Nostradamus

Nostradamus

In the 16th century, a French doctor and prophet, Michel de Nostradame, was born. He gained his fame when his predictions of the death of King Henry II of France came true. Nostradamus, as he is also known, wrote a ten volume book, The Centuries, filled with prophecies. He became a man that people from all over the world came to see to seek his counsel. Nostradamus had a life filled with many twists and turns and has made many prophecies that have come true during the twentieth century.

His grandfathers were the first people to notice his display of talent for prophecy when Nostradamus was very young. His grandfathers taught him a wide range of subjects: classical literature, history, medicine, astrology, and herbal folk medicine. At the age of fourteen, he went to study in the city of Avignon. In 1522, at the age of nineteen, he enrolled in the University of Montpellier as a medical student. After only three years, he passed the oral and written examinations for his degree (Hogue 12-5).

With his medicine license in his hand, Nostradamus went to practice in the countryside, far away from his professors. During the 1500's, Southern France suffered from a chronic form of the bubonic plague. Nostradamus started going to plague-stricken households to try to help the sick. He followed the plague through Southern France and he never left a town until everyone sick was well (Hogue 15).

Nostradamus was also a master astrologer who studied the movements of the stars and planets in relation to each other. He believed his gift of sight had "divine intervention." He was sought out by wealthy citizens to tell them their horoscopes "and by their wives for his advice on cosmetics." (Hogue 15). He wrote a book on the doctors and pharmacists he met throughout his travels in Southern Europe. He would stay with some of them during the day helping them heal the sick. By night, he became their pupil.

In 1529, Nostradamus returned to Montpellier for his doctorate degree. After this he decided to set up a more permanent practice in 1534 in Toulouse. He then decided to move to the town of Agen. He soon became the town of Agen's most eligible bachelor. In Agen, he married and had two children, a boy and a girl. It was here that "he flourished in his medical practice and respected position." (Hogue 15.) The plague then came to the town of Agen in 1537. He helped many people get better from this sickness except his own family. All of them died as a result of the plague. When people heard that he could not even save his own family, his reputation was ruined. He escaped Agen under cover of darkness, heading toward Italy. For the next six years, he wandered in Europe on "a journey of self-discovery." (Hogue 16.) It was during this time that his prophetic powers came to life.

Once he settled down again in the city of Salon, he remodeled a floor in his house to make it his private study. There he installed his collection of magical devices: astrolalus, divining rods, magic mirrors, and a brass bowl and tripod. He studied at night and people sometimes wondered what the doctor could possibly be doing while others slept. In 1544, he then published his fist almanac of prophecies. This is where his quatrains were first used in his writings Quatrains are four line poems. The success of this almanac encouraged him to publish one every year until his death. In 1554, he began writing his most famous book, The Centuries. It was to have ten volumes with each containing one hundred quatrains. The first three