![]() Today, Roman numerals appear in building cornerstones and movie credits and titles. Eventually, Roman numerals gave way to the more versatile Arabic or Hindu numeral system, where numbers are read as a single number in sequence, like 435 as four hundred thirty-five.Īs the Roman Empire collapsed a thousand years later, Christianity (ironically one of Rome's earliest targets for persecution), continued to use the culture's number system. This hindered the ability to develop a universally understood, sophisticated math system, and made trading more difficult. For example, there is no symbol for zero, and there is no way to calculate fractions. For larger numbers in the thousands, a bar placed on top of the letter or string of letters multiplies the numeral's value by 1,000. You would instead write XCIX (XC + IX, or 90+9). You can subtract 1 from 10 (IX) but you cannot subtract 1 from 100 there is no such number as IC. You also cannot subtract a number from one that is more than 10 times greater. But following the rule, it instead is XIII, or 10 plus 3. It's easy to see how the reasoning would be: 15 minus 1 minus 1. XC equals 100 minus 10, or 90, so XC plus V, or 90 plus 5, equals 95.Īlso, only one number can be subtracted from another. When it comes to subtracting amounts, only powers of 10 are subtracted, like I, X, or C, but not V or L. For example, do not use the same symbol more than three times in a row. There are a number of other rules related to Roman numerals. (Image credit: Michaela Stejskalova Shutterstock) Dating from the 1850’s this landmark timepiece is a rarity in favouring the IV approach.A medieval clock in Prague, Czech Republic, has Roman numerals on its face. One notable contradiction to most clock makers preference for the IIII, is London’s iconic Big Ben clock tower. We feel that using IIII creates more visual symmetry with the VIII opposite it on the clock face than IV does, creating a greater sense of balance within our designs. The main reason that we at Newgate favour the IIII on all of our clocks and watches, is all down to aesthetics. This arrangement means I is seen at the start of the first four hour markings on the dial, V is seen at the start of the next four markings, and X is seen only in the last four markings, creating radial symmetry. If you use IV, the totals are four, seventeen, and five, which doesn't divide up so neatly, and therefore requires several moulds in different configurations.įor those logically-minded souls amongst us, then using IIII makes more numerical sense when the clock dial is viewed as a whole. That's one mould of "XVIIIII" which you can cast four times and have the right number of digits for your dial. If you're making a clock where the numerals are cut from metal and affixed to the face, using IIII means you'll need twenty I's, four V's, and four X's. ![]() Traditionally using IIII may have made work a little easier for clock makers. Some later clockmakers followed the tradition, and others didn't. King Louis XIV of France supposedly preferred IIII over IV, and so he ordered his clockmakers to use the former. There was a feeling that using the start of Jupiter’s name on a clock dial, and it being upside down where it fell, would be disrespectful to the deity, so IIII was introduced instead. When Roman numerals were in use by the Roman Empire, the name of the Romans' supreme deity, Jupiter, was spelled as IVPPITER in Latin. Here are just some of the theories on why IIII came to be most commonly used: ![]() There are several conflicting theories on whether it should be IIII or IV on a clock face, and no definitive answers. Why do some clocks use the roman numeral IV on their dials, while others use IIII in the place of number four? As clock and watch designers it ’ s a question that we ’ ve spent a lot of time thinking about.
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