Numbers

As you go through old records, there will always be a date present. Therefore, it is crucial to understand how numbers and dates work in Catalan.

Numbers

In Catalan records, there are two main types of numbers used to express figures and dates. The first group of numbers used in these records is the set of Roman numerals. Even though they may show some variations from the ones still used today, they are usually easy to read. The researcher must be aware of the common use of some lower-case letters to represent Roman numerals, for example, iii instead of III.

It is recommended a researcher check other records written by the same scribe to ensure the correct reading of a particular number. The chart of Roman numerals to the right is also helpful while gaining familiarity with the different styles in which they can appear.

Some of the older documents you look at may use the following symbol:

This "U" like character signifies the space between the thousands place and the hundreds place.

Portuguese-Tools-Numbers/Roman-Numeral-Example

For example:
Or "1 U DXCI" would be 1591.

Before the "U," the scribe may place a "1" instead of an "M" (such as with our 1591 example.)

The second and most relevant types of numbers are Arabic numerals, which are the most widely used today. These are usually easy to read, but some are sometimes confusing because their shape can be similar to other numbers, such as 1 and 7 or 5 and 9. Here are some examples:

When dating documents, most records will use Cardinal Numerals (one, two, three) or Ordinal Numerals (first, second, third).

Below is a basic guide to the different kinds of numbers you may encounter in Catalan records:

Arabic	Roman	Cardinal	Ordinal
1	I	un^m/una^f	primer
2	II	dos^m/dues^f	segon
3	III	tres	tercer
4	IV	quatre	quart
5	V	cinc	cinquè^m/cinquena^f
6	VI	sis	sisè^m/siena^f
7	VII	set	setè
8	VIII	vuit	vuitè
9	IX	nou	novè
10	X	deu	desè
11	XI	onze	onzè
12	XII	dotze	dotzè
13	XIII	tretze	tretzè
14	XIV	catorze	catorzè
15	XV	quinze	quinzè
16	XVI	setze	setzè
17	XVII	disset	disset
18	XVIII	diviut	divuitè
19	XIX	dinou	dinovè
20	XX	vint	vintè
21	XXI	vint-i-u/un/una	vint-i-unè
22	XXII	vinte-i-dos/dues	vint-i-dosè
23	XXIII	vinte-i-tres	vint-i-tresè
30	XXX	trenta	trentè
31	XXX1	trenta-u/un/una	trenta-unè
32	XXXII	trenta-dos/dues	trenta-dosè
33	XXXIII	trinta-tres	trenta-tresè
40	XXXX	quaranta	quarantè
50	L	cinquanta	cinquantè
60	LX	seixanta	seixantè
70	LXX	setanta	setantè
80	LXXX	vuitanta	vuitantè
90	XC	noranta	norantè
100	C	cent	centè
100	CC	dos-cents	dos-centè
1,000	M	mil	milè

Table of Roman Numerals: D. Jesús Muñoz y Rivero, Tabla de numerales, 1917, in D. Jesús Muñoz y Rivero, Manual de paleografía diplomatica española de los siglos xii al xvii: método teórico-práctico para aprender á leer los documentos españoles de los siglos xii al xvii, (Madrid: 1917); Digital image, Internet Archive (archive.org: accessed 3 April 2024), p103. This image is in the public domain.