Activity: Roman Numerals

As a minor time-filling activity we had a brief introduction to Roman numerals. We started with pencil and paper introduction to how the V and X derived from tally marks and the basic way to construct the numbers from the letters, then did the more photogenic bit drawing 1-10 using a wax-tablet (which I expected to use at LARP over a decade ago but then never wanted to actually carve into...giving me time to lose the matching stylus).

The (possibly urban legend) of Roman tally marks:

We draw four vertical lines then put a fifth horizontal line through them to tally objects we are counting. It is said that Romans drew four vertical lines and then on the fifth vertical line, they did a little diagonally up to the right from halfway up the vertical (looking like a rune or tengwar letter). They would then do four more vertical lines, and on the tenth one, do a flick up to the right and also a flick down to the left from the middle. This developed into line-line-line-line-line and slash, line-line-line-line-line with other line across it, and if you draw a whole sheet of these quickly, by the bottom of the page you are just writing "I I I I V I I I I X".

We mostly stuck to the numbers 1-10 but we did do a brief look at dates (as you often see publication year printed in the front of books or the end of films in Roman numerals) using the larger letters too: Did you know that "If Victor's X-Ray Looks Clear, Don't Medicate"? (I=1, V=5, X=10, L=50, C=100, D=500 and M=1000)

I have also gradually but inevitably purchased various tea-towels, pencils, erasers etc with Roman numerals on from the gift shops of all these Roman attractions we keep going to, so hopefully the first few numbers (using I, V and X) will now stay in Kane's head as we will have those reminders around the house.