A chance discovery in Bern leads to taking the measure of an historical Saanenland artifact

I was doing some post-holiday shopping in Bern when I stumbled across something interesting in the pedestrian tunnel under the iconic 15th century Zytglogge clocktower with its ornately intricate astronomical face and appealing gilded Jacquemart. There were a series of squared bars attached to the stone wall, and one of them read “Schlaff und Mutter - Ell der Stadt Bern - 1769.” Since I am chronically predisposed to investigate things that interest me, I endeavored to discover what in the hell an ell was.

One of the world’s oldest natural measures, the ell (Elle, German; braccio, Italian) is equivalent to the cubit, an ancient unit of length based on the distance from the elbow to the middle finger. The word, probably originating in the Proto-Germanic *alinō and cognate with Latin ulna, literally means “arm”, and survives in the modern English word “elbow” (arm-bend). It was primarily used as a measure in Germanic and Italian Switzerland by tailors and cloth merchants, and as one might imagine with people of varying stature, there was patchy consistency in the standard. Historical Germanic Swiss ells ranged in length from 54 – 66 cm, depending on where one was in Switzerland.

It gets more complicated. The ell corresponded roughly to two Germanic Swiss feet (which varied, e.g., Saanen at 27.49 cm and Zweisimmen at 28.92 cm in 1838), although it was not derived from the foot. The western Swiss used a French standard called the aune (the French aune de roi), which was approximately a ‘double-ell’ (Swiss Germans called it a Stab, staff or rod). Due to its prior affiliation with Gruyères, Saanen used an aune (Stab) of 122.17 cm (which corresponds to two 61.08 cm ells). Different ells were used for measuring linen (70-77 cm) and wool (59-61 cm), while Italian Switzerland used the braccio lungo (67-73 cm) for cloth and the braccio corto for silk (52-59 cm).

The bars bolted to the Zytglogge’s tunnel wall were once used to calibrate local tailors’ ells; however, in 1838 the Bernese ell was standardised to 60 cm, and in 1877 it was replaced by the meter. But long-lived traditions die hard, and the nomenclature has stuck around. Ellenlang is colloquially used in German to mean ‘excessively long’, and in the tailoring trade the 50 cm or 100 cm long scales are still called Schneiderelle (tailor ells).

Ells were not only used for measuring cloth, but also frequently as an instrument of chastisement. The Brothers Grimm have a tailor chasing his son out of his house with one in their fairy tale Tischlein, deck dich! (1812). In a 1904 article on the patois of Rougemont, author J Henchoz recounts La dəmi-óna (the demi-aune), an elderly resident’s requiem on the demise of the ell. The man stated that when children were being rascals or women used bad language, the demi-aune was just the right size to restore order and tranquility to the household. He lamented “Avouay lo métrə, tyè voląy-vo férè? On-n-a rin mè d’ôtoritą!” (With the meter, what do you want to do? We no longer have any authority!).

For those who wish to see one of these intriguing and versatile pieces of history, the Museum der Landschaft Saanen has an ell in its delightful collection. It is located near the weaving loom in a glass-covered display case. It is an 1835 ell, 60 cm long, with lines every 7.5 cm which were thought to measure buttonholes.

ALEX BERTEA

Many thanks to Regula Hauswirth at the Saanen Museum for her assistance.