14.12.1503 Nostradamus is born

The man known today as Nostradamus was born on 14 December 1503 in the French village of Saint-Remy (Provence). He was famous for his predictions. He predicted, for example, the death of Henry II and became an advisor to King Charles IX.

Nostradamus' father was originally named Jaume Gassonet and was a grain merchant, his mother Renée Gassonet. They were Jewish, converted to Christianity in 1502 and on that occasion adopted the new surname Nostredame.

They gave their son, who later became famous as a physician, astrologer and diviner, the name Michel. Nostradamus did not become Nostradamus until much later, when he began to write his name in its Latinized form. "Although the family did not abound in wealth, they managed to keep their son at the University of Avignon, where he studied the so-called trivium: grammar, rhetoric and logic. But before he even graduated with a bachelor's degree, power broke out in the region and professors and students dispersed," writes Jan A. A Window to the Future.

That's when it became clear that Michel Nostredame was not just anyone. He not only escaped, but set off across the infested country and began to help the sick. In doing so, he tried to find a cure for the scourge, studying the effects of medicinal herbs. He also came to the remarkable conclusion for his time that the plague was not a punishment from God, but a disease like any other and could be cured.

Michel survived the plague and returned to his studies after the end of the epidemic. He chose medicine, but opinions differ as to whether he achieved a doctorate. All indications are that he was expelled from the faculty in Montpellier before completing his studies. He was said to have been a healer and sold his potions, which the university statutes forbade.

But Michel was not prevented from continuing to practice medicine. He married for the first time in 1531 and survived the Inquisition. Ironically, his wife and two children later succumbed to a plague epidemic. Nostradamus himself relied on astrology to determine illness. In "his" time, it was believed that all parts of the body were influenced by the movement of the planets.

He was also famous for his predictions. For example, he predicted the death of Henry II and became an advisor to King Charles IX. He is said to have predicted Hitler's rise to power. "Nostradamusalso predicted many things. The French Revolution, the rise of Hitler. However, in Nostradamus' bookHitler is called Hilser," writes, for example, Petr Vokáč in his book The Surprised Past.

Nostradamus died on July 2, 1566...

Sources. Novák, Window to the Future, Petr Vokáč, Surprised Past