Story:
Most of the “facts” about Nostradamus are false, his astrologies were false with lots of errors, he did not predict his own death correctly as it was his secretary who edited it after his death, etc.
Analysis:
There are these claims doing rounds online since many years saying the famous Astrologer Nostradamus is bestowed with fake Prophecy and that most of his predictions (attributed) that became popular lately are false. Today, we will analyze the authenticity of these claims.
About Nostradamus
Michel de Nostredame (14/21 December 1503 – 2 July 1566), Latinized and known as the prophet Nostradamus, was a reputed French physician and astrologer (apothecary) who published collections of prophecies (especially his book Les Propheties (The Prophecies), which first appeared in 1555) which became famous worldwide ever since. Nostradamus travelled the countryside from 1521 to 1529 researching herbal remedies. Later, he settled in Salon-de-Provence in 1547, marrying (second marriage) a rich widow named Anne Ponsarde. Nostradamus is credited with predicting many major world events, some of which are discussed below.
Analysis of Some Nostradamus’ Famous Predictions
Nostradamus prophesies in his book Les Propheties were written in rhyming verse, in quatrains (i.e., stanzas).
September 11 Attacks on New York’s World Trade Center
Cinq & quarante degrez ciel bruslera,
Feu approcher de la grand cité neuue,
Instant grand flamme esparse sautera,
Quand on voudra des Normans faire preuue,
(Century VI, Quatrain 97)
English Translation (Source: Google Translator)
Five and forty degrees the sky will burn,
Fire to approach the great neuue city
Instant a great scattered flame will leap,
When one will want to demand proof of the Normans,
The ‘Five and forty degrees’ (interpreted as ‘40.5 degrees’) was said to be the latitude of New York City (New York’s latitude 40°47′), and similarly, New City is interpreted as New York. This way, the Quatrain of Nostradamus is said to predict and describe the September 11, 2001 Attacks on New York’s World Trade Center. However, it has to be noted that the decimal point system was not in use in Europe during Nostradamus time. Moreover, he used to refer in this way to various ‘New Cities’ whose names does not literally mean ‘New York’. There are also many fake Nostradamus prophecies about 9/11, one of which is described below:
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
The above text was in fact a spoof that circulated online shortly after the September 11 attacks on New York’s World Trade Center. The first four lines of the text were indeed written before the 9/11 attacks, but by Neil Marshall (a Canadian graduate student) as part of a research paper in 1997. The poem was an example of how the validity of prophecies is exaggerated often. The fifth line of the text was added by an anonymous Internet user.
Adolf Hitler & WWII
Bestes farouches de faim fleuues tranner,
Plus part du camp encontre Hister sera,
En cage de fer le grand fera trainner,
Qunad Rin enfant Germain obseruera.
(Century II, Quatrain 24)
English Translation (Source: Google Translator)
Beasts ferocious from hunger rivers he Tranner,
Most of the camp will be against Hister,
In the big iron cage will trainner,
Qunad Rin child Germain obseruera.
This Quatrain is popularly shown to predict and describe the context of Adolf Hitler (Hister in the text) and the German army during WWII. The beasts ferocious from hunger (Adolf Hitler and the German army) will swim across rivers (and borders), while the greater part of the army (suggesting the French and Allied armies) will be against Hitler. Then the allies will cause Hitler to be dragged in a big cage of iron when the German child (Hitler and Nazism) do not observe law. However, the word ‘Hister’ was used to describe the Danube River in the time of Nostradamus. The Quatrain does seem to describe some war scenario that has some relation to Germany, but it does not seem to relate Hitler or the Second World War. The claim seems to be a clever attribution to Adolf Hitler & WWII.
Death Prediction of Henry II
Le Lyon ieune, le vieux surmontera,
En champ bellique par singuliere duelle,
Dans cage d’or les yeux luy creuera,
Deux classes vne, pour mourir mort cruelle.
(Century I, Quatrain 35)
English Translation (Source: Google Translator)
The young lion, will overcome the older,
In the field of combat in singular duel,
In golden cage eyes creuera him,
Two fleets, to die a cruel death.
In this quatrain, Nostradamus is said to have predicted the cruel, accidental death of King Henry II (old lion). Reportedly, in 1559, during a French jousting tournament between King Henry II and Gabriel de Montgomery, the King suffered a severe head wound from a lance fragment through the visor of his golden helmet (‘cage of gold’ in text) and died subsequently. But the fact is, it wasn’t any ‘field of combat’, but a celebration sport, while the young lion Gabriel de Montgomery was the captain of King’s Scottish Guard. Moreover, in mid-1558, just three years after publishing the quatrain, Nostradamus wrote a letter to the King saying he expected him to live a long life, also predicting some wonderful things in his future. Most certainly, the quatrain of Nostradamus was not intended to refer to Henry II.
The French Revolution
De gens eƒclaue, chanƒons, chants & requeƒtes,
Captifs par Princes, & Seigneurs aux priƒons.
A l’advenir par idiots ƒans teƒtes,
Seront receus par divins oraiƒons
(Century I, Quatrain 14)
English Translation (Source: Google Translator)
Eƒclaue of people chanƒons, songs & requeƒtes,
Captive by Princes and Lords are priƒons.
At happen by idiots ƒans teƒtes,
Be received as divine oraiƒons
Frequent Translation
From the enslaved populace, songs, chants and demands,
while Princes and Lords are held captive in prisons.
These will in the future by headless idiots
be received as divine prayers
This particular quatrain of Nostradamus is said to describe the violent scenario of French Revolution, when the Bastille was attacked on 14 July 1789. Later, the members of aristocracy were imprisoned when some of them lost their heads. Like most of the other undated predictions, this too is a clever attribution (and assumption) – based on somewhat similar conditions that already existed during Nostradamus time.
His Own Death
There’s also this popular saying that Nostradamus predicted his own death before he died from arthritis that turned to dropsy. Accordingly, on the evening of 1 July (day before his death in 1566), Nostradamus has allegedly told his secretary Jean de Chavigny, “You will not see me alive at sunrise“. But the “Presages” that mentioned it were not printed till 1568, so the claim need not be authentic. There are also reports that Nostradamus in fact predicted his own death in Presage 141, but missed it by a year, and that later, after his death, his secretary edited the Presage to match the correct date.
Nostradamus Writings
In his French predictions, Nostradamus used to obscure his meaning by using word games, “Virgilianised” syntax in a variety of other languages like Italian, Greek, Latin and Provençal. More importantly, most of Nostradamus’ prediction writings were in fact a mix of verse and fiction. The publication of Nostradamus quatrains in his book titled Les Propheties actually received a mixed reaction. While some people even thought Nostradamus was fake, insane, or a servant of evil, many elite people evidently thought otherwise. According to a related article published in Baptist Press website bpnews.net, Nostradamus actually read Scriptures in secret, stole prophecies from Bible, revised them and claimed them as his own. It was possible because in those days the Roman Catholic Church forbade the reading of the Scriptures. Moreover, as a professional astrologer, when Nostradamus was asked to adjust the figures for his clients’ place or time of birth on the basis of the published tables of the day, he frequently made errors.
To Conclude
From the aforementioned analysis, it is evident that most of the Nostradamus predictions (if not all) attributed to major world events that happened in the following centuries (largely undated & unnamed prophecies) were either misinterpretations or mistranslations (sometimes deliberate). Note that Nostradamus predictions were translated and re-translated in dozens of different versions to suit various interpretations. As for Nostradamus being a ‘prophet’ is considered, more than once, Nostradamus himself mentioned that he would not attribute himself either the name or the role of a prophet.
Apart from the falsely attributed predictions, Nostradamus, a physician, is known for treating plague, although he admitted regretfully that he did not find any cure or preventive measures that worked. After his first wife and children died in 1534 (presumably from the plague), Nostradamus assisted the prominent physician Louis Serre in 1545 during his fight against a major plague outbreak in Marseille (a city in France).
Hoax or Fact:
Fact.
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