Cistercian Numerals
Convert numbers to Cistercian numerals - medieval single-glyph notation that can represent 1-9999.
How Cistercian Numerals Work
- • A single vertical stem represents the base
- • Units (1-9) are shown in the top-right quadrant
- • Tens (10-90) are shown in the top-left quadrant (mirrored)
- • Hundreds (100-900) are in the bottom-right (inverted)
- • Thousands (1000-9000) are in the bottom-left (mirrored + inverted)
- • All four can combine into a single symbol (up to 9999)
Puzzle Tips
- • Look for symbols with a central vertical line
- • Check all four quadrants around the stem
- • Popular in medieval/monastery themed puzzles
- • Also appears in fantasy and RPG contexts
What are Cistercian Numerals?
Cistercian numerals are a medieval numbering system developed by Cistercian monks in the 13th century. A single glyph can represent any number from 1 to 9999 by combining elements in four quadrants around a vertical stem.
How They Work
The Structure
- Stem: A vertical line is the base
- Units (1-9): Top-right quadrant
- Tens (10-90): Top-left (mirrored horizontally)
- Hundreds (100-900): Bottom-right (mirrored vertically)
- Thousands (1000-9000): Bottom-left (mirrored both ways)
The 9 Basic Shapes
Each quadrant uses the same 9 shapes for digits 1-9, just positioned and mirrored differently:
- Horizontal line at top
- Horizontal line lower
- Diagonal from stem down
- Diagonal from stem up
- 1 + 4 combined
- Vertical line on edge
- 1 + 6 combined
- 2 + 6 combined
- 7 + 2 combined
Historical Use
Cistercian monks used these numerals to:
- Number manuscript pages
- Mark years on buildings
- Record dates in chronicles
- Label items compactly
In Puzzles
Cistercian numerals appear in:
- Medieval themes: Monastery or historical puzzles
- Fantasy games: D&D, Elder Scrolls references
- Architecture: On old buildings
- Visual puzzles: As mysterious symbols
Advantages
- Very compact (one symbol per number)
- Can represent 1-9999
- Visually distinctive
- Harder to alter than Roman numerals
Related Systems
- Roman Numerals: More common medieval system.
- Mayan Numbers: Another positional system.
- Ogham: Celtic script with similar stem structure.