Europe's Secret Medieval Number System Revealed

🔢The Cistercians developed a secret decimal number system called Cistercian notation.

📚Cistercian notation was used primarily for page numbers and dates in books.

🗓️The Cistercian number system could represent all four-digit numbers from 0 to 9999.

🤫The Cistercians used their own sign language and had a vow of silence, leading to the development of their unique number system.

🧮Roman numerals and Arabic numerals are more widely known and used today, but Cistercian notation stands as a fascinating piece of history.

Who used the Cistercian number system?

—The Cistercian order of monks, a religious order in the late Middle Ages, used the Cistercian notation for their own purposes.

What were the main uses of Cistercian notation?

—Cistercian notation was primarily used for dates and page numbers in books.

How was the Cistercian number system structured?

—The system was based on a decimal structure, with unique symbols representing each digit from 0 to 9. The stem of the symbol represented the units, while the branches represented tens, hundreds, and thousands.

Did the Cistercians have any other unique practices?

—Yes, the Cistercians also had a vow of silence and developed their own sign language.

Why is Cistercian notation not widely known today?

—While Roman numerals and Arabic numerals gained widespread adoption, the Cistercian number system remained relatively unknown due to its limited use and the dominance of other numeral systems.

00:00Europe's long-lost medieval number system, called Cistercian notation, is the focus of this video.

03:58The Cistercians, a religious order in the late Middle Ages, developed and used the Cistercian number system.

06:23Cistercian notation was primarily used for dates and page numbers in books.

08:03The Cistercian number system is a decimal system, with unique symbols representing each digit.

08:45The Cistercians had a vow of silence and developed their own sign language.

09:48Although Cistercian notation was not widely adopted, it remains a fascinating piece of medieval history.