Part II of the 16th Century
When King Henry II of France died, he was succeeded
by his eldest son, who came to the French throne as Francis II, at the
age of 16 years.
Mary Stuart
Francis II
10-39 First son, widow, unfortunate
marriage,
Without any children, two
isles in discord
Before eighteen, incompetent
age
For the other one, ever
lower will be the accord
Francis II was a sickly youth right from the
beginning, and his reign was short lived. He died 17 months later, on December
5, 1560. He was a month and a half short of his eighteenth year, as the
prophet predicted. With his death, his widow Mary Stewart packed up and
went back to Scotland. The discord she caused there, is well enough known
to history.
The last line of this quatrain refers to the
next King of France, Charles IX, who was the younger brother of Francis
II. He was most probably insane, and his reign was even more disastrous
for France.
The next quatrain was also written for the Valois children.
9-24 Upon the palace at the balcony of the windows
The two little royal ones will be carried off
To pass Orleans, Paris, abbey of Saint Denis
Nun, wicked ones will swallow the green pits
.
Abby of Saint Denis Blois
Royal Residence
This is a peculiar quatrain indeed! The key
to it lies in the third line. Saint Denis was the burying place of the
French Kings, so from this we can track backwards, and see that the road
leads to Orleans. It was here in Orleans, on December 5, 1560 that Francis
II died of an absess from an ear infection. The Palace of the balcony
of the windows would be the royal residence at the time in Blois, pictured
above.
Catherine de Medici packed up her two little
royal ones, the next Kings, Charles IX and Henri III, and headed
towards Saint Denis to bury her eldest son. The third line refers to these
two little ones as being green pits, that is, they are like green seeds,
very young, and he predicts that they will be swallowed or destroyed. He
says they will be destroyed by both the wicked ones, and a Nun. Nostradamus
quite often refers to Catherine de Medici in this fashion, because she
was raised in a nunnery. And as we shall come to see, it was most likely
her, who hastened her mad son Charles’ death.
This next quatrain details the conspiracy of
Amboise in 1560.
Executions after conspiracy of Amboise
4-62 A colonel with ambition plots
He will seize the greatest army
Against his prince a false invention
And he will be discovered under his arbor.
Under King Henry II the monarchy was strong in France.
The nobles knew their position and did not try to usurp authority. With
his death, France fell apart. The three main noble families in France each
began to try and take the power. The Montmorency family, the Guise family
and the Bourbon family were the main instigators of the troubles which
now began to fall upon the country.
When Henry’s son Francis II ascended the French
throne he was only a sickly boy. He was married to Mary Stewart, who was
related to the Guise family – they were ultra Catholics. The Bourbon family
wanted to retain their status as France’s senior noble family – they were
Protestant. The Montmorency family had been removed from court previously,
and their influence had ended. They wanted back in. With their relative
Mary Stewart as the French queen, the Guises soon started acting very important,
and began to advise the young couple on political matters.
But Conde and Coligny the Bourbon princes
of the blood, had no intention of letting these usurpers rule France without
a fight. However, while they secretly involved themselves in the conspiracies,
they were careful not to incriminate themselves. Under the protecting wing
of the house of Bourbon in February of 1560, in Nantes, the conspirators
made their plans to kidnap the young King, and break the power of the hated
Catholic Guises.
On March 16, 1560, they made an attack on
the chateau of Amboise, which was the temporary residence of the French
court at the time. However, due to betrayals and subterfuge, the Guises
knew all about this little plot, and moved to arrest the conspirators in
the forest of Amboise. They were caught and hanged. Meanwhile, both Conde
and Coligny denied having anything to do with it, and nothing could be
proved against them.
The first permanent rank of Colonel was created
in 1547, and the post was given to Admiral Coligny, so we can be certain
that he is the one who is referred to here as the colonel with ambition.
9-70 Sharp weapons hidden in the torches
In Lyons,(Catholics) the day of the Sacrament
Those of Vienne (Catholics) will all be cut to pieces
By the Latin Cantons,(Protestant Netherlands) Macon (Protestant)
does not lie.
According to Edgar Leoni’s book, this took
place on June 5, 1560 when there was a massacre of the Protestants by the
Catholics at Lyons. The day of the Sacrament would be Corpus Christi Day,
which is the first Thursday after Trinity Sunday, which is the first Sunday
after Pentecost. This occurs 50 days after Easter Sunday according to Leoni.
Macon was a Protestant center, allied with
the Latin Cantons of the Netherlands, Vienne and Lyons were both Catholic.
Perhaps he means here that because of the massacre at Lyons, the Protestants
will target Vienne in revenge.
10-59 Within Lyons twenty five of one mind
Five citizens, Germans, Bressans and Latins
Under a noble one they will lead a long train
And be discovered by the barks of mastiffs.
This quatrain also deals with this same event, notice in the numbering of the quatrain 10-59, we are given three digits of the date 1559, in which this plot would have been planned! According to Leoni, in September of 1560, five citizens from Lyons and 20 others including some German Protestants, entered into a conspiracy to hand the Catholic city of Lyons over to the Protestants. It was suspected at the time, that the main ones behind the plot were the Prince of Conde and the Vidame of Chartres. This plot was discovered, they were driven out of the city by Antoine d’Albon, Abbot of Savigny and later Archbishop of Lyons. The Protestants of Lyons were massacred.
In this next quatrain, Nostradamus is seeing the beginning of the religious wars between England, France and Spain, involving the Catholics and Protestants. The quatrain concerns King Henry of Naverre in 1562 and his fight with the Guise family who were allied with Spain.
Henry King of Naverre
3-25 He who will
attain the Kingdom of Naverre
When Sicily
and Naples will be joined
He will hold
Bigorre and Landes through Foix and Oloron
From one who
will be too closely allied with Spain
The first to qualify for this quatrain
in accordance with the first two lines of this prophecy, was Henry of Naverre,
who became King of Naverre in 1562 upon the death of his father. Sicily
and Naples were not formally joined until the year 1554, by Phillip II
of Spain when he married Mary Tudor of England.
Phillip II needed England’s support in his
war against the Pope in Rome, and this is why he married the English Queen.
But this rather backfired on him when Mary died, and the Protestant Elizabeth
came to the English throne instead. Then it became a case of Phillip having
to fight for survival of the Catholics in his own home country, never mind
fighting the Pope in Rome. Elizabeth of England supported the Protestants
of France against Spain, and Phillip ended up the loser in the end.
The one who would be too closely allied with Spain would be the Catholic
Duke of Guise.
The towns mentioned in the 3rd line
were all part of Naverre’s realm, which he held in fief from the French
King.
In France, due to a weak monarchy after
the death of Henry II, both Catholics and Protestants alike sought to control
the crown of France. The Catholics were headed by the Guises, aided by
Spain, and the Protestants were headed by the King of Navarre and aided
by England.
The last line of this quatrain tells
us who the winner will be - Henry of Naverre, who not only won, but went
on to become the first Protestant King in French history. His chief rival
was the Duke of Guise who is mentioned in the last line of this quatrain,
as being the one too closely allied with Spain.
The next quatrain to be dated for the 16th
century, includes not two, not three, but an incredible all four digits
of the date on which it occurred!
12-56 King against
King, and Duke against Prince
Hatred between them
and horrible dissension
Rage and fury throughout
every province
In France, great wars,
and horrible changes
There can be no doubt that it is a kind of
civil war he speaks of in this quatrain, and it is set in France, as we
can see by the last line. This quatrain indicates that there will be several
factions fighting over the throne, or power in the country.
France’s troubles began to emerge shortly
after the death of King Henry II in the jousting accident in 1557. His
successor was a 14 year old sickly boy. At this time in French history
the new Protestant religion was just beginning to appear in the country,
and consequently, some of the aristocracy were converted to it. Since religion
and State were so closely intertwined in France in those days, it became
a matter of vital importance which faith their monarch held. Catholics
and Protestants alike, plotted and schemed to gain a hold on the throne
of France.
Battle of Drux in Normandy, December 19 1562 opening of religious wars
Eventually, on December 19, 1562, it broke into a
wide open and full scale war, with the first battle being fought at Drux
in Normandy.
The Prophet was correct. There were great
wars and horrible changes from then on, in his beloved La Belle France.
Even in the 18th century, under the Sun King, Louis XIV, they were still
battling about religion in the country. Perhaps nothing in history, changed
France as much, as the introduction of Protestantism into the fabric of
that nation. In the numbering of this quatrain, 12-56, Nostradamus has
given us all four digits of the date on which that first battle over religion
began, in the fields of Drux in Normandy, on December 19, 1562!
This next quatrain is pretty general, and could refer to a number of battles between the Catholics and the Protestants of France. Only the relatively small numbers of those killed in the last line, make it very likely it took place fairly early on in the fighting between the two religious factions. It most likely is referring to the massacre at Vassy on March 1, 1562.
7-28 The Captain will lead a great flock
On the mountain closer to the enemy
Surrounded by fire he will cut such a path
All escaped except thirty put on the spit.
Massacre at Vassy, March 1 1562
On March 1 1562 the Duke of Guise found a party of Protestants at worship in Vassy (in Guise territory). Thirty were killed, and a hundred or more wounded. Conde immediately ordered the Protestants to arms, while the Guises and Montmorency seized Paris. More massacres then began to take place, the worst being at Sens, south of Paris.
The next quatrain depicts the execution of Jean Poltrot, Sieur de Mere, on March 18, 1563. He was torn apart by four horses driven in opposite directions for the killing of the Duke of Guise, who died on February 24, 1563, after being shot on February 18th at the siege of Orleans.
The execution of Jean Poltrot, March 18, 1563
Duke of Guise
Poltrot was attached to Guise’s forces
as a spy for the Protestants. One day he noticed that the Duke took
off his coat of mail - Poltrot quickly rode on ahead, and then shot the
duke in the back as he passed by. Although Poltrot escaped at the
time, he was later captured and sent to prison. His story was that the
leader of the Protestants, Admiral Coligny had paid him 100 ecus to do
the deed. Coligny, being of very high rank in France, of course denied
the accusation.
On March 14, 1563, the Governor of Paris
(who was a cousin of Coligny), and also a secret supporter of the Protestants
came to see Poltrot in prison. He promised the assassin that if he would
withdraw his charges against the Admiral, a rescue would be arranged for
him. To this, Poltrot agreed, and recanted his charges against the admiral.
But on Thursday, March 18, 1563, as
he was being led to the Place de Greve, Poltrot suddenly realized
his mistake - he was not going to be rescued after all. He died screaming
out his charges against Coligny once again, but it was too late, and to
no avail then.
Most people thought at the time, that
it was probably the Prince of Conde who was behind the whole thing, but
not even the Guises wanted to implicate him, hoping instead that they could
still possibly seduce him over to their side. It was more important to
them that Admiral Coligny be ruined instead - such were the politics of
16th century France.
Conde
Coligny
8-89 In order not to
fall into the hands of the uncle
Who slaughtered his
children in order to rule
Pleading with the
people, putting his foot on Peloncle
Dead and dragged between
armored horses
The uncle of the first line would be
Conde, who was uncle to Gaspard de Coligny. I think what Nostradamus is
saying here, is that Jean Poltrot blamed Coligny for being behind this
murder, because he was too terrified to blame the real culprit, who was
the uncle Conde. The Peloncle of the 3rd line is capitalized, which gives
it more significance - it is an obvious anagram of Le Conde.
The 2nd line, and the slaughter of children,
refers to the slaughter of Conde's subjects - Frenchmen that he sacrificed
in order to have them follow him in the Protestant cause. The Protestant
cause in that day and age had one goal in mind - to seize control of the
French throne.
The winter of 1563-64 was a particularly brutal one in France. Henry II’s daughter Margo of Valois wrote in her diary “The bitter weather froze the rivers all through France”. Meanwhile, in Spain, her sister Elizabeth was now married to the Spanish monarch Phillip II, and was 5 months pregnant with twins. This marriage had originally been made to cement the peace treaty of Cateau Cambresis, and now, everyone was looking forward to the birth of the children which would even further cement the peace between their two countries. Alas, it was not to be, Elizabeth went into premature labour and delivered stillborn twins in the winter of 1564.
Elizabeth of Valois
6-52 In place of the great one will be condemned
Out of prison, his friend there instead
The Trojan hope in six months joined, born dead
The Sun in Aquarius, rivers will be frozen.
The first two lines of this quatrain are speaking
of the imprisonment and death of Jean Poltrot, who took the rap for his
friend Conde after the murder of the Duke of Guise. He was drawn and quartered
on Thursday March 18, 1563, while Conde and Coligny both went free.
The Trojan hope in the third line refers to
the marriage of Elizabeth of Valois and King Phillip II of Spain. It was
hoped that this marriage would cement the peace between France and Spain,
and thus allow both countries instead, to concentrate on getting rid of
the Protestant heretics which infested both their countries. The Trojan
hope would be the Pope, who wanted above all, for France and Spain to make
peace between themselves, and then concentrate on ridding Europe of the
Protestants. The Trojans were the founders of Rome, so in this case, we
know it is a Roman who is doing the hoping here.
The sun is in Aquarius between mid February,
and mid March of the year, and the Queen miscarried early in the year as
the prophet says in the last line.
Prince de Condé, duc d'Enghien, comte de Soissons, marquis de
Conti
Louis Prince de Conde I of Bourbon was elected as the head of the Huguenot Assembly in 1560, the same year in which he converted to that religion. Several times he made public confessions of loyalty to King Charles IX, but yet continued to plot against him in private. He was taken prisoner at the battle of Jarnac on March 13, 1569 when his horse was shot out from underneath him. He was laying on the ground with a broken leg, when Montesquiou the Captain of the Duke of Anjou’s guards, deliberately killed him with a pistol shot in the eye, as the eyes of the prophet watched on.
3-41 A hunchback will be elected by the council.
A more hideous monster not seen on earth
A willing blow will put out his eye
The traitor to the King will be received as faithful.
Oh, yes, and one more little detail….The Prince de Conde was also a hunchback, as the prophet also foresaw!
The next quatrain looks complicated on the
surface, but it really is not. In the summer of 1565, Catherine de Medici
went to met her daughter the Queen of Spain at St. Jean of Lux in France,
near the Spanish border. However, it was meant to be more than just a social
visit. Catherine also met secretly with the Duke of Alba, sent by Phillip
II. They were to discuss the Protestant question, and what the two countries
could do together in an effort to combat the growing problem.
Catherine was rather helpless in France at
that moment, since her mad son Charles IX was now reigning, and Charles
had taken a fancy to the Protestant Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, who exercised
a considerable influence over his unbalanced mind. He wanted to deter Charles
from fighting the Protestants in his own country, and declare war on the
Spanish in the Netherlands. Charles was fast being swayed by this idea,
and Catherine needed Spanish help – and quickly.
Certainly at St. Jean of Lux, Catherine and
the Duke of Alba would have discussed the Admiral, and how they could get
rid of him. It was no doubt in this particular city, where his death warrant
was first sealed.
On August 24, 1572, the Admiral was murdered
in his bed, by the ultra Catholic Guises of France, no doubt under Catherine’s
orders. The St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre followed.
8-85 Between Bayonne and St. Jean of Lux
Shall be poised the promontory of Mars
To the Hanix of the North, Nanar will sacrifice Lux
Later suffocated in bed without assistance.
The third line of this quatrain - the word Nanar means several things. It is a play on the word nun, which Nostradamus uses elsewhere to describe Queen Catherine de Medici, because she was raised in a convent. The word also means nonaria, or prostitute - in either case, it means Catherine d’ Medici. The word Lux refers to Admiral Coligny, elsewhere Nostradamus has called him Apollo or the light, here the word lux is Latin for light. It’s meaning, is no doubt, that Coligny was the light of the Protestant faith, or in other words, the leader of it.
Queen Elizabeth of England
The word Hanix refers to the Queen of the North,
Elizabeth of England. To sum it up, Nostradamus says here, that Catherine
will sacrifice the English alliance for the Spanish one, and Coligny will
pay the price for it. Then later, as the Prophet foretells, on August 18,
1572, during the St. Bartholomew’s day massacre, Coligny will be killed
in his bed.
2-14 At Tours, Gien, guarded eyes will be watching
Discovering from afar her serene highness
She and her suite will enter the port
Combat, thrust, sovereign power.
Tours and Gien are both on the Loire river, about a hundred miles apart. In late July of 1563, Catherine managed to unite Protestant and Catholic Frenchmen long enough to expel the English from the port of Le Havre. She herself, personally attended the siege. She passed thorough Tours, and Toulon on her royal tour in that year. The word Nostradamus has chosen, Sereine, hints at Catherine’s heritage and birthplace - Florence in Italy. This is what I call a Triangle quatrain - If one takes the cities of Tours and Gien, then the third point of the triangle formed would point directly to the city of Le Havre.
The next quatrain was written for the Spanish Netherlands.
Persecution of Dutch Protestants by the forces of the Duke of Alba
9-44 Leave, leave Geneva every last one of you
Saturn will be converted from gold into iron
RAYPOZ will exterminate all of you
Before the coming the sky will show signs.
This quatrain refers to the King of Spain’s
troubles with his rebellious subjects in the Netherlands. In August of
1566, the Calvinists attacked Catholic churches in Antwerp, Ghent, Amsterdam,
as well as other towns. Phillip II was outraged, and decided to send Don
Fernando de Toledo, the third Duke of Alba into Flanders to restore the
order there. By June 21 of 1567 Alba arrived there leading 10,000 troops
to back up his rule with deadly force. He set up what he called the Council
of Tumults to judge his victims. The exact number of his victims is not
known, but 12,302 people were sentenced, of whom 1,105 of his “subjects”
were executed, including the Counts of Egmont and Horne, leaders of the
Dutch nobility.
Why does Nostradamus call him RAYPOZ here?
Because it is an anagram of the word Zopyra. Apparently Phillip II used
this name in one of his devices. The device consisted of two scepters passed
in saltire through a crown over an open pomegranate, with the motto tot
zopir (as many of Zopyros). According to Leoni’s book, one day, Phillip
II being asked of what would he like, as large a number of, as the
seeds of a pomegranate, replied that he would like as many as Zopyros,
that is, faithful friends. Apparently Zopyro cut off his nose and ears,
wounding himself and pretending to be a fugitive, and in this way delivered
Babylon in to the power of his sovereign Darius. The Duke of Alba was in
this case acting as a faithful Zopyro to his sovereign King Phillip II.
July 20, 1566 Saturn moves into sign of Virgo, conjunct Mars
The second line also clinches the date as being in 1566. Saturn will be converted from gold into iron, says the prophet. Saturn moved from the gold of Leo and the Sun, into his rule of iron in Virgo around July 20th, 1566. As well, it was conjoining the planet Mars, in traditional astrology, a most evil omen.
In the next quatrain, again we are given three digits of the date on which the events unfolded in the year 1567. The first line says this man is a Pilot - an early word for Captain. The 2nd line says he leaves the fleet, so we may assume this man is a Captain of a ship - then the King promotes him to a higher position. 7 years after this event, the man will be in rebellion against the King, promises Nostradamus. At this same time, Venice will be having trouble with the Turks. At first, it is difficult to see how all these events could connect, but they do!
Admiral Gaspard de
Coligny
6-75 The great Pilot will
be commissioned by the King
To leave the fleet to fill
a higher post
Seven years afterwards,
he will be in rebellion
Venice will come to fear
the barbarian army
It is none other than Gaspard de Coligny, Admiral
of France, that Nostradamus speaks of in this quatrain. King Henry II of
France took him from the fleet and made him Admiral of France in 1552.
However, when King Henry II was killed 7 years later, in 1559, Coligny
resigned his post to go and join the Protestant rebellion, as Nostradamus
predicted he would – to leave the fleet to fill a higher post.
In the year 1567, the Protestants under their
leader Prince William of Orange, were having a rough time of it in the
Netherlands. Phillip II had sent the Duke of Alba in with 10,000 soldiers
to crush the rebellion, and the situation was becoming desperate for the
Protestants. Prince William of Orange turned to the Sultan of Turkey for
aid, since they were both doing battle against Spain at the time. The idea
was, that the Sultan’s forces would attack Spanish possessions in the Mediterranean,
and thus take some heat off the people in the Netherlands. In 1566, the
Turks took Chios, Naxos, and the Cyclades from Venice. In the numbering
of this quatrain, 6-75, Nostradamus gives us three digits of the
date 1567, in which these events were unfolding upon the stage of history!
The next quatrain dated for the 16th
century, also concerns the Netherlands and the Protestant
rebellions in the year 1567.
5-71 Through the fury
of one who will wait at the water
By his great rage
the entire army moved
Seventeen boats loaded
with nobles
The messenger come
late along the Rhone
The clue to this quatrain lies in the seventeen
boats loaded with the nobles of the 2nd line. Nostradamus is here talking
about King Phillip II of Spain sending in the Duke of Alba with the troops
to crush the Protestant rebellion in the Netherlands. Alba arrived in Brussels
on August 22, 1567 to set up what he called The Council of Tumults.
The Sea Beggars taking Brill, April 1, 1572
This was to be a jury
set up, which would try all men alike, regardless of their aristocracy
or nobility - previously, such a thing would have been unthinkable! The
nobility had always held special privileges under the laws of the land.
Counts Egmont and Horne, two of the more well known of the nobility, were
promptly tried and executed.
Many of the nobles fled
the area. Prince William of Orange supplied them with about 17 boats and
gave them letters of Marque, so that they might act as privateers, in accordance
with international customs.
For awhile, these “Sea Beggars” as they were called, were given
assistance by England, but when that country joined Phillip II of Spain,
they were refused harbours. They retaliated by seizing the town of Brill
on April 1, 1572. The rivers, canals, and network of waterways in the Netherlands
became their home - it was the only place they were safe from the troops
of the Duke of Alba. There, they began a stubborn war of sieges which would
last for nearly 40 years.
William Prince of Orange
The first two lines of this quatrain
describe William, Prince of Orange, who was well known for being able to
move entire armies of Protestants against the most Catholic monarchs
of Europe.
The fourth line mentions the Rhone river,
and a messenger who comes late. These events occurred at the same time
the Netherlands conspiracy was going on in the Spanish court, and many
spies came and went between Spain and the Netherlands, using the Rhone
river to travel part of the way between the two locations.
It is unknown who this messenger was, but it would have something to
do with Phillip II’s son, Prince Don Carlos, who was imprisoned in his
room, and later put to death by his own father. People of the time said
it was because he was involved in the Protestant Netherlands conspiracy.
Some of the other quatrains describe that event
more fully, and the prophet says that an attempt to rescue him will be
made, but it will be too late. Note that in the numbering of this quatrain
5-71, Nostradamus has given us three digits of the year 1567, the same
year in which Alba arrived in the Netherlands.
And yet another quatrain with two digits of the year 1567 contained within the numbering of it. This one would refer to the beginning of the 2nd civil war in France on September 26th 1567. On St Michael’s Day happened a massacre of the Catholics by the Prodestants in Nimes France. The Prodestants had met in that same city in February of the year before, to discuss banding together against the Catholic league headed by the Guises.
4-76 The people of Agen by those of Perigord
Will be vexed, holding as far as the Rhone
The unions of Gascons and Bigorre
To betray the temple, the priest giving the sermon.
Gascony and Bigorre belonged to the house of Navarre and Henry of Navarre was the Prodestant leader at this time. Agen was loyalist Catholic. Note that in the numbering of this quatrain, we are given two digits of the date 1567 in which these events occurred.