Roman numerals

[BronwenS]

Kia ora

I do know what the Roman numerals mean, but I am not sure whether this means the taxes for Rysbrug in Surrey in 1313 was 18 pence?   See the gap between the roman numerals and the d sign.  He was a farmer and landowner.

Any ideas appreciated.

Nga mihi (best wishes)
Bronwen
Aotearoa

[Kiltpin]

I agree with 18 pence, but I think the tax was for an individual called Johanne.  There was a reason why they would use iij rather than iii and it was pretty widespread. But I can't remember why, I just know it was a thing.

Regards 

Chas

[BronwenS]

Great thanks.  Yes I knew the name.  Just wanted to be sure about the amount.  Someone explained a while back about the j being the last i.  A bit confusing but there you go.  Imagine trying to explain things like the internet to them who lived back in the day..........

Nga mihi
Bronwen
Aotearoa

[GR2]

The long i or j at the end of a number given in Roman numerals is partly an aesthetic thing and partly to make it clear that's where the numeral ends. It means nobody can add to it later without the change being obvious. Without it, I could change a note that said you owe me ii lib to make it read iiii lib. It's like changing £20 to £200 by adding zeros.

[Kiltpin]

Just looked it up - 

Lower case, or minuscule, letters were developed in the Middle Ages, well after the demise of the Western Roman Empire, and since that time lower-case versions of Roman numbers have also been commonly used: i, ii, iii, iv, and so on.

Since the Middle Ages, a "j" has sometimes been substituted for the final "i" of a "lower-case" Roman numeral, such as "iij" for 3 or "vij" for 7. This "j" can be considered a swash variant of "i". Into the early 20th century, the use of a final "j" was still sometimes used in medical prescriptions to prevent tampering with or misinterpretation of a number after it was written.

 
From - 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_numerals 

And Swash - 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swash_(typography) 

Regards 

Chas

[Gadget]

I wass about to add that it was to signify that it was a terminal but  I see that others have posted since I last looked.

Another link
https://genealogy.stackexchange.com/questions/3748/what-is-the-significance-of-the-character-j-at-the-end-of-a-roman-numeral

(memories from Latin classes of over 60 years ago!! )

[BronwenS]

Many thanks to you all.  It makes sense that it cannot then be added to.  A bit like all the squiggles they put at the end of each line in wills.

Nga mihi
Bronwen
Aotearoa