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Glagolitic numerals are a
() – 1280
Glagolitic numerals are a numeral system
A numeral system (or system of numeration) is a writing system for expressing numbers; that is, a mathematical notation for representing numbers of a given set, using digits or other symbols in a consistent manner.
The same sequence of symbo ...
derived from the Glagolitic script, generally agreed to have been created in the 9th century by Saint Cyril. They are similar to Cyrillic numerals, except that numeric values are assigned according to the native alphabetic order
Alphabetical order is a system whereby character strings are placed in order based on the position of the characters in the conventional ordering of an alphabet. It is one of the methods of collation. In mathematics, a lexicographical order is ...
of the Glagolitic alphabet
The Glagolitic script (, , ''glagolitsa'') is the oldest known Slavic alphabet. It is generally agreed to have been created in the 9th century by Saint Cyril, a monk from Thessalonica. He and his brother Saint Methodius were sent by the Byzan ...
. Use of Glagolitic script and numerals declined through the Middle Ages and by the 17th century Glagolitic was used almost only in religious writings. It is unclear if the use of Glagolitic numerals persisted as long as the use of Glagolitic script.
General description
The system is a decimalalphabetic numeral system
An alphabetic numeral system is a type of numeral system. Developed in classical antiquity, it flourished during the early Middle Ages. In alphabetic numeral systems, numbers are written using the characters of an alphabet, syllabary, or anothe ...
, with values assigned in alphabetical order, so = 1, = 2, and so forth. Glyphs for the ones, tens, and hundreds values are combined additively to form numbers, for example, is 500 + 80 + 3 or 583. Numbers are written from left to right, highest value at the left. As with Cyrillic numerals, between 11 and 19 the ordinary sign order is reversed, so the numbers 11 through 19 are typically written with the ones digit before the glyph for 10; for example is 6 + 10, making 16, this reflects the Slavic lexical numerals for the teens.
For numbers greater than 999, there is conflicting evidence. As the earliest version of the Glagolitic alphabet had 36 characters, there are indications of the use of Glagolitic letters for 1000 through 9000, although the validity of 3000 and greater is questioned. There is also evidence of the use of a thousands sign, similar to the lower-left keraia in Greek numerals
Greek numerals, also known as Ionic, Ionian, Milesian, or Alexandrian numerals, are a system of writing numbers using the letters of the Greek alphabet. In modern Greece, they are still used for ordinal numbers and in contexts similar to tho ...
or the Cyrillic thousands sign to mark numbers greater than 999.
To distinguish numbers from text, numerals are typically set apart with dots or a mark is placed over the numbers. For example, the ''Missale Romanum Glagolitice
''Missale Romanum Glagolitice'' ( hr, Misal po zakonu rimskoga dvora) is a Croatian missal and incunabulum printed in 1483. It is written in Glagolitic script and is the first printed Croatian book. It is the first missal in Europe not publishe ...
'' printed in 1483, uses both dots around and a titlo
Titlo is an extended diacritic symbol initially used in early Cyrillic and Glagolitic manuscripts, e.g., in Old Church Slavonic and Old East Slavic languages. The word is a borrowing from the Greek "", "title" (compare dated English '' tittle' ...
over letters in places to indicate a number, as does the Vinodol statute
Law code of Vinodol or Vinodol statute ( hr, Vinodolski zakonik) is one of the oldest law texts written in the Chakavian dialect of Croatian and is among the oldest Slavic codes.Russkaya Pravda is the only older code in Slavdom. It was written i ...
.
Example:
* () – 1280
Table of values
As noted earlier, the letters associated with number values greater than 999 are uncertain, and different authors have inferred different values (and different orders) for letters towards the end of the Glagolitic alphabet.See also
*Glagolitic alphabet
The Glagolitic script (, , ''glagolitsa'') is the oldest known Slavic alphabet. It is generally agreed to have been created in the 9th century by Saint Cyril, a monk from Thessalonica. He and his brother Saint Methodius were sent by the Byzan ...
* Relationship of Cyrillic and Glagolitic scripts As the 9th-century missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius undertook their mission to evangelize to the Slavs of Great Moravia, two writing systems were developed: Glagolitic and Cyrillic. Both scripts were based on the Greek alphabet and share comm ...
* Greek numerals
Greek numerals, also known as Ionic, Ionian, Milesian, or Alexandrian numerals, are a system of writing numbers using the letters of the Greek alphabet. In modern Greece, they are still used for ordinal numbers and in contexts similar to tho ...
* Cyrillic numerals
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glagolitic NumeralsNumerals
A numeral is a figure, symbol, or group of figures or symbols denoting a number. It may refer to:
* Numeral system used in mathematics
* Numeral (linguistics), a part of speech denoting numbers (e.g. ''one'' and ''first'' in English)
* Numerical d ...
Numeral systems
Numerals
Elementary mathematics
Cyrillo-Methodian studies