For centuries Nostradamus’s prophecies have inspired fear and controversy. His followers say he predicted the French Revolution, the birth and rise of Hitler, and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Did he, as his believers’ claim, predict some of history’s most monumental events – from the Great Fire of London to the launch disaster of the space shuttle Challenger? Nostradamus was typical of the Renaissance time period. He made many prophecies and was a major contributor to not only the Renaissance, but also the ‘Spirit of the Renaissance’.
Michael de Nostrodame (or his more used Latin name of Nostradamus) was born a Jew in the small town of St. Remy de Province in southern France on the 14th of December 1503. Little is known about Nostradamus’s family apart from Jean, his youngest brother, became Procurer of the Parliament of Province. As a small boy Nostradamus underwent significant changes in his life. While Nostradamus was a child his family was forced to convert to Roman Catholicism.
Around this time he was sent to live with his grandfather, Jean de Saint Remy, who taught him the basics of Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Mathematics and Astrology? A few years later Nostradamus’s grandfather died and he went to Avignon to finish his schooling. Whilst at Avignon he also believed, as did Galileo, that the Earth was round and circled the sun. Nostradamus used his ability to help people through harsh times and did not even fear for his own life. In 1525 he received his Bachelor’s degree for Medicine and went to help the fight against the ‘Black Death’ that was feared throughout the Renaissance period.
After traveling for almost four years helping the sufferers of the Plague, he returned to Avignon and won fame for his agerness for learning, which ties in with the spirit of the Renaissance. In 1532 he earned his Doctorate and became a Professor at the Montipellier University but resigned within the same year. He then moved to Agen, married and had a son and daughter. His life now seemed complete until an outbreak of the Plague in Agen that killed his wife and children. In 1538, he was accused of heresy because of a remark about a statue of the Virgin Mary being like a devil that he had made years before.
The Inquisitors sent him to Toulouse to stand rial. Leoni, Edgar stated that in 1554 Nostradamus settled in Marseilles after wandering for six years keeping well clear of the church authorities. During this time legends started to appear about his foreseeing powers. It was not until later however that he received his fame with his prophetic visions of the future – nine hundred forty two cryptic poems called The Centuries – which have preoccupied generation after generation of readers.
The Centuries (ten in total) were written in poem like form and contained hard-to-break odes that were use to stop attention being drawn to himself, as the church authorities could not arrest him for writing gibberish, because in that time prophecies were considered as witch craft or devil work. The Centuries were written by night as not to be seen in 1555. He eventually settled down in the town of Salon, France in 1554 where he married his second wife, Anne Ponsart Gemelle, with whom he rose six children -three boys and three girls. Do these writing actually predict the death of popes, rise of tyrants, and natural disasters to come?
The code in which the prophecies were written could be comprehended to mean many things, but if the people who claim to be able to crack the code of Nostradamus’ work are right then World War Three will reach its climax in the year 1999. Bio-warface will be used – which will virtually wipe out most of humanity with minimal survivors with the human race living until the year 3797. Nostradamus traveled to Paris and booked in at a hotel on the 15th for August 1556 and the queen at the time sent a message to Nostradamus asking him to see her.
The queen talked to Nostradamus privately for two hours, nothing is known about what they talked about. Two weeks later Nostradamus was again summoned to speak with the queen. This time she asked him to give horoscopes on all her children – all turned out correct except one horoscope, her youngest child who died before taking the throne. In 1564 Nostradamus was appointed Royal Physician to King Charles IX. On the 1st of July 1566 he sent for the local priest to give him this message, “I will not be seen alive again”. That night Nostradamus died.
It was rumored that Nostradamus’ coffin contained the document that would decode his long ryptic writings and give the answers. This proved to be untrue becausein 1700 Nostradamus’ body was moved to a different place in the church, and while it was being moved a priest looked inside the coffin to reveal an amulet on his skeleton with the year 1700 on it. In 1791, during the French Revolution, soldiers broke into the church in search for money. While in the church the soldiers found food and alcohol that they ate and drank. Claims that a soldier drank wine out of Nostradamus’s skull, and the next day the soldier was shot.