{"id":4452,"date":"2022-05-10T15:45:54","date_gmt":"2022-05-10T14:45:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/englishhistory.net\/?p=4452"},"modified":"2022-06-28T15:11:27","modified_gmt":"2022-06-28T14:11:27","slug":"roman-numerals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/englishhistory.net\/romans\/roman-numerals\/","title":{"rendered":"Roman Numerals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Roman numerals are a number system that was invented by the ancient Romans for the purpose of counting and performing other day-to-day transactions. Roman numerals use just seven letters, with the quantity and order of these letters determining the value of the final number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These seven letters are I, V, X, L, C, D, and M and have values of 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, and 1000. They can be used to write any number up to value of 3,999, which we will go into more detail about later on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roman numerals can look confusing to begin with, but once you have learnt to read them they are actually very easy. Let\u2019s take a look at all the information you need to know how to read and write Roman numerals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Are Roman Numerals?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Roman numerals were widely used throughout Europe as the standard writing system until the late middle ages<\/a>. It is thought that the Romans started using them because they figured that once a number reaches 10 it becomes very hard to count on your fingers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roman numerals use seven letters to represent different numbers. These are I, V, X, L, C, D, and M which hold the integer values of 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, and 1000 respectively. The frequency and position of these letters determines the value of the final number. There are a few different rules when writing Roman numerals, but once they are understood Roman numerals can be easy to read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roman numerals have been used from around the 8th to 9th century BC, and are still used today. Today we use Western Arabic numerals (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9), which became widely known during the 15th century, but can still find Roman numerals on clock faces, in movie titles, and in many other areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Do you have a number you want to convert into Roman Numerals? Then Have a shot of our Roman Numeral Converter Tool<\/a>!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How Do You Read Roman Numerals?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Roman numerals are written through a combination of seven letters. These are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roman Numeral<\/strong><\/td>Number<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
I<\/td>1<\/td><\/tr>
V<\/td>5<\/td><\/tr>
X<\/td>10<\/td><\/tr>
L<\/td>50<\/td><\/tr>
C<\/td>100<\/td><\/tr>
D<\/td>500<\/td><\/tr>
M<\/td>1,000<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In order to write a number, Roman numerals can be used by combining letters together. This is almost like a small math problem that needs to be solved, but is much simpler than it seems. For example, the number 23 is much easier to write with a few different letters, instead of 23 \u201cI\u201d letters!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No More Than Four In A Row and the Subtractive Principle<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If I = 1, then II = 2 and III = 3. So, four would be IIII, right? Actually, this isn\u2019t the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Romans didn\u2019t like having four of the same letter in a row. If you were trying to write the letter nine just using \u201c1\u201d, you\u2019d have to write out nine \u201cI\u201ds, which could get confusing to count and take much longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, the Romans came up with the subtractive principle. Let\u2019s take a look at the number four again. In Roman numerals, four is actually written as IV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I = 1 and V = 5. So effectively what the number IV is saying, is that it is five minus one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another example is the number nine. Instead of being written VIIII (which is 5 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1), it is written as IX. X = 10 and I = 1, so IX is ten minus one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which Order?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Now you\u2019ve grasped the basis of the subtractive principle, it\u2019s important you understand which order the letters need to be written. While IX = 9, XI does not equal 9. So the order in which you write them is important to get right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The simple way to explain this, is that the number needs to be subtracted<\/strong> if it appears before<\/strong> a larger one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking at number nine again (IX), we can see that the I (1) comes before X (10). So these letters are telling you that the I needs to be subtracted from the X. So, 10 minus 1 equals 9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While this is an easy principle to follow with small numbers it can get more confusing with large numbers. An example is the number 39.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

XXXIX = 39. Take a look at the Roman numeral chart above and see if you can work out why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The explanation goes as follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

X = 10, so XXX = 30. We are then left with IX. We know that I = 1, and we also know that if it comes before an X, we need to subtract it, so IX = 9. Therefore, our whole number (XXXIX) must equal 39.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what if the smaller number comes after the bigger? You might have guessed, but the the number needs to be added<\/strong> if it appears after<\/strong> a larger one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, if IX = 9, what does XI equal?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

X = 10 and I = 1, and with the I coming after the X, we need to add them together. Therefore XI = 11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same goes if we look at larger numbers. For example XXXII = 32.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

X = 10, so XXX = 30. We are then left with II, which come after the X, so therefore need to be added. II = 2, so XXXII = 32.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Limited Number Of Letters<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Because there are only 7 letters, there are only six instances in which the smaller number will need to be subtracted from the larger. These are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n