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 Spanish.
Numbers
In Spanish records, there are two main types of numbers used to express figures and dates. The first group of numbers used in Spanish 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 lower-case letters to represent roman numerals, for example, iii instead of III.
We recommend that the 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. Here are some examples:
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 Spanish records:
Below is a basic guide to numbers you may encounter in Spanish records:
Arabic
Roman
Cardinal
Ordinal
0
nūllus
cero
-
1
I
unm/unaf
primero
2
II
dos
segundo
3
III
tres
tercero
4
IV
cuatro
cuarto
5
V
cinco
quinto
6
VI
seis
sexto
7
VII
siete
séptimo
8
VIII
ocho
octavo
9
IX
nueve
noveno
10
X
diez
décimo
11
XI
once
undécimo
12
XII
doce
duodécimo
13
XIII
trece
decimotrecero
14
XIV
catorce
decimocuarto
15
XV
quince
decimoquinto
16
XVI
decicéis
decimosexto
17
XVII
decicisiete
decimoséptimo
18
XVIII
deciocho
decimoctavo
19
XIX
diecinueve
decimonoveno
20
XX
veinte
vigésimo
21
XXI
veintiuno
vigésimo primero
22
XXII
veintidós
vigésimo segundo
23
XXIII
veintitrés
vigésimo tercero
30
XXX
trienta
trigésimo
31
XXX1
trienta y uno
trigésimo primero
32
XXXII
trienta y dos
trigésimo segundo
33
XXXIII
trienta y tres
trigésimo terceiro
40
XXXX
cuarenta
cuadragésimo
50
L
cincuenta
quincuagésimo
60
LX
sesenta
sexagésimo
70
LXX
setenta
septuagésimo
80
LXXX
ochenta
octogésimo
90
XC
noventa
nonagésimo
100
C
cien
centésimo
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.