Nostradamus - Part 1

@~With the new series, First Wave, recently started on TV, which
@~uses the prophecies of Nostradamus as part of its storyline, I
@~thought the following artcile might be of interest.

Michel De Nostredame was born on 14 December 1503 into a family of
recently Christianized Jews in the small town of St Remy in
Provence, France. Growing up in a lively household full of warmth,
conversation and the rich aromas of Proven‡al cooking, young
Michel was introduced early to the delights of good food, local
gossip and the stimulating discussion of ideas. These early
impressions laid the foundations for his lifelong passions for
intellectual gymnastics and for the culinary arts but he also
displayed at a very young age a remarkable talent for prophecy.
An enthusiastic student, he displayed exceptional mathematical
ability and a great love and mastery of astrology, known then as
the "celestial science."


At the age of 14 Michel was sent to study in the city of Avignon,
a great centre of Renaissance learning and the capital of the
papal enclave in Provence. Here he was taught philosophy, grammar
and rhetoric by Catholic priests but, in his free time, he studied
the occult and astrological books in Avignon's renowned papal
library, earning from his fellow students the nickname "little
astrologer" because of this devotion to the study of the celestial
sciences.

In the 15th and 16th centuries religious feeling against Jews was
strong. Devout Christians condemned them as Christ-murderers and
throughout Europe, especially in Spain, they were persecuted and
killed. Many Jews, from Spain and from other ghettos throughout
Europe, flocked to Provence to find sanctuary. But in 1501 when
Charles of Maine heir to the Provencal throne, died, the region
was acquired by France and the new French king, Louis XII,
summarily ordered that all Jews should be baptized as Christians
or suffer banishment. Nostradamus' family were baptized and, by
the time he was born, were accepted in St Remy as model Christians
although, in private, they followed the Jewish faith and preserved
their religious and cultural traditions.  With the background of
secrecy and persecution Jacques de Nostredame was alarmed at his
son's desire to become an astrologer. Knowing that astrologers
were generally more accepted if they were also accredited
physicians, Michel's grandfather suggested a career in medicine
and, in 1522, Michel enrolled as a medical student at the
University of Montpellier.

Bubonic plague, in a form popularly known as "Le Charbon" for the
ugly black pustules it inflicted on its victims, was the curse of
16th-century France. Little medical help was available to stricken
households until the arrival of Nostradamus - a serious
intelligent young man of just under medium height with a dusky
beard, rosy cheeks and confident, fearless gray eyes. As a young
doctor, Nostradamus worked tirelessly among the sick with a new
approach to the disease; instead of bleeding, he prescribed fresh,
unpolluted water and air, and administered herbal cures. In
Narbonne, Carcassonne (where he became personal physician to
Bishop Amenien de Fays), in Toulouse and Bordeaux, his healing
skills saved thousands from certain death.

Nostradamus is best known now for his prophetic gifts but he was
much more than a successful clairvoyant. A famous doctor who had
cured whole cities of the plague, he was also a master astrologer,
a consummate gourmet and creator of fruit preservatives.

Nostradamus settled in Agen, where his flourishing medical
practice and respected position quickly made him the town's most
eligible bachelor. He married a young woman of great charm and
beauty who bore him two children and, for the next three years,
had a loving happy home and, in the house of his friend Scaliger,
enjoyed the company of some of Europe's greatest scholars.

When plague struck Agen in 1537 Nostradamus confidently sprang
into action against his old enemy. But, despite his success in
curing his fellow citizens, he was powerless to prevent his own
family falling victim to "Le Charbon". When the telltale black
boils appeared on the burning faces of his wife and children all
his knowledge and skill could not cure them.

Once the townspeople of Agen learned of Nostradamus' failure to
save his own family his reputation as a doctor was destroyed - his
wife's family even took legal action against him when he refused
to return her dowry.

But fate had not finished with the grief-stricken doctor. More
trouble loomed in the shape of a chance remark he had made three
years before to a workman casting a bronze statue of the Virgin
Mary - he had joked that the workman was "casting demons." With
the doctor's reputation now in ruins, the workman seized his
chance for revenge and alerted the Church authorities to
Nostradamus' long-forgotten comment. Called to defend himself on a
charge of heresy, Nostradamus explained that his comment had been
meant only as a light-hearted description of mediocre workmanship.
Unconvinced, the Church authorities ordered him to stand trail
before the terrifying Inquisitors at Toulouse.

Nostradamus escaped from Agen under cover of darkness, heading for
Italy. For the next six years he wandered through Europe on a
journey of self-discovery, avoiding the Church Inquisitors and
trying to piece together the fragments of his ruined life. It was
during these wanderings that his prophetic powers awakened.

@~To be continued next issue















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