If you haven’t heard the name Nostradamus yet, then you must be living under a stone. Several things have been written about him, and scholars have said much about him and his predictions.
But, what could be so interesting about a man as to make him such a hot topic 450 years after his death? Let us consider.
Nostradamus – The Man
He was born Michel de Nostradame, on December 14 or 21 1503, in the southern French region of Saint-Remy-de-Provence, to Reyniere de St-Remy, and her husband Jaume de Nostradame. He was one of nine children.
Evidence indicates he was very intelligent as he quickly advanced through school, and was tutored in his early years by his maternal grandfather, Jean de St. Remy, who taught him Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and Mathematics.
It is believed that his grandfather also introduced him to ancient Jewish tradition and astrology, giving Nostradame his first exposure to the idea of the heavens and how they supposedly affect human destiny.
A Child Prodigy
At the age of 14, Nostradame entered the University of Avignon to study Medicine, but was forced to leave after only one year due to an outbreak of the bubonic plague.
In 1522, he entered the University of Montpelier to complete his doctorate in Medicine, but was reportedly expelled by university officials who discovered his previous experience as an apothecary. Evidently, the school felt anyone who was involved in what was considered a manual trade was not worthy of studying Medicine.
However, most accounts state he was not expelled, but received license to practice medicine in 1525. It was also at this time that he Latinized his name—as was the custom of academics then—from Nostradame to Nostradamus.
His Medical Career
Over the next several years, Nostradamus travelled throughout France and Italy, treating victims of the plague. There was no known remedy at the time, and most doctors relied on potions made of Mercury, bloodletting, and dressing patients in garlic soaked robes.
But Nostradamus didn’t bleed his patients; instead, he promoted practicing effective hygiene and removing infected corpses from city streets. He became known for creating a rose pill that was rich in Vitamin C, and which provided some relief for patients with mild cases of the plague.
In 1538, he fled France to travel for several years through Italy, Greece and Turkey when ordered to appear before the Church Inquisition, and it is believed that it was during these travels that he became involved in occultism.
One of the legends of Nostradamus talks about an instance during one of his travels through Italy, how he came upon a group of Franciscan monks, and identified one of them – Felice Peretti – as a future pope; and who for a fact was ordained Pope Sixtus V in 1585, thus fulfilling the prediction of Nostradamus.
Feeling he had stayed away long enough to be safe from the Inquisition, Nostradamus returned to France, settled in his hometown of Salon-de-Province, married a rich widow named Anne Ponsarde with whom he had six children—three boys and three girls, and continued with his medical practice.
Medicine Gives Way to Occultism
Within a few years of settling in Salon, Nostradamus began moving away from Medicine and more toward the occult. It is said that he would spend hours in his study at night meditating in front of a bowl filled with water and herbs.
The meditation would bring on a trance and visions, visions that are believed to be the basis of his predictions for the future.
In 1550, Nostradamus wrote his first almanac of astrological information and predictions of the coming year. These almanacs received such great response as to spread his name all across France, encouraging him to write more.
By 1554, Nostradamus’ visions had become an integral part of his works in the almanacs, and he decided to channel all his energies into writing a book of predictions entitled Centuries.
Afraid of religious persecution, he devised a method of obscuring the prophecies’ meanings by using quatrains—rhymed four-line verses—and a mixture of other languages such as Greek, Italian, Latin, and Provencal – a dialect of Southern France.
Because of his predictions, some thought he was a servant of the devil, while others said he was a fake or insane. However, many more believed the prophecies were spiritually inspired, one of whom was Catherine de Medici, the wife of King Henri II of France.
Friends With Royalty
After reading his almanacs of 1555 where he hinted at unnamed threats to her family, Catherine de Medici summoned him to Paris to explain and draw up horoscopes for her children. A few years later, she made him Counselor and Physician-in-Ordinary to King Henri’s court.
In 1556, while serving in this capacity, Nostradamus also explained another prophecy from Centuries I concerning the king, warning that he should avoid ceremonial jousting (a sports contest in which two opponents on horseback fight with lances.).
Yet, three years later, when King Henri was 41 years old, he died in a jousting match when a lance from this opponent pierced the king’s visor and entered his head behind the eye deep into his brain. He held on to life for 10 agonising days before finally dying of infection.
Predictions – Truths or Lies?
Many scholars believe his predictions were copied from ancient end-of-the-world prophecies (mainly from the Bible), and then through astrological readings of the past, projected these events into the future.
He was criticised by professional astrologers of the day for incompetence and assuming that his comparative horoscopy (the comparison of future planetary configurations with those accompanying known past events) could predict the future.
Most of the quatrains Nostradamus composed during his life dealt with disasters such as plagues, earthquakes, wars, floods, invasions murders, droughts, and battles.
Die-hard Nostradamus fans have credited him with predicting numerous events in world history including the French Revolution; the rise of Napoleon and Hitler; the development of the atomic bomb; the death of Diana, the Princess of Wales; and the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre.
Nostradamus’s popularity seems to be due in part to the fact that his predictions are vague, and their lack of specific dates make it easy to conveniently quote them after any major dramatic event has happened, and then claim them as true.
Some scholars also believe he was not writing to be a prophet, but to comment on events of his time and the people in it.
But whatever the case, the story of Nostradamus and his famous quatrains have endured even to our day!
Source: history.com
