Nostradamus

Essay by Gary1College, UndergraduateA+, November 1996

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Michel De Nostradame, otherwise known as Nostradamus was born December 14, 1503. His family was of Jewish ancestry. His grandfather, Pierre de Nostradame, had settled in Provence because by the mid-1400s, many Jews had come to live there.

Nostradamus' father was Jacques de Nostradame. Jacques worked as a scholary, since most people didn't know how to write he wrote things for them, from love letters to formal documents. Jacques' income provided a good home at the time. Nostradamus' earliest recollection of his home was the following:

Typical of all provençal homes in the sixteenth century was the room

where both domestic and social life was carried on. The center and

symbol of the room's activity was the great fireplace, majestic, caver-

nous, holding a banked fire that never went out since his mother and

father moved in. Shining pots and pans of brass hung low from the

mantle shelf.

At either angle of the fireplace was an oak settle were his

grandfathers liked to laze and talk when they came to visit. On the walls

hung light cabinet shelves holding salt and spices.

Nostradamus had one definite brother, Cèsar who wrote Histoire de Provence, a book which sustains the myth of the Nostradamus royal line. Historians think Nostradamus had three other brothers, Bertrand, Hector, and Antoine, but they are not sure and almost nothing is known about them besides their names.

Nostradamus was educated by his grandfathers. First Peyrot, who had been a great traveler, brought Nostradamus up in his home. He taught Nostradamus the basics of mathematics, Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and Astrology. After Peyrot de Nostradamus' death Nostradamus moved back in with his parents, Jacques and Reynière. It is thought that his other grandfather took over his education for a while, but the family decided to send...