The concept of Roman numerals establishes that they are part of a numbering system that uses seven capital letters as symbols and each one is assigned a numerical value. The I for 1, V for 5, X for 10, L for 50, C for 100, D for 500 and M for 1000. At present it is used mainly in the numbers of chapters and volumes of a work, in acts and scenes of a play, in the designation of congresses, Olympics, assemblies, contests, in the names of popes, kings and emperors, book chapters among many others.
What are Roman numerals
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It can be said from the definition of Roman numerals is that these are and are part of a numbering system that originated in ancient Rome, which uses uppercase letters of the Latin alphabet to denote numbers following various parameters and regulations, so that this way, there is a single interpretation of their writing and reading in terms of their values. The use of this type of numbering system is not as frequent as the Arabic numerals, so it is used in very particular cases.
These are based on the Etruscan numbers, which initially used only the additive system, which consists in that the value of each letter added is added to the previous value. Later, the definition of Roman numerals is integrated into the subtractive system, in which each letter to the left of the greater value is subtracted.
This system is a non-positional methodology, and the meaning of Roman numerals can be said before its invention, man was forced to use the fingers of his hand to keep accounts. The great Roman Empire spread its numbering system throughout the European continent, part of Western Asia and North Africa, this because this method was very useful and comfortable to carry out addition, subtraction and other types of accounts. Already in the Renaissance stage, the Roman numeral system was displaced by another system, the Indo-Arabic, which are the symbols most used to this day to represent amounts and numbers.
History and origin of Roman numerals
The appearance of Roman numerals dates back throughout the history of ancient Rome. These appeared in the scriptures of the 8th and 9th centuries BC. When beginning the cultivation of the land and the domestication of animals, the Romans found it necessary to somehow count the herds and the heads of cattle, so they began to use marks on the trunks of the trees.
As time passed, the numbering became larger and larger and they found it necessary to invent symbols to keep the accounts, so they began to elaborate them by placing the symbols one after the other, using the letters as symbols of the elementary units. With this, the meaning of Roman numerals is given a start.
In this way, the Roman numeral symbols emerge, establishing that the "I" for the unit, but when many units were presented and reaching ten "I" it was crossed out with an X and in this way the "X" became the number 10. Then it was observed that writing nine times "I" was very tedious and it was thought to create half of 10 and that is when the "V" emerged as the symbol corresponding to number 5.
The Roman numeral system grew out of that used by the Etruscans, an Italian civilization that lived during the 7th and 4th centuries BC. The Romans were based on the method of addition that is, I and I were II, V and II were VII and II and II were IIII. As time went by, they implemented the subtraction method, since the previous symbol or number subtracted the subsequent one, in this way the 9 would not be represented as VIIII but would be IX with this method the notation of the numbers was cut, since they used fewer symbols (for example, 4 would no longer be IIII but IV).
Their use declined in the 2nd century AD with the fall of the Roman Empire and they were replaced by Arabic numerals. At present they are very little used, only on occasions such as in theater scenes, to name the centuries, in the designations of Olympics, in the papal numbers, emperors and kings, in ancient clocks, contests and congresses.
What are Roman numerals used for?
Today, Roman numerology is still used on specific occasions such as:
- To maintain the order in the numbering of the chapters of a book and to count its volumes.
- In the offspring of kings.
- In the order used in the appointment of new Popes.
- In congresses, sporting events, symposia, they are used to indicate the number of the edition in which they are located.
- In the count of centuries or periods throughout history.
- An exercise to test your dexterity with this numerology is to write the year or the one to come. For example, 2019 in Roman numerals is written MMXIX following the rules established in the addition and subtraction of symbols; And in the same way following the same logic, 2020 in Roman numerals is written MMXX.
- The same symbol or number should not be repeated more than three times.
- The smaller number must be to the left of the larger number and must be subtracted.
- The largest number to the right of a symbol or number must be added.
- In recent years, the rise and popularity of Roman numeral tattoos has increased tremendously. Its main protagonists are actors, actresses, singers and athletes, Roman numeral tattoos are part of the designs chosen for this art. The embossing on the skin of this pattern of numbers dates back to the Roman Empire, in this way they marked the slaves and criminals of that time. Its attractive design and its application to tattoos became increasingly popular in tattoo salons and studios.
- Roman numeral tattoos have a design with a hidden meaning that only the person to whom the tattoo is applied knows what they want to represent with their symbols. Many are depicted symbolic dates, such as the birth of a child, their wedding day, their own birth and even their lucky number. The most common places for the application of a Roman numeral tattoo are the wrist, shoulders and arms, it is also customary to tattoo old clocks with Roman numerals on other parts of the body.
Important dates in Roman numerals
Dates in Roman numerals for an ornamental, solemn and traditional purpose, especially on monuments. Its use is also common in the inscriptions of the pantheons and mausoleums, although in the same way the dates in Roman numerals are used in the final credits in its copyright notice of some formats of television programs or films (example, "Televisa MCMLXXXVIII").
For example, for the year 2019 in Roman numerals, it would be written MMIXX; while for the year 2020 in Roman numerals, it has to be MMXX.
Roman numeral symbols
The symbols in Roman numerals are represented by the following letters and their respective values:
- I: equals 1.
- V: equals 5.
- X: equals 10.
- L: equals 50.
- C: equals 100.
- D: equals 500.
- M: equals 1,000.
Roman numeral rules
In order to use them, the following conventional rules that complement the concept of Roman numerals must be taken into account:
- In the repetition of the values, symbols or letters, their equivalent value is added. Example: II (since I is equal to 1, the sequence of this symbol would be equal to 2).
- These can only be repeated up to three consecutive times (example, XXX, which equals three times ten or thirty).
- It should be added that the numbers that cannot be repeated are those that represent the letters V, L and D (five, fifty and five hundred, respectively), since for this there are X, C and M (ten, one hundred and one thousand).
- Regarding its addition property, if two letters or symbols with different values are found and the one with the lowest value is to the right of the highest value, these values are added (for example, VI, whose values are five and one, applying the additive property would be six).
- Regarding its subtractive property, if the lowest value is to the left of the highest value, the lowest value will be subtracted from the highest (example, IV, so I or one is subtracted from V or five, being a total four).
- From 4,000, a number must be superimposed by a line, this means that the value in question will be multiplied by a thousand, and if it has two lines, it will be multiplied by a million. Example: if XV is written XV (but at the top), this means fifteen thousand; and if XV is written (but at the top), it means fifteen million.
- Very low values, such as I, can only subtract value from V and X, but not for L, C, D and M. Example: IV or IX can be used, but not ID or IM.
- The value of the symbol X will only subtract from the values of L and C.
- In this sense, the value of C will only subtract from the values of D and M.
- Similarly, the letter that equals five (V) should not be used to subtract from the greater value. Example, for 45 you should not write VL, but XLV.
Characteristics and curiosities of Roman numerals
- They are characterized by being represented by letters of the Latin alphabet and these are used in capital letters.
- Their succession is carried out horizontally.
- The order in which these must be placed is from highest to lowest when they are added and its left will only be considered to subtract from the greater amount.
- This is considered a non-positional system; that is, the symbols are the ones that have the value.
- Each letter or symbol should not be used more than three consecutive times.
- Its use at present is limited to editions of events, chapters of texts such as books, in the successions of the papacies and monarchies, in the eras and centuries, the important dates in Roman numerals were placed on monuments, among others.
- At the beginning, the I represented a finger when counting the heads of cattle, the V the five fingers or the hand and the X the two hands (if a V to the right and an inverted one were placed).
- A curiosity is that the cuckold symbol made with the hands (the little and index fingers up and the other two down), symbolized the number 400 if it was done with the right hand and symbolized the number 4 if it was done with the right hand. left hand.
- In this system, there is no representation for the number zero (0).
- Similarly, negative numbers were not considered either.
- In its origins, the Etruscan symbols I, Λ, X, Ψ, 8 and ⊕ were used, which symbolized I, V, X, L, C and M.
Roman numerals from 1 to 50, 100, 500 and 1,000
These are represented by:
- 1: I
- 2: II
- 3: III
- 4: IV
- 5: V
- 6: VI
- 7: VII
- 8: VIII
- 9: IX
- 10: X
- 11: XI
- 12: XII
- 13: XIII
- 14: XIV
- 15: XV
- 16: XVI
- 17: XVII
- 18: XVIII
- 19: XIX
- 20: XX
- 21: XXI
- 22: XXII
- 23: XXIII
- 24: XXIV
- 25: XXV
- 26: XXVI
- 27: XXVII
- 28: XXVIII
- 29: XXIX
- 30: XXX
- 31: XXXI
- 32: XXXII
- 33: XXXIII
- 34: XXXIV
- 35: XXXV
- 36: XXXVI
- 37: XXXVII
- 38: XXXVIII
- 39: XXXIX
- 40: XL
- 41: XLI
- 42: XLII
- 43: XLIII
- 44: XLIV
- 45: XLV
- 46: XLVI
- 47: XLVII
- 48: XLVIII
- 49: XLIX
- 50: L
- 100: C
- 500: D
- 1,000: M
