Records written in Italian contain 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 also usually easy to read. The researcher must be aware of the common use of some lowercase 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 a 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.
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 could be similar to other numbers, such as 1 and 7 or 5 and 9.
When dating documents, most records will use cardinal numerals or ordinal numerals; however, it is not uncommon for documents that use a mixture of all four kinds of number systems. Below is a basic guide to numbers you may encounter in Italian records:
Arabic
Roman
Cardinal
Ordinal
0
nūllus
zero
-
1
I
unom/unaf
primo
2
II
due
secondo
3
III
tre
terzo
4
IV
quattro
quarto
5
V
cinque
quinto
6
VI
sei
sesto
7
VII
sette
settimo
8
VIII
otto
ottavo
9
IX
nove
nono
10
X
dieci
decimo
11
XI
undici
undicesimo
12
XII
dodici
dodicesimo
13
XIII
tredici
tredicesimo
14
XIV
quattordici
quattordicesimo
15
XV
quindici
quindicesimo
16
XVI
sedici
sedicesimo
17
XVII
diciassette
diciassettesimo
18
XVIII
diciotto
diciottesimo
19
XIX
diciannove
diciannovesimo
20
XX
venti
ventesimo
21
XXI
ventuno
ventunesimo
22
XXII
ventidue
ventiduesimo
23
XXIII
ventitré
ventitreesimo
30
XXX
trenta
trentesimo
31
XXX1
trentuno
trentunesima
32
XXII
trentadue
trenta secondi
33
XXXIII
trentatre
trentatreesimo
40
XXXX
quaranta
quarantesimo
50
L
cinquanta
cinquantesimo
60
LX
sessanta
sessantesimo
70
LXX
settanta
settantesimo
80
LXXX
ottanta
ottantesimo
90
XC
novanta
novantesimo
100
C
cento
centesimo
1,000
M
mille
millesimo
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.