Historical Figure
Nostradamus
d. 1566
French apothecary, astrologer and seer (1503–1566)
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Biography
Michel de Nostredame, usually Latinised as Nostradamus, was a French astrologer, apothecary, physician, and reputed seer, who is best known for his book Les Prophéties, a collection of 942 poetic quatrains allegedly predicting future events.
In Their Own Words (5)
I had determined to go as far as declaring in abstruse and puzzling utterances the future causes of the "common advent", even those truly cogent ones that I have foreseen. Yet lest whatever human changes may be to come should scandalise delicate ears, the whole thing is written in nebulous form, rather than as a clear prophecy of any kind.
Letter from Salon to his son Cesar (March 1555) as translated by Peter Lemesurier , 1555
Tomorrow, I shall no longer be here.
Last words, as quoted in Famous Last Words: The Ultimate Collection of Finales and Farewells (2004) by Laura Ward and Robert Allen; reported to have been said to his secretary Jean de Chavigny , 2004
If I have eschewed the word prophet, I do not wish to attribute to myself such lofty title at the present time, for whoever is called a prophet now was once called a seer; since a prophet, my son, is properly speaking one who sees distant things through a natural knowledge of all creatures. And it can happen that the prophet bringing about the perfect light of prophecy may make manifest things both human and divine, because this cannot be done otherwise, given that the effects of predicting the future extend far off into time.
When twenty years of the Moon's reign have passedanother will take up his reign for seven thousand years.When the exhausted Sun takes up his cyclethen my prophecy and threats will be accomplished.
Sitting alone at night in secret study;it is placed on the brass tripod.A slight flame comes out of the emptiness andmakes successful that which should not be believed in vain.
Timeline
The story of Nostradamus, told in moments.
Born Michel de Nostredame in Saint-Remy-de-Provence, France. His family were Jews who'd converted to Catholicism. He studied medicine at the University of Montpellier but was expelled when they discovered he'd worked as an apothecary, which was considered a manual trade.
His first wife and two children die of plague. He'd been treating plague victims across southern France. The Inquisition summons him for questioning after a casual remark about a religious statue is reported. He leaves town and wanders for six years.
Publishes his first almanac of predictions. It sells well. He writes one every year after that. Then he begins composing Les Propheties, 942 quatrains of cryptic verse written in a mix of French, Latin, Greek, and Italian.
The first edition of Les Propheties reaches Catherine de Medici, Queen of France. She summons him to Paris. He casts horoscopes for her children. He becomes a court favorite. The prophecies are vague enough to fit almost any event.
Dies in Salon-de-Provence at 62. He told his secretary the night before: 'You will not find me alive at sunrise.' Gout had made it hard for him to move. His followers consider this his final, most accurate prediction.
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