19-02-2025, 12:09 PM
I am in Milan now and researching, but I want to mention a recurrent mistake that I have seen prior to coming to Milan and which I continue to see in Milan.
The number 5 is often misread as the number 4.
I noted that this has often resulted in the incorrect dating of quite a few documents.
So a document dated to 1450 might be mistakenly dated to 1440. Or a document dated to 1540 might be mistakenly dated to 1440.
In the 15th century the arabic numeral 5 was not written the way it is today. It was written as though rotated 90 degrees anticlockwise. This is often misread as the numeral 4 by modern people unfamiliar with how the numeral was represented.
Misdating documents can be very problematic, so this is why I wanted to issue this warning.
The number 5 is often misread as the number 4.
I noted that this has often resulted in the incorrect dating of quite a few documents.
So a document dated to 1450 might be mistakenly dated to 1440. Or a document dated to 1540 might be mistakenly dated to 1440.
In the 15th century the arabic numeral 5 was not written the way it is today. It was written as though rotated 90 degrees anticlockwise. This is often misread as the numeral 4 by modern people unfamiliar with how the numeral was represented.
Misdating documents can be very problematic, so this is why I wanted to issue this warning.