At all times prophets and fortune-tellers enjoyed much greater popularity than scientists. Among all the predictors, even nowadays, the greatest interest comes from a man who lived five hundred years ago - Nostradamus. Was this person really endowed with incredible abilities?
The Life of the Foreteller
To understand the mysteries of Nostradamus's prophecies, one must understand his personality and the time in which he happened to live. The soothsayer was born in France in the early 16th century. The description of the life of the famous Frenchman is much incomprehensible. Even the very name of Nostradamus is not real, but the present is Michel de Nostredam. He came from a kind of Jews who accepted Catholicism. Later, detractors will point to the Jewish roots of Nostradamus and call him a secret Jew. There are legends about the fact that already in his early childhood, Nostradamus began to make accurate predictions.
In his youth, Michel de Nostrandam chose medicine as his main activity. In 1529, he entered the University of Montpellier, the medical faculty. Despite the difficult relationship with the teachers, Nostradamus managed to finish the school. Already in 1534 he received his doctorate. It is rumored that his pedigree played an important role in the success of the training. Ostensibly Nostradamus' ancestors were famous physicians and served at the ducal court. Nowadays one can neither confirm nor disprove this theory. It is likely that the eminent ancestors existed only in the imagination of a talented hoaxer. Whatever it was, one can say with certainty: Nostradamus was an intelligent, educated and versatile person. In addition to medicine, he was seriously interested in astrology and alchemy. And in the XVI century, these pseudosciences were not perceived at all as in our time. Of course, if you were considered an alchemist, your chances of being burned at the stake by the Inquisition increased noticeably. But in the 16th century there was still no definition of "pseudoscience" in the usual sense. The people of that time did not see much difference between chemistry and alchemy, astronomy and astrology.
Nostradamus was born in 1503 in the family of a notary. According to legend, his ancestors were healers who served at the court of the Duke of Lorraine René Dobroi, as well as the Duke of Calabria. According to the legend, the great-grandfather of Michel de Nostrandam was the royal physician Abram Solomon. It is only known for certain that the doctors were his ancestors on the maternal line.
Nostradamus lived in a really difficult time. Hunger, wars, diseases, fierce inquisition - all this was an integral part of the life of France in the 16th century. One of the greatest troubles of the time was the plague. In 1537, Nostradamus's wife and two of his children died from this illness. All this could have a decisive impact on him, forcing to take seriously seriously not only medicine, but also occult sciences. However, this is just a guess.
With confidence, it can only be said that Michel de Nostrendam decided to devote himself to fighting this disease. Nostradamus defended the idea of disease prevention, than helped to prevent the epidemic in the city of Aix-en-Provence. He also sought to invent a cure for "black death", but these experiments did not have much success. But who seriously interested in his work, so it's the Holy Inquisition. In order to avoid an explanation with the representatives of the church, Nostradamus left France and for several years was hiding in Germany and Italy. Returning to France, he continued the practice of healing and even received recognition. Soon Nostradamus married for the second time on Anna Ponsard Zhememler, this marriage gave birth to six children.
In the first half of the XVI century, the plague was no longer something new for Europe. The most terrible epidemic broke out on its territory in the middle of the XIV century. Then about a third of the European population died from this disease. Nevertheless, in the XVI century there were no effective methods to combat this disease.
Mystic Heritage
Surprisingly, but the glory of the fortuneteller was waiting for Nostradamus during his lifetime. In 1555 he managed to publish his first work - "Prophecies". This book was a collection of so-called Centuries. In total there are ten Centuries, each uniting a hundred quatrains - quatrains, written in poetic form.
By the way, about the form. The quatrains were written in a language that even contemporaries of Nostradamus understood with great difficulty. The language of the messages was extremely florid. Because of this, any word from the quatrain can have several meanings and be interpreted in different ways. It is not entirely clear why Nostradamus needed to clothe his thoughts in such a shell. It is rumored that the only way Michelle de Nostradam could avoid unnecessary attention from the Inquisition. There is also a simpler version. Nostradamus could use a language that was difficult to understand specifically, so that the predictions looked as vague as possible. In favor of this theory says one important fact. A characteristic feature of the work of Nostradamus is the almost complete absence of concrete dates for predicted events.
The fame of Nostradamus was brought not only by Centuries. In addition, he published astrological calendars-almanacs. The first such almanac was published in 1550. It is noteworthy that in the almanacs Nostradamus did his predictions not in the poetic, but in the prosaic form. Unfortunately, none of these prophecies survived.
Fate proved to be supportive of the prophet. In 1555 Nostradamus was invited to the monarchs and appointed personal astrologer King Henry II. One of the most famous predictions of Nostradamus is connected with the name of this monarch. In 1559, celebrations took place on the occasion of a double wedding. Celebrated the wedding of Henry's daughter with Philip II and Henry's sister with the Duke of Savoy. On the occasion of the significant event, a knightly duel was arranged. The king himself took part in it, his rival was Count Gabriel de Montgomery. During the fight, the spear of Count Montgomery broke, and his splinter through the visor of the helmet pierced Henry's skull. The trauma was fatal, and after a long agony the monarch died.
Nostradamus was destined to perpetuate this tragic event. In the thirty-fifth quatrain of the first Centuria Nostradamus it is said:
The young lion will surpass the old,
On the battlefield in a single duel
He will pierce his eyes through a golden cage,
Two wounds in one then die a painful death.
There are several versions of the translation of this quatrain, but their meaning is very similar. The tragic death of the king turned into a great success for Nostradamus. After predicting the death of Henry II, many people believed in the supernatural powers of Michel de Nostradam.
So what hides the famous quatrain? Indeed, the Earl of Montgomery was somewhat younger than the "old lion" - Henry II, but their age difference was not more than two years. Much attention was drawn to the mention in the quatrain of the "golden cage" and "eye". It is known that during the match Henry II fought in gilt armor, but the spear struck the king not in the eye, but entered the skull slightly above the right eye. There is another reason not to give too much attention to this prediction. Even in the XVI century knight tournaments were not uncommon, and many of them ended tragically. The message of Nostradamus, if desired, can be applied to any of these fights.
Another famous prediction was the prophecy of the King of France. Nostradamus maintained good relations with Queen Catherine de 'Medici. During the meeting with her, Nostradamus foresaw that in the future the relative of the ruling dynasty of Valois, Heinrich Navarre, would become the King of France. At that time, such a prediction seemed almost unbelievable, since Catherine de 'Medici had her own sons. But many years later the prophecy came true, and in 1589 the new king of France, Henry IV of Navarre, ascended the throne. However, this prediction exists only in the form of a beautiful legend.
Widely known was the last prediction of Nostradamus. July 1, 1566, his pupil Jean-Aime de Chavigny Michel de Nostrumpam said: "At dawn you will not find me alive!". The next morning the prophet died. Were his words a premonition, a manifestation of superpowers, or a pure accident? Probably, we will never know it.
Coming of Antichrist
The writings of Nostradamus contain apocalyptic prophecies. Appealing to religious topics does not seem strange, if you recall the time in which he happened to live. At the same time, in the predictions of Nostradamus you can find many unusual things.
Unlike traditional religions, Nostradamus predicted the coming of not one but three antichrists. "Pau Nay Oloron has more fire in his veins than blood" - reads one of his messages. It is believed that Pau Nay Oloron is an anagram that hides the name of one of the antichrists. If you rearrange the letters in places, you can see the phrase Napaulon Roi (Napoleon Roi) or Napoleon. The mention of Napoleon also contains another quatrain of Nostradamus. It says:
Near Italy, the emperor will be born,
Which will cost the empire at an expensive price.
They will say, looking at the people with whom he surrounds himself,
That he was rather a butcher than a prince.
Indeed, Corsica (the birthplace of Napoleon) is much closer to Italy than to France. It is also known that Nostradamus was a royalist, and the self-proclaimed Emperor of France Napoleon Bonaparte could hardly have caused him a warm feeling. However, all this makes sense only if you take for granted the thesis of the prophetic gift of Nostradamus.
Among scientists, the problem of the authenticity of Nostradamus' works is acute. There is a possibility that some quatrains were written by the author's followers after his death. In addition, it is possible that Nostradamus himself could rewrite part of his messages after the events that had occurred. According to the French historian Peter Lemesurye, Nostradamus was not a predictor. Based on the writings of Nostradamus, the researcher concluded that these predictions are based on the theory of cyclicity (repetition) of history. Researchers also do not exclude the possibility that Nostradamus could borrow predictions from earlier authors.
The most incredible of all prophecies is described in the twenty-fourth quatrain of the second Centuria. It is about the coming of the second Antichrist.
Animals, frantic with hunger, will cross the rivers.
Most of the camp will be against Hister`a.
In the iron cage will drag the great,
When Raine will pay attention to the child of Germany.
So says one of the translations of quatrains. In the image of the mysterious "Hister" many are inclined to see the leader of the Third Reich Adolf Hitler. However, according to critics, we are talking about the ancient name of the Danube River - Istres. Whatever the case, the true meaning of this quatrain is almost impossible to understand, since there is no exact translation. The only people who unreservedly believed in the truthfulness of this prediction were the Nazis themselves.
Year 1999, the seventh month. From heaven will come the great king of horror,
To resurrect the great King of Angola
Both before and after Mars to rule happily.
The date 1999 has an obvious mystical connotation, because if you turn over the three nines, you get the number 666. Based on the prophecy of Nostradamus, the antichrist will be destroyed after twenty-seven years of bloody confrontation. In his prophecies, Nostradamus also names the name of Antichrist - Mabus. In an incomprehensible way, many see it as the name of Saddam Hussein (if you read the word Mabus on the contrary, we get Subam). In defense of this theory, says that twenty-seven years have passed since the Iraqi leader came to power until the day of his death. True, it is not entirely clear how the ordinary dictator of the banana republic suddenly became anti-christ. With the same success, the servant of the devil can be called Idi Amin, Pol Pot or Kim Il Sung.
The letters of Nostradamus should not be taken a point of view literally. According to the proponents of this hypothesis, Nostradamus predicts an astrological cipher. Today there is no consensus on this theory.
Nostradamus is also credited with the prediction of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the September 11 terrorist attack and even the Kennedy assassination. If in the prediction of the death of King Henry II there is at least some logic, then in the case of Kennedy's murder there is hardly any explanation. It's hard to imagine that in the 16th century, the murder of the American president was on the agenda.
The Fictional Prophet
So why is the prediction of Nostradamus still so focused? Obviously, the answer lies not so much in his predictions as in the human mind. Hardly the main feature of his works was a negative tone of predictions. The works of Nostradamus touch upon the themes of wars, murders, destruction and cataclysms. Such subjects are of most interest to society.
There is another reason to be skeptical about many predictions. Perhaps supporters of Nostradamus allow one characteristic error. In their opinion, the works of Nostradamus tells about the events of the distant future. But it would be much more sensible to perceive the messages of Nostradamus in the context of his time. Prophecies could well be veiled attempts to predict the phenomena characteristic of that era. Hardly a person who lived in the XVI century, very worried about the events of the XIX or XX century.
Not the least role in the fact that Nostradamus became known throughout the world played an ordinary accident. After the death of Nostradamus, his disciple Jean-Aime de Chavigny did his best so that the works of his mentor were published and became public property. They say that history does not tolerate a subjunctive mood, but we will depart from the traditions of historical science. It is likely that if it were not for the efforts of de Chavigny, Michel de Nostrump would remain in memory only as a court astrologer.
Certainly, for his time Nostradamus can be considered an erudite. His interests covered a wide range of aspects. Among other things, Nostradamus was keen on the interpretation of hieroglyphs and cooking. But his name was not destined to stand next to the names of prominent figures of the Renaissance, such as Leonardo da Vinci or Nicolaus Copernicus. Nostradamus was given away a cheap sensation. In his prophecies, people are still trying in vain to find something that he never meant. Nostradamus, like many of his contemporaries, was an esoteric, he believed in mysticism. But there is hardly anything in his works that is supernatural, in the usual sense for us. Nostradamus was convinced of the correctness of his predictions. He realized that history develops cyclically, in a spiral. This helped him to anticipate the events of the future. I believe that Nostradamus also possessed a powerful intuition. However, the intuitive concept is a controversial issue, so far no one has been able to identify algorithms for intuitive cognition.