Tammy’s Reviews > Medieval Number Symbolism: Its Sources, Meaning, and Influence on Thought and Expression > Status Update

If 10 is complete, 9 is almost complete. Troy was besieged for 9 years and Odysseus wandered for 9 years. In Luke, in the parable of 10 pieces of silver, one is lost, leaving 9. Some medieval theologians believed that there were ten orders of angles and one order rebelled leaving 9. In the fullness of time, man will be the tenth order. VERY COOL!

In ancient writings, the decimal system plays a role with numbers that are multiples of 10, 100, and 1,000. If Cain is avenged 7-fold, Lamech is avenged 77-fold (70 plus 7). Aquinas did the same thing with the mark of the beastz (666): 6 plus 60 plus 600. If 10 is completeness, then 100 and 1,000 is even more complete. He gives multiple examples of 10 and 100 showing up in a variety of ancient writings.

Egyptian cosmology showed the heavens being held by four pillars at cardinal directions with a woman at each end. We also have the four winds going along with this. Crosslike forms are found in many cultures (Hindu Swastika, Greek four-armed cross are examples). Because of our natural adding machines, 5 means hand, 10 means two hands, and 20 hands means man. The decimal system makes 10 even more important.

Ancient people divided the day into dawn, noon day, and setting sun (birth, life, and death of the sun). Many ancient ideas involve beginning, middle, and end: Greek fates, Norns, Indian, and even Zeus. Four became linked with Earth because of the 4 cardinal directions (East and West--rising and setting sun; North and South perpendicular to it). Four-armed forms emerged in North and South American and Asian tribes.

A third occurrence hints at a law. The OT flood and Babylonian version had three birds. Myths have three golden apples. A three-cord strand is hard to break (OT). Myths, folklore, legends, fairy tales, and parables often have threes. Jesus was in the tomb for three days as a strong proof. Even moderns fall for three as an indication of scientific patterns.

Some tribes in the author's day were at this level or lower. Three goes with superlatives in many ancient languages: one is good, two is better, and three is best. The trident and triple thunderbolt signify symbols of greatness and power. Egyptians had a single bar for 1, double for 2, and triple for undetermined number. Aristotle said that three signifies all. One just is. Two is repetition to take note.

Elementary - There are unanimous beliefs about the meaning of numbers because they may go back to concrete connections. Even to moderns, some make sense. Every civilization probably went from no numbers to single versus many to distinct numbers. Two came about with natural pairs of opposites, often one linked to good and the other to evil. Now we have one, two, and many.

To Christians, 3 hovers like a halo over Christ and the Trinity, While it’s impossible to trace a clear line back to its roots, number symbolism is a hybrid of three things: elemental (5 = hand, 20 = man (10 fingers, 10 toes), Babylonian astronomy (numbers tie to celestial objects), and Pythagoras (relationships between numbers). Then he explains the book’s organization, sources, scholars, and helpful people.

Preface states the medieval mind wove a web of concrete realities with abstract ideas. They believed God implanted these symbols. Images transmit ideas. It makes no sense to us that Beatrice was a nine. Nine had a sacred meaning that showed up in cathedral architecture and the mass. They did not see numbers for their practical realities. They were linked with memory and meaning.