Baptism date help

pwe · Post by **pwe** » 25 Nov 2011 20:11

I am unsure of the date of the baptism highlighted here. What are the meaning of the marks C i & j. I guess that the baptism date is the 24th but I would like to be sure and to understand the marks. Is anyone able to help me? TIA

Peter E

ID:5595

Post by **nsw** » 25 Nov 2011 20:34

This is a different form of roman numeral so I think January CCiiij is Jan 24th.

The earlier dates on the page:

December CCC = Dec 30th
January Vij = Jan 7th
January CVj = Jan 16th
January CCiij = Jan 23rd

I believe the last i in a set is always written as a j in this form to make it clear this is the last one in the set so it doesn't get mixed up with any other sets of number that follow.

I think that's right!

Post by **tatewise** » 25 Nov 2011 20:35

This is my educated guess:
Each C is an X
Each v is a V
Each i and j is an I
So reading CCiiij as XXIIII gives 24 in Roman numerals.
Looking at all the examples above and below, this seems to fit.

pwe · Post by **pwe** » 26 Nov 2011 13:44

Thanks Nick & tatewise - that is the way I guessed that it must be. I have never come across this notation before, I wonder, is it common or was it something used by the particular scribe on this parish register?

Peter E

Dagwood · Post by **Dagwood** » 26 Nov 2011 16:54

Hi Peter, Is that name Alderwood?
Dagwood

AdrianBruce · Post by **AdrianBruce** » 27 Nov 2011 22:18

Actually the supposed 'c' is one of a number of forms of the letter 'x' - see 'Palaeography for Family & Local Historians' by Hilary Marshall. Just don't ask me which hand it appears in. (Originally I was disappointed that this book doesn't split the alphabets by hand, but gradually I realised that since the clerks tended to be a bit fluid in their penmanship, it would have been worse if the hands were split.)

According to the rules of transcription, the date is correctly transcribed as 'January xxiiii' - the book, by the way, confirms that the last letter 'i' in Roman numerals 'invariably took the long form' - which looks like a 'j'.

AnneEast · Post by **AnneEast** » 29 Nov 2011 12:59

The way the numerals are written is common for this sort of date, not only in the parish registers but also in other church notes I have seen. For example the old vestry notes for our church say there used to be 'iiij lytel belles' in the tower (four little bells!)

Anne

pwe · Post by **pwe** » 29 Nov 2011 14:26

Dagwood,
Sorry missed you post earlier.
No the name is Fleetwood. This line goes on to include Charles Fleetwood who was Cromwell's right hand man and was Cromwell's daughter's second husband and also to Colonel George fleetwood the regicide.

Peter E

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