Nostradamus (1503-1566) is perhaps the most famous prophesier in history. Despite being born more than 500 years ago, he remains well known. Here, Jamil Bakhtawar introduces Nostradamus and tells us about 7 of his most shocking prophecies.
An 1846 portrait of Nostradamus.
Michel de Nostredame (also known as Nostradamus), was a French physician and astrologer who was born in December 1503 in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Provence, France. He is also known as a reputed and prolific seer. He published a collection of prophecies that have since become widely famous and is best known for his book Les Propheties (The Prophecies – Amazon US | Amazon UK), the first edition of which appeared in 1555.
Since the publication of the book, which has rarely been out of print since his death, Nostradamus has attracted a following that, along with much of the popular press, credits him with predicting many major world events.
Most academic sources maintain that the associations made between world events and Nostradamus’ predictions are largely the result of misinterpretations or mistranslations (sometimes deliberate) or else are so tenuous as to render them useless as evidence of any genuine predictive power.
Nostradamus in his own time
His book The Prophecies, received a mixed reaction when it was published. Some people thought Nostradamus was a servant of evil, a fake, or insane, while many of the elite evidently thought otherwise.
Catherine de’ Medici, wife of King Henry II of France, was one of Nostradamus’s greatest admirers. After reading his almanacs for 1555, which hinted at unnamed threats to the royal family, she summoned him to Paris to explain them and to draw up horoscopes for her children. At the time, Nostradamus feared that he would be beheaded, but by the time of his death in 1566, Queen Catherine had made him Counselor and Physician-in-Ordinary to her son, the young King Charles IX of France. Since his death, the Prophecies have continued to be popular.
Nostradamus’s predictions
Nostradamus has been credited, for the most part in hindsight, with predicting numerous events in world history, from the Great Fire of London, and the rise of Napoleon and Adolf Hitler, to the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.
The prophecies retold and expanded by Nostradamus figured largely in popular culture in the 20th and 21st centuries. As well as being the subject of hundreds of books (both fiction and nonfiction), Nostradamus’s life has been depicted in several films, and his life and writings continue to be a subject of media interest.
1. 9/11
Perhaps the most famous assertion made in the past 20 years was that Nostradamus predicted the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It's a story that circulated widely in late 2001, and is still widely believed. One verse in particular sent shockwaves throughout the world:
"Two steel birds will fall from the sky on the Metropolis. The sky will burn at forty-five degrees latitude. Fire approaches the great new city. Immediately a huge, scattered flame leaps up. Within months, rivers will flow with blood. The undead will roam the earth for little time."
2. The Great Fire of London
The following passage is often linked with the devastating Great Fire of London of 1666:
‘The blood of the just will commit a fault at London,
Burnt through lightning of twenty threes the six:
The ancient lady will fall from her high place,
Several of the same sect will be killed’.
In regards to the date, 20 times three is 60. Add six to that, and you've got 66 — or the year '66. London's infamous three-day blaze began on September 2, 1666. This prediction is one of the weaker prophecies, as it's often quite a stretch to link the historical events of the Great Fire of London with Nostradamus' words.
The fire wasn't set off by lightning, however. A hot, arid summer and a spark in the bakery of Thomas Farriner on Pudding Lane set the stage for the inferno. Peasant and middle class deaths were not recorded at the time, according to the Smithsonian Magazine, but it's likely that hundreds or even thousands of people perished in the flames.
3. The French Revolution
‘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 was a verse that related to the French Revolution. Starting with the storming of the Bastille in 1789, the French Revolution saw the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of a new republic. The Third Estate (enslaved populace) took control of Paris and forced their demands on royalty (princes and lords).
Ultimately, the revolution turned bloody. Nobles and commoners alike were declared traitors to the revolution and beheaded at the guillotine (headless idiots).
4. Adolf Hitler
This was one of the most shocking of Nostradamus’ predictions. The verse as follows:
From the depths of the West of Europe,
A young child will be born of poor people,
He who by his tongue will seduce a great troop;
His fame will increase towards the realm of the East.
Also:
Beasts ferocious with hunger will cross the rivers,
The greater part of the battlefield will be against Hister.
Into a cage of iron will the great one be drawn,
When the child of Germany observes nothing.
On April 20, 1889 Adolf Hitler was born in Austria. But his family was middle class, not impoverished. Hitler did rise to power in part due to his oratory abilities (by his tongue will seduce), and did initiate World War II (a great troop) by invading Poland.
5. Natural disasters
The prediction of ‘Floods and drought for forty years and the rainbow will not be seen and there will be great floods when it is seen’, could relate to the recent devastating earthquakes, floods and hurricanes that we are witnessing in the world.
6. US conflict with North Korea and Iran
‘Thunder and conflict - The great man will be struck down in the day by a thunderbolt. An evil deed, foretold by the bearer of a petition’ could relate to the war of words amongst the US, North Korea and Iran.
7. The assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy
‘The great man will be struck down in the day by a thunderbolt,
An evil deed foretold by the bearer of a petition.
According to the prediction, another falls at night time.
Conflict at Reims, London and a pestilence in Tuscany’.
This verse has been most associated with the assassinations of the Kennedys. President John F. Kennedy (great man) received numerous death threats (petition) over the course of his presidency. While visiting Dallas on November 22, 1963, the president was gunned down (thunderbolt). The assassination shocked and devastated the US.
His brother Bobby Kennedy was later assassinated just after midnight on June 5, 1968 (another falls at night time).
The conflict in Reims and London and sickness in Tuscany, however, doesn't fit in with the assassination of the Kennedys. So this verse could go either way when talking about the actual foretelling of the Kennedy’s deaths.
Conclusion
Nostradamus has been in the spotlight for many years and his predictions have been shocking yet notorious at the same time. While his words aren’t necessarily absolute, it is worthwhile noting how interesting certain predictions can be.
What do you think of Nostradamus’s predictions? Let us know below.
Now read Jamil’s previous article on Leonardo da Vinci’s 9 greatest inventions here.
