = 10 Parisian boisseaux |
97.9 kg |
Chauny | = 4 Parisian boisseaux | 52 liters |
Corbie | 44 liters | |
Doulens | = 4 quartiers = 16 boisseaux; = 208 poids de marc of wheat |
101.8 kg |
Fère | 71 poids de marc of wheat | 45 liters |
Gaillac and Lavaur | 139 liters | |
Montauban | 218 liters | |
Montpellier | = 2 èmines = 4 quartes | 52 liters |
Nantes | = 1/10 tonneau = 12 boisseaux | 150 liters |
(the older setier) =16 boisseaux | 145.68 liters | |
Narbonne | 84 liters | |
Nègrepelisse | = 2 sacs | 242.44 liters |
Noyon | 86 poids de marc | 56 liters |
Pèronne | 88 poids de marc | 57.53 liters |
St. Quentin | = 2 mencaults | 52 liters |
Rabasteins | 172 liters | |
Rèalmont | 128 liters | |
Rheims | 130 poids de marc | 85 liters |
Rethel | 112 poids de marc of wheat | 72 liters |
Rochelle, Marennes, Brouage, La Tremblade, ile d'Oleron, ile de Rè, les Sables, Maraus and others |
A very old salt measure, = 1/100 cent; in the mid-19th c. = 6 ¹⁸⁄₂₅ boisseaux, weighing about 260- 280 kilograms |
336 liters |
Rouen | = ¹⁄₁₂ muid = 2 mines = 8 boisseaux; = 280 poids de marc of wheat |
182 liters |
Saumur | 156.10 liters | |
Soissons | 158 poids de marc | 77.3 kg |
Toulouse | 112 liters | |
Troyes | setier of oats = 16 boisseaux | 384 liters |
St. Vallery-sur-Somme | 156.10 liters |
Joseph Petit and Gavrilovitch, Maury and Teodoru.
Essai de restitution de plus anciens mèmoriaux de la Chambre des comptes de Paris.
Paris: F. Alcan, 1899.
1
Sestieri uno di grano di Mompolieri fa in Firenze staia due di grano.
One setier of grain of Montpellier makes 2 Florentine staia of grain.
Chiarini, 1481.
2
Sextièr ou setier, sextarius. Cette dernière mesure ne correspond, comme sixième partie, à aucune de celles dont nous nous servons pour les grains, & l'on peut observer la même disconvenance à l'égard de nos mesures pour les liquides. Si nous n'avons pas de sextier pour la pinte, nous avons le demi-sextier, qui, à la vérité, n'est pas la moitié du sixième de la pinte, mais qui a pris évidemment son nom du sextarius des Romains, sixième partie de leur conge, congius. Budé, qui l'avoit remarqué, dit a l'occasion de nos mots sextier, demi-sextier, vulgus sextarios nulla ratione vocat.
Sextier or setier, sextarius. This last measure does not correspond, as the sixth part, to any of those we use for grain, and the same disagreement can be observed with regard to our measures for liquids. If we do not have sextier for the pint, we have the demi-sextier, which, indeed, is not half of the sixth of the pint, but obviously took its name from the sextarius of the Romans, a sixth part of their conge, congius. Bude, who had noticed, said in regard to our words sextier and demi-sextier, vulgus sextarios nulla ratione vocat. [people call them sextarios without any reason]
[Mathieu] Tillet and Abeille.
Observations de la Société Royale d'Agriculture sur l'uniformité des Poids et des Mesures.
Paris: l'Imprimerie de Philippe-Denys Pierres, 1790.
Footnote 2, page 40.
In France, ? – 19ᵗʰ centuries, a unit of land area. Originally it was a seed measure of land, the amount of land that would be sown with 1 setier of seed. In the 18ᵗʰ century it transitioned to a geometric unit, having a variety of values in different locations:
Depart- ment |
City | Value | Equivalent |
---|---|---|---|
Aisne | 48 sq. verges; 2059.9 sq. meters |
verge = 22 pieds; pied = 11 pouces | |
50 sq. verges; 2145.7 sq. meters |
verge = 22 pieds; pied = 11 pouces | ||
52 sq. verges; 2420.8 sq. meters |
verge = 24 pieds; pied = 10 pouces, 10 lignes | ||
60 sq. verges; 2574.9 sq. meters |
verge = 22 pieds; pied = 11 pouces | ||
70 sq. verges; 3791.5 sq. meters |
verge = 25 pieds; pied = 10 7/8 pouces | ||
La Fère, Chauny, St. Quentin | 80 sq. verges; 3433.2 sq. meters (setier de Vermandois) |
verge = 22 pieds; pied = 11 pouces | |
Ardennes | 80 sq. verges | verge = 16 pied, 8 pouces | |
Eure-et-Loir | 80 sq. perches; 3377.2 sq. meters |
perche = 20 pieds | |
80 sq. perches; 3962.6 sq. meters |
perche = 21 pieds, 8 pouces | ||
80 sq. perches; 4085.7 sq. meters |
perche = 22 pieds | ||
100 sq. perches; 4220.8 sq. meters |
perche = 20 pieds | ||
120 sq. perches; 5943.9 sq. meters |
perche = 21 pieds, 8 pouces | ||
133.33 sq. perches; 5627.7 sq. meters |
perche = 20 pieds | ||
Loiret | Sermaise | 4083.6 sq. meters | |
Marne | Auberive | 80 sq. verges = 16 boisseaux*; 2889.1 sq. meters |
verge = 20 pieds, 2 pouces; pied = 11 pouces |
Beaumont | 106.66 sq. verges = 16 boisseaux*; 3382.6 sq. meters |
verge = 20 pieds; pied = 10.4 pouces | |
Rilly | 80 sq. verges = 4 quartels; 3431.1 sq. meters |
verge = 22 pieds; pied = 11 pouces | |
Sommepy | 80 sq. verges; 3433.4 sq. meters |
verge = 22 pieds; pied = 11 pouces | |
Louvois | 80 sq. verges; 3461.5 sq. meters |
verge = 20 pieds, 3 pouces | |
Vitry-sur-Marne | 106.55 sq. verges= 4 quartels; 3780.6 sq. meters |
verge = 20 pieds; pied = 10.4 pouces | |
Oise | Attichy | 457.7 sq. meters, for vinyards | |
Noyon | 3791.5 sq. meters |
* The boisseau as a unit of land area, of course.
In France, various units of liquid capacity, principally (only?) used for wine:
In Switzerland the setier was identified with the eimer and had values comparable to the larger French values.
The demi-setier, despite its name, = ¼ pinte. It is a single serving, a unit of liquid capacity applied to wine and other spirits at the retail level, at least as early as the 17ᵗʰ century.
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Last revised: 11 September 2005.