Roman numerals

The sytem of Roman numerals is a numeral system originating in ancient Rome. It is based on certain letters which are given values:

• I for one,
• V for five,
• X for ten,
• L for fifty[?],
• C for one hundred,
• D for five hundred[?],
• M for one thousand.

Throughout the centuries, there has been variation in some of its symbols - specifically in the subtractive notation (which uses, e.g. IV to denote 4 instead of IIII) has entered universal use only in modern times. For example, Forme of Cury, a manuscript from 1390, uses IX for 9, but IIII for 4. Another document in the same manuscript, from 1381, uses IV and IX. A third document in the same manuscript uses IIII, IV, and IX.

The Romans themselves didn't seem to bother that much about what was the correct formation of a number; constructions such as IIX for eight have been discovered. In many cases, there seems to have been a certain reluctance in the use of subtractive notation.

Some rules regarding Roman numerals state that a symbol representing 10^x may not precede any symbol larger than 10^(x + 1); use XCIX not IC for 99.

Use of Roman numerals today is mostly restricted to ordinal numbers, such as volumes or chapters in a book or the numbers identifying monarchs (e.g. Elizabeth II). The BBC uses them to denote the year in which a programme was made. Sometimes they are written using lower-case letters (thus: i, ii, iii, iv, etc.), particularly if numbering paragraphs or sections within chapters. Undergraduate degrees at British universities are generally graded using I, IIi, IIii, III for first, upper second, lower second and third class respectively.

The "modern" Roman numerals, post-Victorian era, are shown below:

An accurate way to write large numbers in Roman numerals is to handle first the thousands, then hundreds, then tens, then units.
Example: the number 1988.
One thousand is M, nine hundred is CM, eighty is LXXX, eight is VIII.
Put it together: MCMLXXXVIII.

External link Mathworld on Roman Numerals (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/RomanNumeral)

See also: Numeral system, Arabic numerals, Armenian numerals, Babylonian numerals, Chinese numerals, Greek numerals, Hebrew numerals, Indian numerals, Mayan numerals.