 By means of the (the law of 4 July 1837), Louis Philippe I effectively revoked the use of "mesures uselles" by reaffirming the laws of measurement of 1795 and 1799 to be used from 1 May 1840.However, many units of measure, such as the "livre" (for half a kilogram), remained in everyday use for many years, and to a residual extent up to this day.At the outbreak of the French Revolution, much of modern-day Germany and Austria were part of the Holy Roman Empire which had become a loose federation of kingdoms, principalities, free cities, bishoprics and other fiefdoms, each with its own system of measurement, though in most cases the systems were loosely derived from the Carolingian system instituted by Charlemagne a thousand years earlier.