Michel de Nostredame, known as Nostradamus, was born on 14 December 1503 in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence and died on 2 July 1566 in Salon-de-Provence. He is the most famous apothecary and astrologer since the time of the Renaissance. The enduring interest in his controversial work “The Prophecies”, a collection forecasting world events until the year 3797, has made Nostradamus an enigmatic, and indeed immortal, character.
An iconic 16th-century figure, his first success came as a young doctor treating the plague in the city of Lyon and other provinces of France. In 1550, he published his first annual almanac of astrological predictions, which he made under the name “Nostradamus”. This pseudonym, which he would continue to use for all of his writings, is not an exact Latin transcription of “Nostredame”, but could be translated as “We give (damus) the things that are ours (nostra)”; a sign of a life of prophecy.
This choice of name, combined with astrological readings that were sometimes inaccurate, began to fuel the debate surrounding the astrologer. At that time, astrology was a common practice that was taken very seriously, going hand in hand with science. The idea of destiny being written in the stars was deeply rooted in people’s minds.
For that reason, from 4 May 1555, at the age of 51, Nostradamus became a legendary figure with his book “The Prophecies”, which was a huge and immediate success. It was a collection of prophetic quatrains grouped into centuries, or sets of one hundred.
Following its publication, people would readily travel to Provence to consult the astrologer. Catherine de Medici, the wife of Henry II of France, went to see him herself during a trip to the south of the country with her son Charles IX in 1564. It was then that Michel de Nostredame was appointed doctor and adviser to the King. Among many other events, Nostradamus predicted that Catherine de Medici’s fourth son, Henry III, would be driven out of his city, that he would flee before being banished from the kingdom of France and that the siege of Paris would then take place. A very disturbing prediction, this time concerning the death of Henry II, had also been made in the prophet’s Centuries: “He will pierce his eyes through a golden cage; Two wounds made one, then he dies a cruel death”. The King of France did indeed die as a result of a serious eye injury sustained during a jousting tournament.
Nostradamus seemed to open windows to the future of the world; more than an astrologer, he was an instrument of the divine:
“Being seated by night in secret study,
Alone resting on the brass stool,
A slight flame coming forth from the solitude,
That which is not believed in vain is made to succeed.
The rod in hand set in the midst of branches,
With water he wets both limb and foot.
Fearful voice trembling through his sleeves,
Divine splendour; the divine sits nearby.”
With this very first quatrain, the preacher gives us an insight into how he makes his divinations. It suggests a kind of meditation that opens him up to the heavens so that he can receive messages. His work is vague, the messages are in complex terms and the grammar is inconsistent; Nostradamus justified this by explaining that “the revelation of heavenly truths should not expose itself to common knowledge”, and cited the Gospel of Matthew (chapter 7, verse 6) “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces”.
Idolised by some and hated by others during his lifetime, Nostradamus continues to intrigue scientists, historians and intellectuals, who are fascinated by deciphering his predictions.
To date, there is still no comprehensive study available on Nostradamus and his work; all research in the archives remains in its early stages. In France, historians have little interest in esoteric science and, like Jesus on his return to Nazareth, in the end, no man is a prophet in his own country.
