French physician and astronomer-astrologer, famed for his prophecies written in the form of quatrain verse entitled “Centuries.” Nostradamus was the most widely read seer of the Renaissance, and is sometimes referred to as the “prophet of doom,” because many of his visions involve war and death. Although his work is still controversial, his followers believe he accurately predicted such events as the French Revolution, the birth and rise to power of Hitler and the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
Nostradamus, sometimes called Michel de Notredame or Nostredame, was born to parents of simple lineage, the eldest of five sons. As a child, it was evident that he was very intelligent, and his grandfather taught him the basics of mathematics and astrology, as well as Latin, Greek and Hebrew. After his grandfather died, Nostradamus continued his studies at Avignon. In 1522, his parents, worried because they were ex-Jews during the Inquisition, sent him to study medicine at Montpellier. He easily earned his bachelor’s degree after three years there, and went into the countryside to help victims of the plague. Nearly four years later, he returned to Montpellier, enrolling on 23 October 1529, and obtained his doctorate. He remained there as a teacher for another year, but then took up his medical practice in the area of Agen.
Nostradamus lost his wife, Henriette d’Encausse, and their two sons to the plague in 1533. He remarried circa 1534 to a young girl ‘of high estate, very beautiful and admirable,’ but her name is lost to history. They had six children. In November 1555, he married a third time, to Anne Ponsart Gemelle, a rich widow.
His reputation suffered after the death of his family in the plague, and in 1538 he was accused of heresy due to a remark he had made years earlier to a workman casting a bronze statue of the Virgin. Although he said his comment to the workman that “he was making devils” was only descriptive of a lack of aesthetic appeal, the Inquisitors sent for him to go to Toulouse for trial. To avoid prosecution, he left the area, traveling in the Lorraine, as well as to Venice and Sicily. He stayed away from the Church authorities for the next six years.
He began writing his prophecies in 1547, although they weren’t published until 1555. In 1554, he was living in Marseilles, during the time of one of the worst floods in history. The floodwaters spread the plague like wildfire, and Nostradamus worked ceaselessly. He next settled in Salon, where he became widely known for his innovative medical treatments. Beginning in 1550, he produced a yearly almanac, and continued his work on the prophecies, getting much inspiration from a book called “De Mysteriis Egyptorum.” His fame grew, and he was invited to the court of Catherine de Médicis, queen consort of Henry II of France. He left for Paris on 14 July 1556, and two days later, on 17 July 1556, was given an audience. He was assigned the task of drawing up horoscopes for the seven royal children. Since he had already revealed their tragic fates in his “Centuries,” this was a difficult task, which he satisfied by saying that all her sons would be kings. Over the next few years, he concentrated on drawing up horoscopes for notables in Salon, and completed work on his book.
In the late 1550s, Nostradamus was suffering from gout and arthritis. By 1564, he had dropsy, and knew his end was near. He made his will on 17 June 1566 and on 1 July 1566, he had a local priest administer last rites. He died on 2 July 1566, 3:00 AM., Salon, France. He was buried upright in a wall at the Church of Cordeliers at Salon, with a marble plaque erected in his memory; however, during the Revolution, his grave was opened, and his remains were reburied at the Church of St. Laurent. The Congregation of the Index, under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Church, condemned his prophecies in 1781.
Book cover: Dreamer of the Vine Liz Greene has published a fictional biography of Nostradamus as a novel, The Dreamer of the Vina (1980).
Link to Wikipedia biography