Dates and numbers in Latin and English

Dating in documents

Many documents are dated not by the modern calendar year (the 'year of the Lord', or anno domini), but by the regnal year.

This is the number of years since the ruling monarch came to the throne. The date '1 Elizabeth I', for example, means the first year of the reign of Elizabeth I.

Elizabeth I came to the throne on 17 November 1558, so the year 1 Elizabeth I ran from 17 November 1558 to 16 November 1559.

The year in England began officially on 25 March (Lady Day) until 1752.

December 1558, for example, was followed by January 1558, and 24 March 1558 by 25 March 1559.

The change to 1 January was brought about by an Act of Parliament passed in 1751.

The same Act cut 11 days out of the year 1752 in order to correct a divergence which had arisen over the centuries between the calendar and solar years.

Therefore Wednesday 2 September 1752 was followed immediately by Thursday 14 September.

Below are some examples of common Latin words and clauses used in dating documents.

Years

Year - annus
In the year (of) - anno
In the year of the Lord - anno domini
In the year of the reign of - anno regni

Months

Month/in the month (of) - mensis
January - Januarii
February - Februarii
March - Martii
April - Aprilis
May - Maii
June - Junii
July - Julii
August - Augusti
September - Septembris or vij^ris or *7^ris
October - Octobris or viij^ris or *8^ris
November - Novembris or ix^ris or *9^ris
December - Decembris or x^ris or *10^ris

* These abbreviations for September, October, November and December (which mean the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th months respectively) may also be found in documents written in English, in which they are likely to be in the forms 7^er, 8^er, 9^erand 10^er.

Days of the week

Day - dies
On the day (of) - di
Sunday (on) - die dominica
Monday - die lune
Tuesday - die martis
Wednesday - die mercurii
Thursday - die jovis
Friday - die veneris
Saturday - die sabbati

Words commonly used in dating

On the feast of - in festo
Before - ante
After - post
Next - proxima
On the eve of (the day before) - in vigilia
On the morrow of (the day after) - in crostino
In the year of the reign of king/queen... - anno regni regis/regine
After the conquest - post conquestum
In the year aforesaid - anno predicto

Some examples of dating clauses

Friday 1 October 1339 (Friday next after Michaelmas, 13 Edward III) - Die veneris proxima post festum sancti Michaelis Archangeli anno regni regis Edwardii tercii post conquestum tercio decimo
2 September 1454 - ij^o die Septembris A.D. M^lcccc liiij^to
7 April 1522 (13 Henry VIII) - Septimo die Aprilis Anno Regni Regis Henrici octavi tertio decimo
21 December 1556 - xxj^mo die mensis Decembris anno domini millesimo quingen^o quinquagesimo sexto
20 February 1603 - The twentieth day of February in the year of our Lord 1602

For more information about dates (including saints' days and other religious festivals, regnal years, and terms of the law courts) see C R Cheney and M Jones (eds), A Handbook of Dates for Students of British History (Cambridge University Press, revd 2000).

Cardinal and ordinal numbers

1, l, i or j (1^st) - primo (i^o or i^mo)
2, II or ij (2^nd) - secondo (ij^o)
3, III, or iij (3^rd) - tertio (iij^o)
4, IV, iiij or iv (4^th) - quarto (iiij^o or iv^to)
5, V or v (5^th) - quinto (v^o or vt^o)
6, VI or vj (6^th) - sexto (vj^o or vj^to)
7, VII or vij (7^th) - septimo (vij^o)
8, VIII or viij (8^th) - octavo (viij^o)
9, IX or ix (9^th) - nono (ix^o)
10, X or x (10^th) - decimo (x^o)
11, XI or xj (11^th) - undecimo (xj^o)
12, XII or xij (12^th) - duodecimo (xij^o)
13, XIII or xiij (13^th) - tertio decimo (xiij^o)
14, XIV, xiiij or xiv (14^th) - quarto decimo (xiiij^o)
15, XV or xv (15^th) - quinto decimo (xv^o)
16, XVI or xvj (16^th) - sextus decimo (xvj^o)
17, XVII or xvij (17^th) - septimo decimo (xvij^o)
18, XVIII or xviij (18^th) - octavo decimo or duodevicesimo (xviij^o)
19, XIX or xix (19^th) - nono decimo or undevicesimo (xix^o)
20, XX or xx (20^th) - vicesimo (xx^o)
21, XXI or xxj (21^st) - vicesimo primo (xxj^o)*
22, XXII or xxij (22^nd) - vicesimo secondo (xxij^o)*
28, XXVIII or xxviij (28^th) - vicesimo octavo or duodetricesimo (xxviij^o)
29, XXIX or xxix (29^th) - vicesimo nono or undetricesimo (xxix^o)
30, XXX or xxx (30^th) - tricesimo (xxx^o)
40, XL or xl (40^th) - quadragesimo (xl^o)
50, L or l (50^th) - quinquagesimo (l^o)
60, LX or lx (60^th) - sexagesimo (lx^o)
70, LXX or lxx (70^th) - septuagesimo (lxx^o)
80, LXXX, lxxx or iiijxx (80^th) - octogesimo (lxxx^o)
90, XC, xc, lxxxx or iiijxxx (90^th) - nonagesimo (lxxxx^o)
100, C or c (100^th) - centesimo (c^o)
200, CC, cc or ijc (200^th) - ducentesimo (cc^mo)
300, CCC, ccc or iijc (300^th) - trecentesimo (ccc^mo)
400, CCCC, cccc or iiijc (400^th) quadringentesimo (cccc^mo)
500, D, d, CCCCC, ccccc or vc (500^th) - quingentesimo (ccccc^mo)
600, DC, dc or vjc (600^th) - sescentesimo
1000, M or m (1000^th) - millesimo (M^mo, m^mo or m^l)

*In documents written in English, these may be in the forms xxj^th and xxij^th, meaning 'one and twentieth' and 'two and twentieth', etc.

Roman, rather than Arabic, numerals were used in England until the 16th century and continued to appear in many Latin documents thereafter.

Counting was often in scores (twenties), indicated by a superscript xx. The use of iiij^xx or iv^xx, meaning four score (80), is especially common.

A superscript C or c indicates multiples of a hundred: thus vj^c means 600 (or sometimes six hundredweight).

A half is dimidia, often abbreviated to di. or dⁱ. Pounds, shillings and pence (libre, solidi and denarii) are usually abbreviated in accounts to li., s. and d., often written as superscript.

½d. (obolus) and ¼d. (Quarta or quadrans) are usually ob, qa and q^a.

Sums of money may also be expressed in marks (13s 4d), or in fractions or multiples of a mark. Half a mark (6s 8d) is especially common.

Examples of sums of money

55s 4d - lv^s ivd
£121 16s - cxxj^li xvj^s j^d ob.
33s. 10¾d - 1½d. xxxiij^s x^d ob' q^u