Prior to the enactment of a law known as the "Composition of Yards and Perches" () some time between 1266 and 1303, the English system of measurement had been based on that of the Anglo-Saxons, who were descended from tribes of northern Germany. The "Compositio" redefined the yard, foot, inch, and barleycorn to of their previous value. However, it retained the Anglo-Saxon rod of 15 x feet (5.03 metres) and the acre of 4 × 40 rods. Thus, the rod went from 5 old yards to new yards, or 15 old feet to new feet. The furlong went from 600 old feet (200 old yards) to 660 new feet (220 new yards). The acre went from 36,000 old square feet to 43,560 new square feet. Scholars have speculated that the "Compositio" may have represented a compromise between the two earlier systems of units, the Anglo-Saxon and the Roman.