The Ciphers of the Monks

The Ciphers of the Monks: A Forgotten Number-notation of the Middle Ages is a book by David A. King published in 2001. It describes the Cistercian numeral system, a numeral system that was used by the Cistercian order of monks in the 13th to 15th centuries of the Middle Ages, and has been used sporadically since then. It allowed writing numbers from 1 to 9999 as single compound characters.[1]

The system
Basic symbols of the system
Some numbers written in the Cistercian system

The system uses a horizontal or vertical stave as its base. Either side of either end of the stave may carry a digit from 1 to 9. The place value of the digit is determined by its location.[2]

The numeral system was invented in the 1300s by French Cistercian monks, based on symbols introduced by John of Basingstoke. It was contemporary with the introduction of the Hindu–Arabic numeral system.

Reviews

The book[3] received mixed reviews. Historian Ann Moyer lauded King for re-introducing the numerical system to a larger audience, since many had forgotten about it.[4] Mathematician Detlef Spalt claimed that Kind exaggerated the system's importance and made mistakes in applying the system in the book devoted to it.[5] Moritz Wedell, however, called the book a "lucid description" and a "comprehensive review of the history of research" concerning the monks' ciphers.[6]

References
  1. Høyrup, Jens (2008). "Book review". Annals of Science. 65 (2): 306-308.
  2. Gianni A. Sarcone. "Numbers' history". archimedes-lab.org. Retrieved 2015-08-13.
  3. King, D.A. (2001). The Ciphers of the Monks: A Forgotten Number-notation of the Middle Ages. F. Steiner. ISBN 9783515076401. Retrieved 2015-08-13.
  4. Moyer, Ann (2003). "Book review". Speculum. 78 (3): 919-921. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
  5. Spalt, Detlef (2004). "Book review". Sudhoffs Archiv (in German). 88 (1): 108-109. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
  6. Wedell, Moritz (2003). "Buchbesprechung". Zeitschrift für Germanistik (in German). 13 (3): 671–673.
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