Nostradamus

1
Nostradamus

• Author or prophecies

2
Childhood

• Born Michel de Nostredame on Dec. 14th, 1503 in
  the South of France
• Youngest of eight children
• Father was a grain dealer. Originally Jewish,
  converted to Catholicism
• Not a lot of things are known for certain
  concerning Nostradamus childhood

3
Childhood Cont.

• Said to have been educated by his maternal
  great-grandfather (while others say that he
  passed away when young Nostradamus was
  one-year-old).
• It is for certain, however, that Nostradamus
  entered the University of Avignon to study for
  his baccalaureate
• The university closed a year later due to the
  plague

4
Facing Troubles

• Worked as an apothecary in 1529 after Avignon was
  closed down
• Entered the University of Montpelier to study for
  his doctorate in medicine
• Unfortunately, expelled from the university when
  administration found out that Nostradamus had
  been working as an apothecary
• Continued to work as an apothecary and became
  famous for creating the Rose Pill. Said to
  protect from the plague

5
Marriage

• In 1531, invited by Jules-Cesar Scaliger, a
  leading Renaissance scholar, to Agen
• Met his wife there (whose name is still under
  dispute) and she bore him two children
• Three years later, Nostradamus wife and two
  children passed away as victims of the Plague
• Spent several years working with physicians
  trying to find cures for the plague
• Eventually remarried in 1547 to a rich widow,
  Anne Ponsarde, and had six children

6
The Seer

• Started to move away from medicine and towards
  the occult
• Decided to write an almanac for 1550
• Along with the release of his first almanac,
  Nostradamus Latinized his name.
• Almanac proved to be a success and started to
  write one for each following year
• All together, the almanacs contain 6,338
  prophecies
• Most of them are failed predictions

7
Prophecies

• Began writing a book of one thousand quatrains.
  These are the prophecies that Nostradamus is
  famous for today
• Mixed reactions with the public
• Some believed Nostradamus to be a servant of evil
  and a fake
• Catherine de Medicis, queen of France, was one of
  Nostradamus greatest supporters
• Summoned him to Paris and had him draw up
  horoscopes for each of her children

8
The Final Years

• By 1566, Nostradamus gout made any type of
  movement extremely difficult
• Knowing that the end was year, bequeathed all of
  his money (about 300,000) to his wife
• On July 2nd, 1566, found dead next to his bed