The true prophecies or prognostications of Michael Nostradamus, physician to Henry II. Francis II. and Charles IX. Kings of France, and one of the best astronomers that ever were. / A work full of curiosity and learning. Translated and commented by Theophilus de Garencieres, Doctor in Physick Colleg. Lond.

ANNOT.

The Port of Corsibonne, must of necessity be that of Ancona; first because there is no Port of the former name near the City of Ravenna. Secondly, because Ancona is near Ravenna.

By the Lady is meant the Chappel or Church of our Lady of Loretto, which is threatned here to be plundred by some Turks or Pyrates, inticed thereunto by the manifold riches that are said to be therein.

The third Verse speaketh of a Portugues Embassador, who it seemeth shall be drowned or buried in the main Sea.

The fourth Verse giveth warning of some Robbers and Pyrates, very like to be Turks, who being in Ambuscado, and shrouded among the Rocks by the Sea side, shall carry away seventy Souls.

LV.

ANNOT.

That word a preparing in the first Verse, signifieth that he speaketh of a time, wherein War was a making ready, when he was a writing.

The West, of which our Author speaketh, is not formerly the West which is Spain, but is the West respectively to his Countrey of Provence, which is Picardy, Lorrain, and the Countrey of Mets, in all these Places that are Westerly from Provence, there was great Wars in the year 1557 in Picardy in the year 1558. at Calais and Thionville, and at last from the middle of that year to the end of it, were seen two great Armies of both Kings, which threatned a horrid slaughter, had not God Almighty provided against it by the treaty of Peace of the 3d. of April 1559 the year following, which was 1559. there did happen what he foretelleth, viz., the Plague so strangely terrible to Young, Old, and Beasts &c.

And in those quarters there was nothing but Fire and Blood; that is, Massacres and ruines of all sorts, then did Rule in France, the three Planets of Jupiter, Mars and Mercury, Jupiter and Mercury, for the peace that was then concluded, and Mars for the War that was then on foot.

The History of Provence mentioneth, that that Pestilence was called by the Physitians, Febris erratica, by which within the space of five or six Months, died almost an infinite number of people.

LVI.

ANNOT.

These three words of Noudam, Goussanville, and Maiotes are three little inconsiderable Countrey Towns, situated near one another; the meaning then of it is, that an Army near Noudam, shall go through Goussanville, and shall in an instant convert, that is, draw to his party above a thousand of the contrary party, the business being about the procuring of a good understanding and amity between two great ones.

LVII.

ANNOT.

Drux is a City in Normandy, near which Henry the IV. got a memorable victory.

It is said that in that place a King shall rest himself, and shall endeavour to change Religion, but at that time it shall Thunder and Lighten so much, that by the fall of a new gate, the King himself shall be killed.

LVIII.

ANNOT.

What is meant here by the three red ones of France is hard to decide, whether they be Cardinals or Judges; because both wear commonly Scarlet Gowns, or some Noblemen cloathed in Scarlet, but it seemeth by this that there shall be a lying in wait for four men, three of which shall be cloathed in Red, and one in Black, those in Red shall be knockt down dead, but he in Black shall not, and this is to be done on the left hand, over against Vitry, which is a City in Champagne.

LIX.

ANNOT.

This Stanza wanting both quantity in the Cadence of the Verse, and Connexion in the sense, sheweth that it is either falsly printed, or else the Author had no mind it should be understood; we shall only say, the Ferté is a Town in Champagne. Vidame is a Lords Title in France, of which there are but four of that sort, and are called in Civil Law Vicedominus, who by his first Institution, was temporal Judge of the Bishop; the first of those Vidames or Vicedomini in France, is that of Amiens, the second of Chartres, the third of Rhemes, and the fourth of Gerberon.

LX.

ANNOT.

This Prophecie foretelleth divers accidents in several places, without determination of any precise time; as for example, I understand by that Barbarian conflict, near the black Corner, to be some famous Battle among the Infidels themselves, some where about the Black Sea; then he saith, that abundance of Blood shall be spilt, and Dalmatia shall tremble, which is a Province belonging to the Venetians, and bordering upon Græcia; by great Ismael he understandeth the great Sophy of Persia, whose name hath been often so. By the Frogs it is not easie to know whether he meaneth France or Spain, for both abound in that kind of Insects.

LXI.

ANNOT.

It seemeth that this Plunder made upon the Sea Coast, shall be about Messina, by the Maltheses, who afterwards shall rue for it, being taken Prisoners, and severely punished.

As for the expression Incita nova, it is a barbarous derivation of the Latine, to signifie the stirring of new troubles.

LXII.

ANNOT.

The word Cheramonagora, is either altogether barbarous and insignificant, or must be derived from these three Greek words, χεὶρ, manus, μόνος, folus, and ἄγω, duco, and so it may signifie one than leadeth along by the hand, in which sense may be understood the King of France, who alone leadeth his people by the hand, without any help of Councel.

The second Verse signifieth the Oppositions he shall meet with among his Neighbours, combined together to hinder him.

By Oppi, he meaneth here Opium, the Juice of Poppies, which he calleth here Pertinax; because of its pertinacious quality in procuring sleep, as also Mandragora.

By Raugon, he meaneth some other soporiferous Herb; so that it seemeth that those three things shall be given upon the third of October to some body, it seemeth to that Cheramonagora, by whom some understand the King of France, others Oliver the last usurpator.

LXIII.

ANNOT.

Narbonne, Bayonne, and Foix are Towns of Languedoc, a Province in France; the rest is easie.

LXIV.

ANNOT.

The Æmathian properly should be the Macedonian, but by it is understood here the Spaniard, whose Countrey is on one side fenced by the Pyrenean Mountains; the rest is plain.

LXV.

ANNOT.

This Stanza hath relation and connexion to the precedent, and by it ought to be understood, that the said Æmathian or Spaniard shall come as far as the corner of Luna, wherein he shall be taken and sent into a strange Countrey, at which time the green Fruits and Grass shall be much damaged, for which one of the parties shall receive great shame, and the other great praise. But what he meaneth by the Corner of Luna, I must leave the judgement of it to the Reader, for I do ingeniously confess that I neither know City nor Countrey of that name.

XLVI.

ANNOT.

This is easie to be understood, many interpret it of the downfall of Rome, at which time all quarrels both of Religion and States would be laid aside, if the world were all of one mind.

LXVII.

ANNOT.

This is a peculiar Prophecy for the Provinces of Dauphiné and Languedoc, in which all the Towns and Rivers here mentioned are situated.

LXVIII.

ANNOT.

There is a notable fault in the impression of the first Verse of this Stanza, for instead of Mount Aymar, it must be Montlimar, which is a Town in Provence or Languedoc, situated by the River Rhosne, the sense therefore of this, is, that from Montlimar shall proceed some notable and obscure design, and that shall reach as far as Lyons, which is the City where the Saone and Rhosne meet, and that for that purpose, there shall be hidden a great many Souldiers in a Wood on St. Lucy’s day, which is the 13th. of December.

LXIX.

ANNOT.

The Mount Bailly, and the Countrey of Bressia, are by Savoy, in which place (our Author saith) the fierce ones; that is, the stout men of Grenoble, the chief Town of Dauphiné, shall be hidden, and that such a Hail shall fall upon them, as not one third part shall be left.

LXX.

ANNOT.

This foretelleth a notable Treason that shall be acted at Lyons, upon the Sacraments day, otherwise called Corpus Christi day, upon which the Roman Catholicks are wont to make a Procession with the Sacrament about the Town, with abundance of burning Torches, of fearful bigness, insomuch that some (as at Angeirs) require 20 or 24 men to carry them, in those Torches (our Author saith) shall Weapons be hidden, by means of which the fact shall be committed. The rest is easie.

LXXI.

ANNOT.

Whether the Author did understand himself here I know not, I am sure I do not; Carcassonne is a City of Languedoc, and Trixe is a barbarous word.

LXXII.

ANNOT.

This is, when the Planet Saturn hath finished twice three Ages; that is, 600 years from the time that this Prophecy was written, then the Senates of Thoulouze, being men of a new Leaven (meaning being Protestants) shall cause the Romish Churches to be polluted and depredated in the Months of April and May.

LXXIII.

ANNOT.

Foix is a Countrey of France, near Gascony, where the Author saith, a King with a Blew Turbant shall come, and shall govern less then an Age, that is 100 years, after which another King with a White Turbant shall come, and shall Conquer Bizance (which in Latine is Constantinople) the Blew or Green Turbant is attributed to the great Turk, and the White one to the King of France, by whom the Turks have a Prophecie, their Monarchy shall be subverted.

LXXIV.

ANNOT.

What is that City of Fertsod, is hard to guess, there being none of this name in Europe that I know. The rest of the words are plain, though the sense be abstruce enough, therefore we shall leave them to the liberty of the Reader.

LXXV.

ANNOT.

What Countrey this Ambraxia should be, is yet unknown, for my part I take it to be a forged word, as for Thracia it is a Countrey between Hungary and Greece.

Observe here that Evil is not an Epithete, to either People or Sea, but a word of admiration by it self, as malum in Latine, which is called vox admirantis.

LXXVI.

ANNOT.

This Prophecie portendeth the death of a black, bloody, and ravenous man (which in Latine is Rapax) who shall be murdered between two Rivers, by one whose proper name shall be Joyne Chaulveron.

LXXVII.

ANNOT.

You must observe, that there is a word false printed, which is Pellix, instead of which should be Pellex, which in Latine signifieth a Whore or Concubine.

The sense therefore of this is, that a certain King having taken another Kingdom, shall put the Queen of it to death, as also her own Son, after which, he shall make his Concubine Queen.

LXXVIII.

ANNOT.

This Stanza is concerning the Lady Elizabeth of France, Daughter to Henry the II. and Sister to Charles the IX. who being promised first to Don Carlo Infante of Spain, was afterwards Married to his Father Philip the II. at which the young man being vexed and discontented, began to raise combustions in the State, for which, and his too much familiarity with his Mother in Law, he was strangled by his Fathers command, and she poisoned.

LXXIX.

ANNOT.

The two first Verses are plain, the third signifieth, that these fearful ones being come out of their Galleys, part of them shall be murdered, and among them the Captain, a renouncer of his Baptism, or Renegado, and the rest afterwards by an Ambuscado, shall requite in the same Coin those that had used them so.

LXXX.

ANNOT.

There is a great fault in the impression of the French Copy in this Stanza, which maketh the sense altogether inexplicable, it must then in stead of Bize and Luc, be written Pise and Lucques, which are two Towns in Italy, near the Duke of Florence’s Dominions; one of these Towns, viz. Pisa he hath taken already, and from a Common-Wealth made it subject to himself; the other though several times attempted by him, hath preserved its liberty to this day. The last Verse signifieth, that after this is come to pass, the Barbarians, that is, the Florentins shall make Vintage without Wine; that is, shall plunder and spoil at their pleasure.

LXXXI.

ANNOT.

The only difficulty here is to know who that Lamprin should be, who shall be diverted from following a Traitor (which he meaneth here by the French word Traducteur) and shall be diverted from it by the Tears of Fryers, which are meant here by the ancient French word Coqueluches, which signifieth a Fryers Cool or Capuchon.

LXXXII.

ANNOT.

This is very plain, if by the great City you understand Paris, who is subject to frequent Innundations and Plagues.

LXXXIII.

ANNOT.

This famous Earth-quake having not yet happened in Europe, it is like to happen within few years, for our Authors Prophecies (by his own confession) do not extend further than the year 1700.

LXXXIV.

ANNOT.

This Prophecie is divided into two parts, The first two Verses are concerning a King, who shall perform the Funeral Rites and Ceremonies to his Parents, when he is come to the knowledge of them, having been exposed for lost before.

The two last Verses are concerning an ancient Sepulcher of a Roman, that shall be digged up and found out by a Torrent, and the Arms of the said Roman shall be something like the head of Medusa, whose Hairs were Serpents, and was so fearful to behold, that by seeing of it, the beholders were turned into stones.

LXXXV.

ANNOT.

The whole of this Prophecie signifieth no more, but that an Army shall pass through all these places, and that at last there will be a Battle fought by that place, called St. Paul de Manseole.

LXXXVI.

ANNOT.

Bourg la Reyne is a little town within six Miles of Paris, Chartres is the chief City of the Province Beausse, Pont Antony is a little Town between them both, so that the sense of the whole is this, that seven men, crafty like Martres (which are those Russia Foxes that afford the richest Furres, called Martres Zibellines) shall go from Bourg la Reyne to Chartres, making a little stay at Pont Antony, and then shall come with an Army into Paris, which shall be besieged at that time, I believe this Prophecy is come to pass already in the time of the Civil Wars of France; but for want of the History I could not quote the time.

LXXXVII.