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Nostradamus. The name brings to mind many images and tales. To some, he is the great prophet, the man who saw through time; to others, he is the great charlatan, the deceiver of men of intelligence since the sixteenth century. He is great or rotten, the height of wisdom or the depth of ignorance. But one thing cannot be said about him: he is not considered mediocre.
Many people have told the story of Nostradamus. He was descended from a long line of illustrious Jewish physicians of Provence from both his father and mother’s side of the family, either or both of whom were personal physicians to King Rene of Provence. He grew up under the tutelage of his grandfather St. Rémy. Although wanting to become an astronomer/astrologer, he was pressed into medicine by his parents. He studied in Montpellier for four years, but then had to leave when they closed their doors due to a virulent outbreak of the plague. Consequently he spent four years healing victims of the plague. After the plague ended he returned, got his doctorate, and eventually, after several medical successes and disasters, developed his psychic ability to see the future. Basing his prophecies based on what was seen, spewing anti-Protestant hysteria, his love of monarchy and . . . Well, this story, so often told, is not exactly true.
Others have told the story of Nostradamus, his story, different from what is commonly said. He was a descendant from a family of Jewish nobodies. He grew up to be a laborer, an apothecary. When he tried to study medicine at Montpellier his apothecary was discovered and he was expelled for violating the rules of the university. He would therefore travel throughout France, practicing his apothecary knowledge while pretending to be a doctor. He would eventually write his prophecies, gaining the fame he so desperately craved. No prophetic ability was his, he could not see into the future. Instead he depended on a creative, wild imagination that drew from the Bible and what others wrote. The first work of his prophecies came out years after he had died. Consequently . . . Well, this story, also believed by so many, is not exactly true.
It must be pointed out that both stories, the first supposed story that that slavishly supports him and the second supposed story that violently opposes him, have elements of truth and falsehood. But since both are wrong, what is the true story? It is hard to say but it is possible, with careful study, to construct what most likely happened to Doctor Michael Nostradamus, Physician-in-Ordinary to King Charles IX of France and declared prophet of the future.
Of course, in any reconstruction, it is impossible to be completely certain about what actually happened; certain details will always remain obscured to us. Still, while complete accuracy is impossible, it is possible to acknowledge what is known and to speculate with relative accuracy on the rest. In this reconstruction, I wish to be as accurate as possible. Consequently, I will not simply repeat what others have said. Instead I will be going into a measure of detail that others have deliberately avoided. I will be presenting as complete a picture of the doctor as I can. I will be speculating in many places, true, but at least it will be speculation based on fact, not certain falsehood.
Finally, as an addendum, each chapter will also add in some notes on a particular aspect of life during the time of Nostradamus. This is done so that the reader can gain a feel for what it was like in Europe in the early sixteenth century.