Medieval Christian accounts of Islamic ablution garbled Arabic units and doctrine

Evidence

Ricoldo said that the Hanefa had to wash in fifteen hundred rotuli of water, because they were more perfect than other Muslims. It is not clear what he means by Hamefa: this is not Hanafite doctrine; Aunafa’ is apparently not relevant, and neither does the fact that hanifi was the original name of the Muslims seem to be relevant. He expounded in some detail: ‘digitum in anum infigit, et si sentit aliquid fetoris, non est aptus ut oret’, etc. Rotulus may here represent the Arabic ratl, which is not however a liquid, but a solid measure. The whole passage must represent a misunderstanding. — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 2333

Categorization

• QUESTION: Worth chasing: how rotation of a word through unfamiliar languages (ratl to rotulus) created pseudo-accuracy in polemical writing — a small case study in medieval misinformation chains.
• XREF: connects to: Medieval Christians weaponized accurate Islamic learning for polemics; Medieval accounts of Muslim ritual garbled Arabic technical terms