The Life of the Mysterious Bard

He was worthy among all mortals to use his almost divine pen to describe the future fate of the entire world based on the influence of the stars . Was the scholar's wife right to place such an inscription on the plinth of his tomb? Probably so, for Nostradamus's gift of prophecy was widely known and appreciated by the powerful of the times in which he lived.

As if the crowning glory of his prophetic gift, he also predicted his own death. It came true in its entirety. The astrologer died on the night of July 1, 1566, after returning from the royal court, where he had received a gift of 300 thalers. When his friends arrived the next morning, they found him dead in the position he had described in a poem he had written earlier and found among his papers.

When I return home, I will make a royal gift

I will finish the work - I come to you, God,

The bridesmaids will gather, the brothers of my house:

On the bench by my bed, they will find me dead

Nostradamus lived a total of just under 63 years, having been born in December 1503. He came from a wealthy Provençal Jewish family. His father was a notary, and his grandfather was court physician to the King of Provence. His mother was the daughter of the renowned astrologer and physician Jean de Saint-Rémy. Already at a young age, Nostradamus's guardians instilled in him a love of natural science, medicine, astrology, and astronomy, as well as an admiration for ancient culture and civilization. Nostradamus studied medicine in Avignon and then in Montpellier. He then practiced as a physician in Agen, having previously achieved fame by effectively helping numerous sick people during the plague. In Agen, the prophet experienced a great tragedy.

During another plague, his wife and children died. Devastated and doubting his medical knowledge, he began a life as an itinerant physician and scholar. In 1547, he returned permanently to Salon, remarried, and later had seven children. At the same time, he ceased practicing medicine, became a deeply religious man, even an exemplary son of the Church, and devoted himself to esoteric and astrological studies. Over time, he began predicting the future, creating horoscopes, publishing astrological calendars, and other works. His true, and still enduring, fame as the world's most brilliant fortune teller came from his books, known as the Centuries.