Roman numerals

The system of Roman numerals is a numeral system originating in ancient Rome, and was adapted from Etruscan numerals. The system used in antiquity was slightly modified in the Middle Ages to produce the system we use today.

Zero

In general, the number zero did not have its own Roman numeral, but the concept of zero as a number was well known by all medieval computists (responsible for calculating the date of Easter). They included zero (via the Latin word nullae meaning nothing) as one of nineteen epacts, or the age of the moon on March 22. The first three epacts were nullae, xi, and xxii (written in minuscule or lower case). The first known computist to use zero was Dionysius Exiguus in 525, but the concept of zero was no doubt well known earlier. Only one instance of a Roman numeral for zero is known. About 725, Bede or one of his colleagues used the letter N, the initial of nullae, in a table of epacts, all written in Roman numerals.

Related Topics:
Zero - Computists - Easter - Latin - Epact - March 22 - Minuscule - Dionysius Exiguus - 525 - 725 - Bede - N

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A notation for the value zero is quite distinct from the role of the digit zero in a positional notation system. The lack of a zero digit prevented Roman numerals from developing into a positional notation, and led to their gradual replacement by Arabic numerals in the early second millennium.

Related Topics:
Positional notation - Arabic numerals - Second millennium

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