Nostradamus
Author or prophecies
Childhood
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Born Michel de Nostredame on Dec. 14th,
1503 in the South of France
Youngest of eight children
Father was a grain dealer. Originally Jewish,
converted to Catholicism
Not a lot of things are known for certain
concerning Nostradamus’ childhood …
Childhood Cont.
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Said to have been educated by his maternal
great-grandfather (while others say that he
passed away when young Nostradamus was
one-year-old).
It is for certain, however, that Nostradamus
entered the University of Avignon to study for
his baccalaureate
The university closed a year later due to the
plague
Facing Troubles
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Worked as an apothecary in 1529 after Avignon was
closed down
Entered the University of Montpelier to study for his
doctorate in medicine
Unfortunately, expelled from the university when
administration found out that Nostradamus had been
working as an apothecary
Continued to work as an apothecary and became
famous for creating the Rose Pill. Said to protect
from the plague
Marriage
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In 1531, invited by Jules-Cesar Scaliger, a leading
Renaissance scholar, to Agen
Met his wife there (whose name is still under dispute)
and she bore him two children
Three years later, Nostradamus’ wife and two
children passed away as victims of the Plague
Spent several years working with physicians trying to
find cures for the plague
Eventually remarried in 1547 to a rich widow, Anne
Ponsarde, and had six children
The Seer
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Started to move away from medicine and towards the
occult
Decided to write an almanac for 1550
Along with the release of his first almanac,
Nostradamus Latinized his name.
Almanac proved to be a success and started to write
one for each following year
All together, the almanacs contain 6,338 prophecies
Most of them are failed predictions
Prophecies
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Began writing a book of one thousand quatrains.
These are the prophecies that Nostradamus is famous
for today
Mixed reactions with the public
Some believed Nostradamus to be a servant of evil
and a fake
Catherine de Medicis, queen of France, was one of
Nostradamus’ greatest supporters
Summoned him to Paris and had him draw up
horoscopes for each of her children
The Final Years
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By 1566, Nostradamus’ gout made any type of
movement extremely difficult
Knowing that the end was year, bequeathed all
of his money (about $300,000) to his wife
On July 2nd, 1566, found dead next to his bed