Home in Salon

He left Paris, laden with many gifts. Some detractors claim that he came back from Paris in the financial hole. It is true that the Royal Family did not cover his expenses coming to and from Paris. The king had reputedly given him a gift of 100 ecus; Catherine gave him another 30 ecus. But what the detractors miss is that others gave him gifts of their own. Some of these gifts he gave away to the poor of Paris and to the poor he would meet along the way. It is probably a good thing he did, for the amount of the treasure he brought home with him was quite embarrassing in its wealth and grandeur, or so his son César Nostradamus would later claim. At least money was no longer an object of concern; it did allow him to spend more time with his wife and children.

But it was not as if he was now only a man of leisure. People still came to see him, some concerning medical problems, others to get his prophetic views. Also, he remained busy, occasionally travelling to various locations for various reasons, among them a probable journey to Navarre. He continued to work on his Almanacs. Finally, another edition of his prophecies, the Du Rosne edition was published in 1557. These were now six complete centuries and a number of quatrains in the seventh century that were published.

Of course, he had his detractors. Jealousy constantly raised its ugly head against Nostradamus. It was not just the Protestants who hated him. Many people hated him, sometimes for very stupid reasons. His one time friend, Julius César Scaliger, even jumped into the fray before his death in 1558 simply because Nostradamus was now more famous than Scaliger. Nostradamus must have been constantly defending himself from scandalous attacks.

Outside of Salon, events occurred which began to fulfill the prophecies. Calais was captured by Francis Duc de Guise. Henri II and Carlos of Spain signed a peace treaty that restored everything to the way it was before the war, except that France kept Calais. Marriages were arranged that were costly and people grumbled about them selling out France. But all of this was good for the reputation of Nostradamus because he reputedly foresaw them. Then came the event that cemented Nostradamus’s reputation. Henri II was killed in a joust.

People today do not realize the importance of the 35th quatrain of the First Century. It was on everyone’s lips before Henri died.

The day the prognostication was cruelly fulfilled was the day of the royal weddings. Henri was marrying off three of his relatives – his son Francis to Mary of Scotland, his daughter Elizabeth to Felipe II king of Spain and his sister Marguerite to Emmanuel-Philibert, Duca di Savoy. The people were grumbling over the gifts given to the prospective partners but Henri, interested in peace, did not care. He threw a massive tourney. Knights came from all over to joust. True to form, Henri joined in the jousting.

As king Henri was permitted to wear armor gilded in gold. By tradition all of his opponents made sure that they lost. But hanging over all their heads were the many predictions that Henri would die in single combat, i.e. a joust. This was especially true of the young captain of the Scottish Guard, Montmorency, who was known as the young lion. To his credit, when Henri asked Montmorency to joust with him, Montmorency politely declined. But the king would have none of that – it was a royal command.

It was the second joust between them that was so devastating and would give Nostradamus his reputation. Montmorency’s lance splintered, a shard drove through the iron of the king’s helmet, piercing his eye. The king fell, mortally wounded. His retainers rushed up to collect him and to carry him to the royal pavilion.

“Cursed be the one who predicted it so evilly and so accurately,” Montmorency is reputed to have cried. To be fair, as Edgar Leoni reports, there were other predictions of Henri’s death so Montmorency could have referred to one of the others. But there was no doubt among the Parisian populace; they were murderous towards the prognosticator. Cesar, Nostradamus’ son reports that the people in the area around Paris burned Nostradamus in effigy. Certainly his life was in danger. But he had powerful protection

Catholics held their hand because the Catholic Church, satisfied with the results of the Inquisitional investigation and satisfied too with the attacks that Nostradamus’ quatrains had on known Protestants, gave Nostradamus its protection. This was no small protection. Though the common person might rant and rave, though they might even burn Nostradamus in effigy, the fact that the Church protected the seer held the back of almost all Catholics who would have dared to kill him. Their threat of eternal damnation and excommunication, as well as churchly judgment, had long been enough to turn the hand of almost all Catholics. Certainly the support of the Church was not to be denied; Nostradamus did all he could throughout the latter days of his life to ensure that the Church cast its blessing on him. He was wise to do so.

Royalists were stopped from attacking Nostradamus by the protection of queen Catherine de Medici, widow of Henri and mother of the next kings, Francis II and Charles IX. Catherine desired peace above all, her policies were fairly moderate in that day and age. And while Francis II was an arch Catholic, his brother Charles had a beloved Protestant nurse. Catherine definitely gave Nostradamus her protection so he had the power of the state to guard him.

With such protectors as throne and church, Nostradamus was quite safe from all Catholic attacks, except the most fanatical. And to stop the most fanatical, Claude de Savoie, comte de Tende, the governor of Provence and a friend of Nostradamus, was enough to ensure that people were very wary of killing the seer. But the Protestants would have none of it, they reputedly wanted Nostradamus’ head. They were not enthralled by the spiritual reputation of the Catholic Church, they were even then preparing to wage war to thrust their prerogatives on France. They were a real threat. Nostradamus’ attacks on them were well documented, his most bitter and biting quatrain was directed against a known Protestant. Protestants might have attacked him, with savage joy too, except that it seems that Nostradamus had protection from another quarter, a Protestant quarter.

Jeanne d'Albret, queen of Navarre and mother of Henri IV de France.

Jeanne d'Albret, Queen of the tiny kingdom of Navarre, was a fanatical Protestant. She had converted from the Catholic faith to a version of Calvinism; there is nobody more fanatical about their faith than the converted. She had married Antoine de Bourbon, Duc de Vendôme who was a notorious philanderer, was known for his laziness in matters of faith and was despised for his willingness to give his sword to whatever served his fancy – he served both Catholics and Protestants with equal measure and clear lack of conviction. He had died while fighting for the Catholics in the opening rounds of the Religious Wars, a fact which Jeanne certainly did not like. But the key here was that she was the mother of Henri de Bourbon de Navarre who was in line to become the King of France. Nostradamus, displaying the same courage that lead him to brave the dread plague in Aix and showing a remarkable diplomatic skill, braved the journey to the throne of this arch enemy of Catholicism and boldly told Queen Jeanne to protect the future King of France. The story that Nostradamus looked over the birthmarks of Henri is likely true; Nostradamus with the power of his mind would not need to do this in order to know what would happen but he would be sure to follow the expected forms. Adherence to these accepted forms in that day and age, along with the boldness he displayed, would be necessary in order to assuage the fury of the queen and ensure her protection. The story that Nostradamus went to Navarre and prophesied the rise of Henri to the French throne is backed by the fact that Queen Jeanne did not do all she could to destroy Nostradamus. In fact, she deliberately remained indifferent to him, though she did let mention that he predicted her son’s rise to the French throne. So it was a sort of indirect protection, but one that all Protestants in the know took note of.

Nostradamus and his family lived, grew and thrived in Salon. People of all walks of life came to see him. It was not just Frenchmen or Provincials who came to see him, people came from Spain, Italy, the Holy Roman Empire, maybe from all over Europe. Since the fury of the Religious Wars, starting around him, largely ignored the town where he lived, one could say that he selected very wisely. Still, Nostradamus had another protection, one little thought of. The governor of Provence, Claude de Savoie the Comte de Tende, would be aware of this financial windfall to his region as well as the reputation that was being given to it thanks to this one man and would do all he could to protect it. That meant protecting Nostradamus from attacks both real and imagined.

Most notably, in June of 1559 Emmanuel-Philibert arrived in Salon to see Nostradamus, but after the death of Henry and the crowning of Francis II, Nostradamus seems to have been away to Narbonne on his visit to Jeanne d'Albret. But that did not disturb the ruler of Savoy who remained in Salon till Nostradamus returned. His new wife Marguerite, sister of Henry II, came later, towards December. They stayed in Salon for a long time and visited Nostradamus informally.

This of course scandalized the nobility. How dare they make friends with a commoner! It was scandalous to allow a commoner to mingle with anyone of noble blood. It was not just scandalous, it was completely unacceptable! To honor a commoner for a deserved reason, yes, that was acceptable; one must properly honor a distinguished member of a lower rank whenever necessary. One did, after all, have to reward deserving underlings. But one did not make friends with those outside of one’s rank; to do so was forbidden. It was important that proper decorum be followed, otherwise chaos would ensue. A noble only had friends where it counted, among the nobility. To have friends among the commoners was to invite chaos and destruction! Such was the traditional viewpoint that nobles had in those days, a view that many nobles have even today.

However, the egalitarian Marguerite had a better sense of what was important. She knew that friendship with a good person, whatever his or her station, was more important than any decorum. It is certain that she deeply valued whatever Nostradamus had to say to her. Who knows what secrets her friendship allowed her to unlock from the mind of Nostradamus. To his credit it seems her husband shared her sentiments.

Finally Catherine de Medici, along with her son Charles X, undertook a royal tour of the nation. Among the locations they stayed for a while was Salon. Naturally they saw Nostradamus. But what was said while Catherine and Charles were in Salon? Most of it is unknown to us, it remains secret between the monarch, the queen mother, and the prognosticator. But we do have one clue as to one thing that may have been said. The Spanish Ambassador to France, Don Francisco de Alava, once gave a dispatch to his monarch Filipe II. In it was the following very interesting statement:

This, of course, did not happen. Or maybe it did. 1566 was a peaceful year but it was only an interlude before the Second War of Religion broke out in 1567. The situation, the hatred between Catholics and Huguenots, did become stronger. So in a way it was fulfilled, just, maybe not the way Catherine or most people would think it should be. Of course, if the peace had been broken it would have been an obviously false claim – this did not happen though. It therefore becomes a lesson in the difference between expectation and reality.

During this visit, Charles conferred the title of Physician-in-Ordinary upon Nostradamus.

The title Physician-in-Ordinary is a very special appointment, one given only to confirmed medical practitioners who have an outstanding medical reputation. It literally grants the physician the permission to give his majesty medical opinions concerning illnesses, the right to prescribe medicines and health regimens, even to operate on his majesty’s body. Of course, the Physician-in-Ordinary is not the primary physician to the king. The in-Ordinary status is used to represent something that is held in reserve. Therefore, Nostradamus was appointed to a post that translates as Physician-in-Reserve to the King. It means that the king could call upon the physician in an emergency. It is a very significant appointment.

We may doubt the overall intelligence of Charles, but it is obvious he would never have appointed Nostradamus to this position if he had not been absolutely certain that Nostradamus was a doctor. Doubtless he had the reputation investigated, verifying many tiresome details. He would have had the governor of Provence, Claude de Savoy, Compt de Tende, enquire into various background details of Nostradamus to verify that he was indeed a Doctor of Physique, a graduate of the famed Faculté de Médecin from the Université de Montpellier. Only the most blind of supporters or the most hostile of antagonists would claim that Charles made this appointment without a thorough background check. While it is true that kings made uninformed appointments in the political realm often as political favors, a procedure that even today’s most cynical and savvy world leaders tend to follow, it is obvious that a background check by any courtier would have exposed Nostradamus as a fraud if he had not been a genuine physician. And if, for some reason Nostradamus was not a genuine Doctor de Physique, then the Université de Montpellier would definitely have cried out, embarrassing the King so much that he would have turned on the deceitful liar. But Montpellier did nothing of the sort, instead the rolls of Montpellier confirmed that Nostradamus had enrolled and graduated from their hallowed halls. Nostradamus's battle with the plague in Aix, his copious notes on the progress of the pathogen and his dealing with the sickness in Lyons would give him the reputation, even if in Aix he relied on something to effect a cure that, by our current understanding, did not and could not work. The appointment of Nostradamus to Physician-in-Ordinary was a statement by Charles that the background check was successful, that the king was completely confident in Nostradamus’s medical abilities and trusted the doctor in all medical opinions concerning his life.

One may ask why Charles conferred this title upon Nostradamus. Kings as a rule do not give out appointments like this. There are two possible reasons for this honor and both may apply. First, it is, as some have claimed, an honor given to him for past work to the crown. This is the probable story as Nostradamus was up in years and Charles, newly come into his own, was feeling his independence; he likely wanted to give the doctor something in recognition of past work. However, it is also possible that Charles or his mother Catherine needed the medical work of Dr. Nostradamus.

A final mission for the queen was reputedly performed. Reputedly because the sole evidence for it, Presage 141, the last Almanac quatrain written, seems to imply this. But the quatrain does not say that a mission was performed, the embassy mentioned could easily be the embassy by the royal family to Salon. If there was a mission performed by Nostradamus for the royal family, what it was is unknown. It is certain that Nostradamus took the secret of the mission to the grave with him. And that he performed it, if there was one, was nothing short of remarkable. With his severe illness, the gout, likely starting to turn to dropsy, Nostradamus did not need to use his prophetic powers to know the end was near.

Also, another edition had to be prepared, the last edition. This either came out in 1566 as the Pierre Rigaud edition or in 1568 as the Benoist Rigaud edition. There is some doubt about the validity of the 1566 edition, most scholars reject the edition, claiming that Pierre Rigaud was the son of Benoist who took over the publishing house after his father passed away. Yet some claim that it is legitimate. Admittedly it is possible that the son was named for an uncle who might have controlled the publishing house in 1566. Regardless, what is important is that Nostradamus got the publishing going before he died. Much labor was put into this edition, yet through it the last of the ten centuries, as they were supposed to be, were published. Yes, there is some indication that he was starting to work on an eleventh and twelfth century before he died but as they were so incomplete he did not intend them to be published.

The End of Nostradamus

Finishing his mission and having finished his business with the Rigaud publishing house, he settled his finances. His will is actually a very interesting document that was made in the middle of June, 1566. He left a few crowns to several churches and to twelve beggars. He also left to Madeline Besaudine, the daughter of his cousin Louis, ten gold pistolets to be paid when she got married. This was the only family member outside of his immediate family who received a bequest. He purposely did not leave anything to his brothers or sisters. Of his friend Chavigny there is absolutely no mention made. But then, Chavigny likely did not need anything.

To his eldest daughter Madeline, he left the sum of 600 crowns, to be paid to her at the time of her marriage. To his other two daughters, Anne and Diana, he left 500 crown-pistolets each, payable only when they got married. His wife, Anne Ponsarde received 400 crowns, as well as numerous sundry items and use of 1/3 of the house as long as she lived and remained unmarried. She also received all of his robes and clothes, rings and jewels, to use as she saw fit.

All of his books were left together to be given to the one son who profited the most by study, “who will have drunk the most of the smoke of the lamp.” This is a strange sounding phrase, the exact meaning of which is lost to us, but we can make an educated guess. As study during the night has often proved to be most profitable, when there are the fewest interruptions, Michael Nostradamus was here indicating that he would let his books go to the one who was the most serious about learning.

His eldest son César received the main inheritance, the house, with the provision that the others could remain in it – the daughters till they got married, the other sons till they reached the age of 25, the mother till she remarried or died. He also received Michael’s favorite cape which had been gilded with silver as well as a heavy wooden chair. To his other sons, Charles and André he left the sum of 100 gold crowns, to be taken at the age of 25. Everything else not mentioned in the will was left to be divided between his three sons and his wife.

A few weeks after he signed his will, on the thirtieth of June, he made a codicil. In the codicil, he left to César his brass astrolabe, a large gold ring, and the status of preference legacy. He also gave to his eldest daughter Madeline two walnut coffers along with cloths, rings and other items she would find in those coffers.

The next day after he had the codicil made was the first of July, 1566. Knowing he was about to die, he sent for the local priest, had confession, communion and the last rites performed. Skeptics may scoff at this claim, but it is documented that some people seem to know up to a week before the day, even the moment when they will die. Nostradamus was obviously one of these as the very next day, on the second of July, he was found dead in his study. According to his will, he was buried in the Church of the Convent of Saint Francis, the local Franciscan church. Theophilus de Garancières confirmed in 1672 that Nostradamus was buried in the Church of Saint Francis, at Salon. Depending on which story you believe either his wife or Chavigny had the following inscribed on his tomb:

His body was moved in 1700 to another location, most likely to the current location in the Church of St. Laurent. The legend that he had a plaque on his neck with the number 1700 may or may not be true; I cannot say one way or another. That it was moved is beyond a doubt because the Church of St. Laurent is a Dominican, not a Franciscan church. Theophilus de Garancières, who testified in 1667 that Nostradamus was buried in the Franciscan church, would not be wrong about where Nostradamus was buried at that time. Besides, the current tomb of Nostradamus is recognized as a more modern work. And the fact that Nostradamus was reintured in a church of one of the most conservative of Catholic orders, the main force behind the Inquisition itself, tells that the Church had no qualms with Nostradamus whatsoever.

Whether or not revolutionaries opened the tomb of Nostradamus during the French Revolution is speculation, unverifiable by me one way or another. Knowing the superstition that so may revolutionaries had, it is likely. There may be documentation confirming this and the 1700 plaque in the house where Nostradamus lived; it stands today in Salon as a museum to Nostradamus. Regardless, it is factual that his remains are to this day in the Church of St. Laurent.