preview

Nostradamus Essay examples

Good Essays

Nostradamus

Biography
The following is a biography of Michel de Nostredame, it is a excerpt from Erika Cheetham, "The Prophecies of Nostradamus". Childhood
Michel de Nostradame, more commonly known as Nostradamus, was born on 14th December 1503, in St. Remy de Provence. His parents were of simple lineage from around Avignon. Nostradamus was the oldest son, and had four brothers; of the first three we know little; the youngest, Jean, became Procureur of the Parliament of the Provence. Education
Nostradamus' great intellect became apparent while he was still very young, and his education was put into the hands of his grandfather, Jean, who taught him the rudiments of Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Mathematics and Astrology.

When …show more content…

He had a son and a daughter by her and his life seemed complete.

Tragedies
Then a series of tragedies struck. The plague came to Agen and, despite all his efforts, killed Nostradamus' wife and two children. The fact that he was unable to save his own family had a disastrous effect on his practice. The he quarrelled with Scaliger and lost his friendship. His late wife's family tried to sue him for the return of her dowry and as the final straw, in 1538, he was accused of heresy because of a chance remark made some years before. To a workman casting a bronze statue of the Virgin, Nostradamus had commented that he was making devils. His plea that he was only describing the lack of aesthetic appeal inherent int the statue was ignored and the Inquisitors sent for him to go to Toulouse.

Travelling
Nostradamus, having no wish to stand trial, set out on his wandering again and kept well clear of the Church authorities for the next six years. We know little of this period. From references in later books we know he travelled in the Lorraine and went to Venice and Sicily. Legends about Nostradamus' prophetic powers also start to appear at this time.

By 1554 Nostradamus had settled in Marseilles. In November that year, the Provence experienced one of the worst floods of its history. The plague redoubled in virulence, spread by the waters and the polluted corpses. Nostradamus worked ceaselessly.
Once the city had recovered, Nostradamus moved on

Get Access