"Nostradamus Believed In What He Wrote" - Alternative View

Table of contents:

"Nostradamus Believed In What He Wrote" - Alternative View
"Nostradamus Believed In What He Wrote" - Alternative View

Video: "Nostradamus Believed In What He Wrote" - Alternative View

Video: "Nostradamus Believed In What He Wrote" - Alternative View
Video: FACT CHECK: Did Nostradamus Predict Coronavirus Outbreak in 1551? || Factly 2024, March
Anonim

Did the great soothsayer predict anything? Kirill Zhurenkov found this out from the historian Alexei Penzensky.

December marks the 515th anniversary of the birth of the famous fortuneteller Michel Nostradamus, but even five centuries later, controversy about his personality and predictions does not subside.

Michel Nostradamus is remembered every winter with the New Year approaching, so strong is the desire to look into the next year. And now publications have already appeared, offering a dozen or two predictions of Nostradamus for 2019. What did he not predict according to modern interpreters: both the fact that the third world war will begin soon, and even the fact that Queen Elizabeth II will be replaced on the British throne by Prince Harry … But perhaps a more important and significant reason to remember the Provencal prophet is the anniversary the beginning of serious scientific research devoted to him and his phenomenon. This year they turn 25!

Who is Nostradamus? Ogonyok asked the author of the commented translation of The Prophecies of Master Michel Nostradamus, as well as his biography published in the ZhZL series, the historian Alexei Penzensky about this.

How well do we know the life of Nostradamus?

- There are many white spots in it, however, as in the biographies of most of his famous contemporaries, for example, François Rabelais. The following is known for certain: Nostradamus came from a wealthy family, his father was a grain merchant. He graduated from the Medical University of Montpellier, became a doctor. I would not look for a deep meaning in this: then there were diplomas in only three specialties - medicine, theology and jurisprudence. However, a person with a diploma got the opportunity to feed his family with this specialty all his life. Nostradamus himself tried himself as a doctor and even published a book of prescriptions, including a medical one. From a modern point of view, they are outdated, but for that time they were the best that medicine could give. He even owns a prescription for a cure for the plague; I translated it for one of my books. They were pillswhich were supposed to be kept in the mouth until resorption. They contained aromatic substances: rose petals and the like …

Did it help?

- It was better than nothing. But, of course, there was no talk of any medicine, rather of prevention. You understand that in the 16th century they did not know that the plague is carried by fleas. Then it was believed that the matter was in the contaminated air, or miasms, which burst out of the ground under the influence of celestial bodies, and, reaching the "seventh heaven", burn out, therefore comets are visible on Earth, that is, comets were considered objects of terrestrial origin. That old science is something incredibly interesting.

Promotional video:

Fulfilled prophecies

So who was Nostradamus after all: a poet, a mystic, a soothsayer?

- Little by little. But I would use the term "oracle". The fact is that the courtyard was the Renaissance. And what exactly were they trying to revive? Ancient traditions. It seemed to the people of the 16th century that once, in the days of antiquity, there was an extraordinary flourishing of culture, and they wanted to revive everything antique - from sculpture and dance to jurisprudence (Roman law) and painting. Judge for yourself: almost the main French bestseller in those days was considered … the three-volume Comparative Biographies of Plutarch. That is, it was a powerful wave of retro, a crazy fashion for everything Roman and Greek.

So the only thing that admirers of antiquity lacked were oracular traditions and oracles as valuable advisers, predictors of the future. Nostradamus has occupied this niche.

But what was so special about him? I believe that he was not the only one trying to predict the future …

- You think correctly. For example, Leonardo da Vinci has a book of prophecies, by the way, translated into Russian. Paracelsus had the predictions. The anonymous collection Mirabilis liber, or "The Wonderful Book", prophecies about the future of Europe and France, enjoyed enormous popularity. And yet it was Nostradamus and his quatrains that turned out to be the most famous. Why? I think the secret is that he wrote about things that are important to everyone. Today Nostradamus is known for his "Prophecies" (they are also called "Centuries"), but in fact, lifetime glory came to him thanks to … the annual "Almanacs", written for money. These were astrological calendars, where Michel predicted the types of crops, various natural phenomena, the end of some wars and the beginning of others.

Just imagine: France was just fighting the Spain of the Habsburgs and it seemed that the war was won. And suddenly a certain Provencal prophet appears, who in his vague quatrains begins to threaten the country with unprecedented trials. It was so strange that he was even summoned to the king to give an explanation. There was a witness - the Lyons merchant Leon Giraud - who noted in his diary: Nostradamus was passing through Lyon to Paris, he was very afraid that his head would be cut off.

So later it turned out that his prophecies were coming true: in 1557 the situation at the fronts changed and the Habsburgs almost captured Paris. And Nostradamus continued to pressurize: they say, there is a civil war ahead, the dynasty is threatened with destruction … Two years passed - and again everything came true: France signed a shameful peace with Spain, economic problems began, Henry II died in an accident, and his consumptive son Francis became king II, burned out from an acute illness by the end of the next year, 1560. In addition, a civil war broke out between Catholics and Huguenots. The fulfilled prophecies, of course, added glory to Nostradamus.

And why did the doctor suddenly start making predictions?

- It was actually very common. You have to understand that doctors then are not the same as now. There were surgeons and barbers for the dirty work. And the doctors were engaged in sublime things, watched the stars, knew astrology, as, in fact, Nostradamus. Officially, he made his predictions on the movement of planets and stars.

And yet what was his secret?

- There is no unequivocal answer, primarily because many of his predictions are retrospective prophecies. In the preface to The Prophecies, Nostradamus noted: "I have described almost as many future events as events of the past and present." That is, Nostradamus took certain events in the past, changed names and place names in them (although he often did not do this either), and then rhymed them in the future tense, and rhymed with talent. It is no coincidence that Guillaume Apollinaire, in one private letter, called him a great poet.

But here's what's interesting: of all the events, Nostradamus chose those that could happen again. Let's say that at all times there were people who went from a simple warrior to the ruler of the country. Therefore, the quatrains describing the biography of Julius Caesar were later perceived as a prediction of the fate of Napoleon. And in the XX century Hitler. "From a short dress to a long one." Nostradamus has many such turns …

Or take a revolution. He has quatrains describing a society that practices the rule that friends have everything in common. Naturally, it is easy to see in this a prediction about the emergence of the Soviet Union, which many are doing. But they just forget: experiments on the socialization of property and even wives were carried out during the Peasant War in Germany - just in the 16th century. Just as the West has always fought with the East, and the last clashes took place during the life of Nostradamus. In fact, reading his quatrains, we find confirmation of the old truth about the new, which is well forgotten old.

What about his famous prediction of the death of Henry II? As far as I remember, Nostradamus writes that "a young lion will defeat the old one and gouge out his eyes in a golden cage." And now Henry II really dies in a knightly tournament from a blow with a spear, which pierced the golden helmet … Is this also a retrospection?

- There are several versions on this score. In particular, gouging out the eyes of political opponents is a Byzantine tradition. That is, it seems that Nostradamus describes certain events in Byzantine history during the reign of Alexei Comnenus.

Although, in fairness, I note that the early death of Henry II was predicted not only by Nostradamus. For example, the famous astrologer Luca Gaurico published at the same time, in the middle of the 16th century, a collection of horoscopes of high-ranking and simply famous people. And there it is written in black and white: after the age of 40, the king faces death from a head injury.

Apocryphal stories? For example, predicting your own death …

“… Any qualified doctor can do it. Such apocryphal stories remind me of an old anecdote. Nostradamus comes home from work: "Wife, what do we have for lunch?" “As if you don't know yourself,” she replies.

It turns out that you completely exclude mystical insights in his case?

- On the contrary! I just do not exclude them. He himself described that he was meditating - he caused himself a state of prophetic enthusiasm. This is a completely official philosophical term. Roughly speaking, he was trying to achieve some kind of mystical inspiration, or ascent, in which he acquired the ability to see future events.

Nostradamus was sincere and he himself believed in what he said or wrote - this is a fact. In the 16th century, France was the cultural beacon of Europe, and it is unlikely that a descendant of a grain merchant who spoke French with an accent could fool anyone. Not to mention the fact that he was trusted by the Queen Mother - Catherine de 'Medici. It was impossible to circle her.

Mysterious northern Aquilon

They say that the locals loved to show where the window of his office was. When it lit up, everyone knew: we must wait for new predictions
They say that the locals loved to show where the window of his office was. When it lit up, everyone knew: we must wait for new predictions

They say that the locals loved to show where the window of his office was. When it lit up, everyone knew: we must wait for new predictions.

Does Nostradamus have any predictions about Russia?

- Strictly speaking, in the 16th century, Europeans knew very little about Russia. Although something in Nostradamus can still be found. For example, in one quatrain, he predicts that Crimea will come under the control of another country. From the context, from the vocabulary of this quatrain, it can be assumed that it contains a prediction about the absorption of the Crimean Khanate by the Russian Empire.

He also has the toponym Aquilon: how to understand it is an open question. Apparently, this is the North in general. Or you need to look at the context: in some cases it is Scandinavia, in some Germany, also because in Latin aquila is an eagle, a symbol of the Holy Roman Empire. So there is one prosaic prophecy, unlike the others, which speaks of the decisive role of Aquilon in future crisis events in Europe. This should happen in the XXII-XXIII centuries …

What about the prediction about the Soviet Union, which supposedly will last 73 years?

- It's an old bike. If we take the context, the events that preceded the French Revolution are better suited to this quatrain: the Enlightenment, the economic crisis, the bankruptcy of France … But Nostradamus has a few vague lines: “and, having lost their perfect religion, they will start beating the left in order to return to the right”. Is it about the Russians? We can assume so.

But why does he have such a "muddy" language? Can't you just write: this will happen then?

There is a funny letter from its publisher: “Michel, I received from you two manuscripts of the next almanacs. No need for such clarity! Nowadays, a hidden syllable is in vogue. Please fix everything and leave again."

Is it true that many prophecies were simply attributed to him?

- So they continue to do it. Even during his lifetime, fake almanacs were published under the name of Nostradamus, they were released to earn money. Then it was often used for political purposes, and during the Fronde, and during the Great French Revolution, and even during the Second World War. In 1940, in Schellenberg's department, as he himself wrote about this, the quatrains of Nostradamus were selected: that the cities would be destroyed when the German eagle swooped down, but that the south of France would survive. The leaflets themselves have not survived, besides Schellenberg lied a lot. But the story is similar to the truth.

Are all the predictions known? Or was something lost?

- It's hard for me to say. You see, the real scientific research of Nostradamus began only a quarter of a century ago, in the 1990s, with the release of the famous book "Nostradamus Astrophile" in Canada. Since then, of course, many sources have been found, for example, an almanac of 1555 surfaced at the auction - his very first! They also found the original of the horoscope of the Swedish prince Rudolph compiled by him. They found financial documents of Lyons publishers, allowing to present the circulation of Nostradamus (circulation of one almanac in French - 30 thousand, circulation of the Prophecies - 3 thousand!). Unfortunately, there were no new predictions among these documents.

There was, however, one book with watercolors found in Rome, attributed to Nostradamus. But I think this is nonsense. Like the tarot of Nostradamus - he never read the cards.

Abel, Nemchin and Wanga

Nostradamus belonged to any secret societies?

“I don’t think so. Masons appeared only in the 17th century, and organizations like the Templars were aristocratic, and Nostradamus, with his simple origin, was forbidden to enter there. However, he belonged to the community of educated Renaissance people, he was known abroad and that was enough for him. In fact, the only country that escaped the fashion for Nostradamus until modern times is Russia. But there are objective reasons for this: Russia does not and has never had an oracular tradition.

Wait, but what about the monk Abel, who predicted Russian history for several centuries ahead, even under Catherine?

- Abel is a myth. Have you seen at least one real document confirming the existence of his prophecies? This legend was blinded on the knee much later.

In general, I can hardly type a dozen Russian prophets. Well, who else? Astrologer nicknamed Nemchin? All that is known about him is that he fell out of favor with Ivan the Terrible, tried to escape, but was caught and executed … So, I'm afraid the fortunetellers are simply not ours. Even astrology in Russia, and that all inherits either Western or Indian traditions - we do not have our own school of astrologers.

The Serbs, however, had a fortuneteller Mitar Tarabic, but go and find out now what his story is …

But what about the Bulgarian Vanga? These are also brothers-Slavs …

- Well, listen, to believe that in a communist country they suddenly allow a certain pensioner to freely accept foreigners and make predictions and there is nothing behind that, it's just ridiculous … And then, I remember how she predicted a united country with three capitals - Moscow, Sofia and Belgrade … And where is this country?

So, apart from Nostradamus, we have no one to turn to for "forecasts"? There are no predictors of their own …

- How can I tell you … Old predictions made in the West are often interesting. Well, for example, the Fatima prophecies (written down from the words of the Portuguese shepherds in 1917 - “O”), especially the one where Russia is mentioned, is very interesting and incomprehensible …

It must be said that in a traditional society, the task of prophecy is not at all to predict where to spread the straw. The biblical prophets did not say that it will rain tomorrow and the sun the day after tomorrow. A prophet is a prophet to instruct, to teach. But the most interesting thing: such people appear when social ties begin to collapse - the old society is falling apart, and the new one has not yet been created. At one time I was struck by one fact: in 1941, in the midst of the war, fortune-telling on cards became popular in Moscow. Moreover, many noted that the predictions received came true. I think the explanation here in the self-regulation of society is a kind of response to the crisis. So the popularity of various predictions and prophecies in our time is a reaction to global crisis phenomena. Of course, I don't want to compete with Nostradamus, but I think in three years we will not recognize that worldin which we live.

Interviewed by Kirill Zhurenkov

Poems-riddles

Details.

The main poetic form, thanks to which Nostradamus became famous, is quatrains

Quatrain - this is the name of a rhymed stanza in four verses, its meaning is complete. In French poetry, quatrain has been known since the 12th century, but by the 16th century this form was already considered archaic. The quatrain has several rhyming schemes: aabb, abab and abba. For example, the quatrain of Nostradamus "After the battle and the sea battle / Great Neptune is at the height of his power, - / The red enemy turns pale with fear, - / Throws the great Ocean into horror") is an example of the second version of the rhyme in the French original.

The first edition of The Prophecies of Master Michel Nostradamus, published in 1555, contained 353 prophetic quatrains, grouped into chapters (centuries) of 100 quatrains. It is interesting that these numbers are not accidental: 353 - so many years includes the "big cycle" of each of the seven planets known at that time. Subsequently, there were several more editions, and the number of quatrains increased. An interesting fact - several original copies of the Prophecies have survived to this day, and one of them is kept … in the Book Museum of the Russian State Library.

Source: based on materials by Alexei Penzensky, sob. inf.

Nostradamus jam

Quotes.

One of the little-known works of Nostradamus - "Treatise on Grinding" - is a collection of various recipes, from medical to culinary. Here is one such recipe (with abbreviations)

“Take small pears of any kind. Peel them off. After peeling the pears, wash them in cold water so that they do not darken. After washing, bring them to a boil. Once they are boiled, remove the pears from the heat, remove with a slotted spoon and cool in clean water, and then leave them to dry for a while. When the pears are dry, place them in a earthenware, porcelain or ordinary ceramic vessel and turn it upside down so that the remaining water drains to the last drop. Take sugar from the wide part of the sugar head, and when it melts, heat it in water until it is syrupy, and then let it cool slightly. When the syrup has cooled, add the pears. When the syrup has been infused in a pot of pears for two days, bring it to a boil again separately, and when it has completely cooled down, pour it back into the bowl with pears. Let it stand for four daysPour the syrup into a saucepan and place the pears in a bowl or pot and place 1–2 cloves and a little cinnamon in each pear. Once done, return the pears to their bowl and re-heat the sugar syrup. When it boils, pour it over the pears and close the pot properly. Now you have a jam worthy of being served at the royal table …"

Source: Alexey Penzensky. "Nostradamus" (ZhZL). 2008

Recommended: