Quizzes & Puzzles12 mins ago
What sort of numerals does Big Ben (Westminster - London) have?
32 Answers
Not for the horologists, but no doubt you are all going to tell me.
Answers
There are no numerals on Big Ben - it is a bell.
The well-known clock, where Parliament meets, has gothic style Roman numerals round its face and the 4 is depicted as iv
The well-known clock, where Parliament meets, has gothic style Roman numerals round its face and the 4 is depicted as iv
19:57 Tue 09th Feb 2010
Many theories have been passed as to why including -
a) Louis XIV, king of France, who preferred IIII over IV, ordered his clockmakers to produce clocks with IIII and not IV, and thus it has remained.
b) Many clocks use IIII because that was the tradition established by the earliest surviving clock, the Wells Cathedral clock built between 1386 and 1392.
c) With IIII, the number of symbols on the clock totals twenty I's, four V's, and four X's, so clock makers need only a single mould with a V, five I's, and an X in order to make the correct number of numerals for their clocks.
Take your pick. No-ones really sure
a) Louis XIV, king of France, who preferred IIII over IV, ordered his clockmakers to produce clocks with IIII and not IV, and thus it has remained.
b) Many clocks use IIII because that was the tradition established by the earliest surviving clock, the Wells Cathedral clock built between 1386 and 1392.
c) With IIII, the number of symbols on the clock totals twenty I's, four V's, and four X's, so clock makers need only a single mould with a V, five I's, and an X in order to make the correct number of numerals for their clocks.
Take your pick. No-ones really sure
Three theories given above and none of them the horologist's obvious one! Putting four as IIII balances VIII on the opposite side both in size and number of thick lines (The V is always written with a very thin. ' / ' line and a thick '\ ' stroke which matches the thick lines of IIII ) Putting IV opposite VIII doesn't. So it's always been done for aesthetic reasons.
Can't speak for Louis XIV 's preferences but he only ruled France, which was never a pioneer in clocks or watches until the time of Breguet's watches, and the practice was already well established all over Europe by his day (including at Wells Cathedral )
Wells Cathedral has the oldest surviving clock of its type, not the first clock . It was not a trend setter.How could it be ? An obscure cathedral in an unimportant country with a clock, when there were clocks all over Europe already.
Clocks had painted, engraved, or cut out, not cast, numbers for the early part and most of their history. Cast numbers have always been rare in clocks.
Can't speak for Louis XIV 's preferences but he only ruled France, which was never a pioneer in clocks or watches until the time of Breguet's watches, and the practice was already well established all over Europe by his day (including at Wells Cathedral )
Wells Cathedral has the oldest surviving clock of its type, not the first clock . It was not a trend setter.How could it be ? An obscure cathedral in an unimportant country with a clock, when there were clocks all over Europe already.
Clocks had painted, engraved, or cut out, not cast, numbers for the early part and most of their history. Cast numbers have always been rare in clocks.
Thanks for all of those answers none of whch are correct. Some are far too complex, too intricate or just myth. The simple answer is that the clock face of the parlimentary westminster clock (Big Ben) are indeed gothic roman numerals and in this respect it is unique. Whereas all the other clocks & watches that people believe have roman numerals, have in fact 'Arabic' numerals. The figure 4 being depicted as IIII (Arabic version) as opposed to IV (the roman version). As any true blooded horogist will tell you; or simple use a search engine for antique clock parts and look up chapter rings for clock faces.
Millions of people believe they wear watches with roman numerals. Ask them to remove their watch and place it out of view. Now ask them to tell you what kind of numerals are on it. They will nearly always answer roman. Then ask them to tell you the the figure for 4 in roman numerals and they will answer IV. Have a little bet with them, say a pint of beer, that their watch does not sport roman numerals. They alway take the bet. Then reveal that the watch has IIII for the figure 4 and you have yourself a free pint. Always a good talking point when socialising.
Millions of people believe they wear watches with roman numerals. Ask them to remove their watch and place it out of view. Now ask them to tell you what kind of numerals are on it. They will nearly always answer roman. Then ask them to tell you the the figure for 4 in roman numerals and they will answer IV. Have a little bet with them, say a pint of beer, that their watch does not sport roman numerals. They alway take the bet. Then reveal that the watch has IIII for the figure 4 and you have yourself a free pint. Always a good talking point when socialising.
-- answer removed --
No Haynes. You owe your friends several pints, if you've been telling them that IIII isn't Roman. Any ' full-bloodied' (!) classicist would tell you that IIII was the original, and a common , form in Roman times. It is found on Roman inscriptions. (IV is also found and was the version commonly encountered in classical texts). The story is that IIII remained popular instead of IV as IV is also the start of the principal god Jupiter's name. Jupiter is written IVPPITER in Latin inscriptions. It's only in modern times that IV has become the universal way of putting it. (except on clocks !)
In case you're wondering , U and V were originally written with the same sign,V, in Latin. No confusion was likely. V was a consonant pronounced as our consonant W and U as,well, the vowel, U.
For further information, go to wikipedia 'Roman Numerals ' and scroll down to the heading' IIII and IV '
In case you're wondering , U and V were originally written with the same sign,V, in Latin. No confusion was likely. V was a consonant pronounced as our consonant W and U as,well, the vowel, U.
For further information, go to wikipedia 'Roman Numerals ' and scroll down to the heading' IIII and IV '
http://en.wikipedia.o..._numerals#IIII_and_IV
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_numerals
and they do include 0
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_numerals
and they do include 0
Related Questions
Sorry, we can't find any related questions. Try using the search bar at the top of the page to search for some keywords, or choose a topic and submit your own question.