The auncel ( nrf, auncelle or ', "little balance") was a
balance scale formerly used in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. It consisted of a rod with the
fulcrum near one end and a weight that could be moved along the graduated longer arm. The item to be weighed was hung from the end of the shorter arm of the rod. This design made it easier for merchants to falsify the weight than when scales with arms of equal length were used, as a result of which it was banned
[James Davis. Medieval Market Morality: Life, Law and Ethics in the English Marketplace, 1200–1500. Cambridge University Press. 2011. p.195.] by
Edward III in 1350.
In some British dialects, it is used for the informal weighing of
meat by hand instead of by scales.
References
Measuring instruments
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