Nostradamus: The French Foreseer

One of my favorite lesser-known historical figures is Nostradamus. I first heard of Nostradamus, ironically, in Marvel Comics. In the S.H.I.E.LD. comic book series. Nostradamus was (in the comics) a prisoner of Isaac Newton. Now, this might seem odd to non-comic readers, but don’t worry. It’s completely normal.

Now, you’re probably already wondering, who is Nostradamus? Nostradamus (true name Michel de Nostredame) was a French astrologer and physician. He is also well known for being a seer, and writing the book ‘Les Prophéties’.

‘Les Prophéties’ is a book composed of poetic quatrains, each a supposed prediction of the future. Nostradamus has been credited with predicting many historical events. Some of my favorites include King Henri II’s death, the findings of Louis Pasteur, the rise of Napoleon, and even 9/11.

When Nostradamus first started writing prophecies, he started to garner a lot of attention throughout the kingdom. So much so, that eventually the king’s wife was aware of him! Catherine de' Medici called Nostradamus to court and asked him to explain some of his prophecies.

After being suitably impressed, Catherine de’Medici appointed Nostradamus ‘Counselor and Physician-in-Ordinary to King Henri's court’.

Nostradamus made many predictions for the royal family. The most famous royal prediction was that of King Henri II's death.

The quatrain of Nostradamus reads:

Century 1 Quatrain 35

“The young lion will overcome the older one,

On the field of combat in a single battle;

He will pierce his eyes through a golden cage,

Two wounds made one, then he dies a cruel death.”

Nostradamus warned King Henri not to do any ceremonial jousting. Yet, Henri didn't heed Nostradamus’s warning, and went ahead and jousted a young man named Comte de Montgomery. As the two men barreled towards each other, both having shields baring a lion on the front, a terrible accident occurred.

Montgomery’s lance protruded Henri’s helmet and went straight into his eye socket, through his brain, and all the way through the head.

Henri must’ve had quite a nasty headache.

Henri developed a concussion and infections from the eye socket. After suffering from convulsions, respiratory problems, and paralysis, Henri finally died 11 days later.

Nostradamus's correct prediction put him further into the public eye and helped increase his popularity, which has extended to making him well known, even today.

Les Prophéties

Nostradamus's most famous prediction, in my opinion, is that of 9/11. The quatrain in question reads:

“In the City of God there will be a great thunder,

Two brothers torn apart by Chaos,

while the fortress endures,

the great leader will succumb,

The third big war will begin when the big city is burning”

Now, many astronomers declared Nostradamus's astrology tactics blasphemous and completely incorrect. People from scholars to everyday citizens have proclaimed that Nostradamus’s predictions are purposely vague. Today, it’s a common theory that Nostradamus’s predictions were in fact, based on the past, and his belief that history would repeat itself.

In 1997, a student wrote a paper based on this theory. In the paper, he made his own a purposely vague ‘prophecy’ as an example to prove his point that Nostradamus’s predictions, were in fact, not predictions at all. He did this to illustrate how easily a vague ‘prophecy’ could be interpreted to fit any number of disastrous events. The fabricated quatrain went like so:

“On the 11th day of the 9 month,

two metal birds will crash into two tall statues

in the new city,

and the world will end soon after.”

So, perhaps the theory is true that Nostradamus’s prophecies were just random predictions based on past events. Or maybe, Nostradamus was just a good guesser. Even better yet, he really saw these events and he was in fact, a true seer.

We’ll never be able to truly know how Nostradamus came across his predictions. Although some can be shockingly accurate to certain events, it is only after those disasters that we can notice their similarities. If a prophecy can only be attributed to the actual event only after that event has happened, is it truly even a prophecy at all?