Nostradamus: life, prophecies, and historical impact

Nostradamus

Fewer historical figures are as hotly debated as Michel Nostradamus, a 16th century physician who issued a series of four-line poems that seemed to predict subsequent major world events. In 1555, Nostradamus released Centuries, which contained nearly 1,000 quatrains that supporters say predicted everything from the rise of Hitler to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 (Yafeh, 2003). Detractors say Nostradamus was a first-class con-man, who wrote purposely vague predictions that allow his forecasts to be applied to a variety of events (Yafeh, 2003). Without question, there was a great deal of vagueness and uncertainly inherent to most of Nostradamus' predictions, but some of his prophecies also had an element of detail that can not be explained away as simple coincidence. In the end, the power of Nostradamus, as with so many things in life, is largely in the power of the beholder.

Supporting Nostradamus

Nostradamus, whose birth name was Michel de Notredame, was born in Saint Remi in Southern France and gained notoriety as an innovative physician who healed seriously ill patients suffering from the plague (Nostradamus, 2006). His fame as a healer eventually led him to be appointed court physician to Charles IX in 1560 (Nostradamus, No Date).

In 1547, Nostradamus began making predictions in rhyming quatrains that made use of French, Latin, Spanish and Hebrew, eventually culling them together for the publication of Centuries in 1555 (Nostradamus, No Date). Centuries became an immediate hit and people from across Europe flocked to visit Nostradamus at his home in Salon, hoping to earn a glimpse into the future. Nostradamus claimed Centuries laid out a series of predictions for world events from his own era to the end of the world, which he predicted would occur in 3797 (Nostradamus, 2006).

Without question, there was a certain vagueness to many of Nostradamus' predictions, although some of the predictions had a degree of detail that supporters argue is much more than coincidence. For example, many believe that Nostradamus predicted the rise of Hitler and the Third Reich when he wrote that "beasts ferocious with hunger" (perhaps a reference to the German army) would rise up and that the majority of the world's armies "will be against Hister" and that "Hister" would ultimately be defeated (Quatrain 2-24, No Date). Indeed, the fact that Nostradamus only mis-spelled Hitler's name by one letter and also predicted his eventual defeat is remarkable and not easily dismissed.

Arguably, Nostradamus also predicted the rise of Napoleon with a certain degree of specificity. Nostradamus wrote about an emperor who would be born near Italy and would rise up from the ranks of a simple soldier (Williams, 2001). Nostradamus goes on to discuss an army marching through Russia and the emperor's eventual banishment to Elba (Williams, 2001). Clearly, the life of Napoleon follows the arc of these predictions, from his rise to power to his failed campaign in Russia and his temporary exile on Elba (Williams, 2001). Even Nostradamus critics have a difficult time dismissing the Napoleonic prophecies.

In all, there are a few dozen such Nostradamus prophecies that seem to accurately predict world events with a good degree of specificity (Yafeh, 2003). Will McWhorter, a renowned analyst of Nostradamus predictions, believes that Nostradamus was most accurate in predicting the rise of what Nostradamus called anti-christs, such as Hitler, Napoleon and a third figure, whose identity is still debated, who will be a follower of Islam originating from the Middle East (Williams, 2001).

Nostradamus the con?

Even if we accept a few dozen of Nostradamus' predictions as accurate, what about the rest of them? Perhaps Nostradamus used nothing more than the spaghetti principle - he threw a handful of predictions against a wall, knowing that some of them would stick. Naturally, Nostradamus' credibility will always be on shaky ground because of the vague language he used in his prophecies.

Let's take, for example, a widely quoted Nostradamus prediction that some followers believe foretold the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy. Nostradamus wrote that "The great man will be struck down in the day by a thunderbolt. An evil deed, foretold by the bearer of a petition. According to the prediction, another falls at night time (Nostradamus Predictions, No Date)." Nostradamus followers point out that John Kennedy was assassinated during the day, while Robert Kennedy was assassinated at night.

Of course, Nostradamus never writes that the two characters in the prophecy are related, and there are numerous alternate fits. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, for example, was killed during the day in a hail of gunfire while observing a military parade and his counterpart in the Camp David Peace Accord, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, died in the middle of the night of heart failure (Menachem Begin, No Date). In fact, one could argue that this is a much better fit for the prophecy, as both Israel and Egypt are ancient lands that existed during Nostradamus' life, while the United States had barely been discovered.