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L’Arc du tresor par Achiles deceu,
Aux procrees sceu la quadragulaire :
Au faict Royal le comment fera sceu,
Corps veu pendau veu du populaire.
Achilles was the Romanized name of the Macedonian leader who led the Myrmidons into war against Troy in Homer’s Iliad. He was considered to be the greatest of the Greek warriors.
The part about the treasure makes no sense if Nostradamus was talking about a literal treasure. However, if one considers the treasure that the Greeks were fighting the Trojans over, the lovely Helen of Troy, then it makes perfect sense. Literally put, a male war leader of considerable skill deceives an important female whose control is the goal of the war leader.
The rest of the quatrain is descriptive. The last two lines seems to indicate a royal execution in front of common people – this strongly indicates the French Revolution. This brings to mind Marie Antoinette, who in this case would be the fair Helen. But then, who is the Achilles who deceives her? Robespierre? All indications are that he wanted her dead from the beginning.
Unless I am missing something significant, this is very likely the future, or a failed quatrain.
Par Mars ouvert Arles ne donra guerre,
De nuict seront les soldartz estonnés :
Noir, blanc à l’inde dissimulés en terre,
Souz la faincte umbre traistres verez & sonnés.
Arles is a city on the southern coast of France in the old region of Provence. This could refer to the Religious Wars, but I think it refers to the future. Either the future or the reader must figure this one out.
Apres de France la victoire navale,
Les Barchinons, Saillinons, les Phocens,
Lierre d’or, l’enclume serré dedans la basle,
Ceux de Ptolon au fraud seront consens.
While Saillinon is ambiguous, the closest I could find was Saillon, which is in Switzerland. Barcelona is in Spain and Marseilles is in France, so the inclusion of Swiss city indicates a region that is fairly extensive. As I had no better translation, I used Theophilus de Garenciéres translation of Toulon for Ptolon. Still, I am unsatisfied.
The quatrain is describing events after a French naval victory. The region described is along the Mediterranean from Switzerland/Italy to Spain. Toulon (or whatever city Ptolon stands for) is treacherous, or at least fraudulent.
Le duc de Langres assiegé dedans Dolle,
Accompaigné de Ostun & Lyonnois :
Gene, Auspurg, joinct ceulx de Mirandole,
Passer les mots contre le Anconnois.
Anconia has been used by Nostradamus to represent the Papal States, Anconia being a major possession of the Papacy, is in Northeastern Italy along the Adriatic coast. Dole is in Southern France. Augsburg was part of the Holy Roman Empire from 1530 to 1806 when it became part of the Kingdom of Bavaria. Mirandola and Geneva are in Northern Italy. Langres, Autun and Lyons are in France.
I cannot quite locate the two events described. Take the possible fulfillment in the Second World War, while it could be said that the Germans and Fascists were oppressing the people of Anconia in 1944, the so-called defense of Dole was not supported by those of Lyons and Autun, those of Lyons and Autun would be among the besiegers. During the unification of Italy and the Franco-Prussian War, it could be said that those of Autun and Lyons were defending Dole, it could also be said that Mirandola and Geneva were attacking the Papal States, but Augsburg was not part of the attack on the Papacy or the Papal States. No matter how one looks at it during the Napoléonic Wars, there is always some flaw that prevents this quatrain from being fulfilled during that time – the criteria are never fulfilled.
Almost certainly this occurred in the time between 1555 & 1789. I just cannot place it. Of course it is possible that Nostradamus made an error and this quatrain will never be fulfilled as written. Regardless, I must leave this to the reader to figure out.
Vin sur la table en fera respandu,
Le tiers n’aura celle qu’il pretendoit :
Deux fois du noir de Parme descendu,
Perouse à Pize fera ce qu’il cuidoit.
The wine could be literal or it could be figurative and descriptive. The black one of Parma sounds a lot like a Duke of Parma, of which for a while there were some significant ones, the most likely being Alexandro Farnese. If that is true, then the one twice descended from him would be Odoardo Farnese, who was not only a Duke of Parma, he was a Duke of Piacenza as well. Perouse is in France and here represents France.
Odoardo is the closest I can come to being able to claim this quatrain is fulfilled. He made an alliance with the French but received no French assistance when he tried to expand his territorial ambitions.
As Parma is in Italy, an alternate possibility is Mussolini, the head of the original black shirts. As such he would be the black one of Parma. He has several descendants, however I do not think his descendants have been involved in politics.
I cannot find anyone else who this could apply to. Yet I cannot declare it fulfilled. So, I must leave it to the ingenuity of the reader.
Naples, Palerme, & toute la Secille,
Par main barbare sera inhabitee,
Corsicque, Salerne, & de Sardeigne l’isle,
Faim peste, guerre fin de maux intemptee.
The Barbarian hands of line 2 would normally indicate the Islamic forces of past or future. But here, it refers to the Nazis. With the exception of Palermo and Naples, all of the above sites were the sites of Allied amphibious landings. Please note that Nostradamus says not the isle of Sicily, or just Sicily, but “all of Sicily.” This therefore has to include that part of the Italian boot that was once part of Sicily.
The first landing was on the island of Sicily, at the southernmost point. Montgomery leisurely fought straight north, while Patton raced to Palermo then turned eastward. After the isle was captured, landings on the “other” Sicily, the toe of the Italian mainland, occurred. While the Allies fought north, landings were affected on the isles of Sardinia, Corsica, and the city of Salerno. The landing at Salerno had the added target of Naples, which was quickly captured.
Sur le combat des chevaulx legiers,
On criera le grand croissant confond.
De nuict tuer monts habits de bergiers,
Abismes rouges dans le fossé profond.
The “clothes of shepherds” is the clue. Only the Arabic people still wear the traditional shepherds clothing, mainly because it is so advantageous for protection from the heat of the Arabian Desert. The fact that light horses are being uses is indicative; it refers to a force that is horsed, not mounted on tracks. So, what we have is a force of Arabs in traditional arab garb fighting in a traditional arab style against a force that is considered to be the crescent. The crescent, or moon, were any Islamic country so we have a case of Arab vs. non-Arab Islamic. The Ottoman’s and the Persians suggest themselves and of this, the Ottoman’s are the more likely.
This refers to the First World War. Under the leadership of Thomas Edward Lawrence, one of the most capable soldiers ever and a British soldier who literally fought heart and mind for the Arab, not British, cause, an Arab force of several thousand irregulars launched a deadly guerilla type warfare against the Turkish forces. Striking against Aqaba overland in a dairing raid, they proved that they could successfully fight using their traditional unconventional means; this usually meant night time raids which confounded the Turks. Then, marching up the coast of the Mediterannean Sea, ahead of or alongside the British who were to their west, the Arabs forces reached the city of Damascus.
Flora fuis fuis le plus proche Romain,
Au Fesulan fera conflict donné :
Sang espandu les plus grans prins à main,
Temple ne sexe ne sera pardonné.
I cannot find when the Grand Duchy of Tuscany was in armed conflict with the Papacy, which would be the most likely interpretation of this quatrain. The fourth line seems to indicate the future.
Dame à l’absence de son grand capitaine,
Sera priee d’amours du Viceroy :
Faincte promesse & malheureuse estraine,
Entre les mains du grand prince Barroys.
The key to this is to find the Prince of Bar. Bar is a region of Eastern France. From 1508, the Duchy of Bar was tied to the Duchy of Lorrain. During the time of Nostradamus, the Duchy of Lorraine was in the hands of the House of Vaudemont. It remained there till 1737, when the former King of Poland, Stanislaus Leszczyriski, became Duke of Lorraine. After he died in 1766, the French Crown under Louis XV assumed direct control of the Duchy, ending the line of dukes.
While it is almost certain this has been fulfilled, I cannot make heads or tails of it. The closest events that seem to fit occur in England under Robert Devereux, but the influence of the son of the Duke of Bar (son of the Duke of Lorraine in this case) was non-existent in this situation. Consequently, I am forced to leave this to the ingenuity of the reader to interpret.
Par le grand prince l’imitrophe du Mans,
Preux & vaillant chef de grand exercite :
Par mer & terre de Gallotz & Normans,
Caspre passer Barcelone pillé isle.
Caspre is a word I cannot figure out. It could be a name come down to us from the future, or it could be an anagram. Which, I have no idea.
Mans is almost certainly Le Mans in France. Barcelona is obvious. The third line is interesting though. I believe Gallotz is the key to understanding this quatrain. I interpret it as Gauls, which would most likely make this the French. Theophilus de Garenciéres interpreted it as Welshmen, which may make more sense. In any case, this is a word that must be left to the future to interpret.