Hi Marcus,
Wikipedia, as usually, is right: the Latin/Roman way of representing numerals and dates greatly varies and often depends ... E.g., on epitaphs you sometimes find remarkable variations that only allow to conclude the correct reading of a certain date from additional biographical information provided by the inscription.
This is also true for the general (incorrect and rural) use of Latin as a language.
Also note a frequently employed mixture of the Latin and Arabic numerals in the early 15th century; attached is the sample of the founding inscription of the Church of the Holy Spirit (Heilig-Geist-Kirche) in Landshut, Lower Bavaria, where the founding date 1407 is composed of the Roman m for the cypher 1 while the rest is written in Arabic numerals!
Best,
Michael
Last edited by Matchlock; 13th January 2014 at 02:42 PM.
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