Occorrerà aspettare fino al tardo Medio Evo perché si diffonda la variante alternativa e, quando vennero realizzati i primi orologi meccanici tra il XIII e il XIV secolo, la notazione antica era ancora ampiamente usata. ###>In fact, it was not until the late Middle Ages that IV came into use – and when the first mechanical clocks were made, between the 13th and early 14th century, IIII was still in common use.