Would you kindly explain how to add 1492 14 and 49 in two different ways using only Roman numerals throughout both calculations?

Answer 1

Under todays rules governing the Roman numeral system (which incidentally had nothing to do with the ancient Romans because they were introduced during the Middle Ages presumably to make it easier to convert Roman numerals into Hindu-Arabic numerals that were fast becoming the predominant numeracy system in Western Europe at the time) we would write out the equivalent of 1492, 14 and 49 into Roman numerals officially as MCDXCII, XIV and XLIX respectively which makes it quite difficult if not impossible to add them together in some order of logical reasoning.

Yet there is evidence to suggest that the Romans themselves in the past would have probably calulated the above numbers and if necessary in conjunction with an abacus counting device using either of the following formats:-

XMDII=IXV = MDVI (1502-10)+(15-1) = (1506)

MDVI+IL = MDLV (1506)+(50-1) = (1555)

Alternatively:-

MCCCCLXXXXII+XIIII = MDVI (1492)+(14) = (1506)

MDVI+XXXXVIIII = MDLV (1506)+(49) = (1555)

The former format is an abridged version of the latter.

Remember: 5*I=V, 2*V=X, 5*X=L, 2*L=C, 5*C=D and 2*D=M

Roman numerals: M=1000, D=500, C=100, L=50, X=10, V=5 and I=1

QED