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The 17th Century Part II

    Pope Gregory XV

         10-32 The great empire, everyone would want it
         One will come to obtain it over the others
         But his realm and state will be of short duration
         Two years, will he be able to maintain himself in his ships

        Le grand empire chacun an deuoit estre,
        Vn sur les autres le viendra obtenir:
        Mais peu de temps sera son reigne & estre,
        Deux ans naues se pourra soustenir.

            This quatrain indicates by the last line and in his ships, that it is a Pope he is talking about, referring to the bark of St. Peter’s. Alessandro Ludovisi was elected as Pope Gregory XV, on February 9, 1621. He died 2 years and 5 months later, on July 8, 1623.   Note that in the numbering of this quatrain 10-32, we are given three digits of the date this Pope died in 1623.

         7-32 On the bank of Mont Royal one will be born
         Who boring and calculating, will come to tyrannize
         To prepare a force in the confines of Milan
         To drain Faenza and Florence of gold and men

        Du mont Royal naistra d'une casane,
        Qui cave, & compte viendra tyranniser
        Dresser copie de la marche MIllane,
        Favene, Florence d'or & gens espuiser.

             Matteo Barbarini was born in 1568 on the banks of the Arno river in Florence, to wealthy parents. There is an area in the city of Florence called Montreale or Monreale – quite possibly this is where Nostradamus means when he says Mont royal.  Barbarini was elected as Pope Urban VIII on August 6, 1623. This Pope’s name has come down in history for several reasons. He was the Pope at the time the astronomer Galileo was prosecuted, and the Church promptly lost prestige because it was accused of being against science.
            Secondly, this Pope took bronze from the historic Pantheon in Rome to make cannons, and to build the baldachin of St. Peter’s. To this day, his name is immortalized in Pasquino’s words “What the barbarians spared, the Barbarini destroyed!”
But it is for the third reason that Nostradamus speaks of him in this quatrain  This Pope went so far as to make war on Parma, Tuscany, Modena and Venice over a matter of protocol involving his nephews.
            In 1642, he tried to browbeat the Duke of Parma, Odoardo Farnase, into surrendering his Duchy to the Barbarini family. When in Janurary 1642  the Duke naturally refused, the Pope excommunicated him and invaded his Duchy with the Papal forces. The Duke called on France for aid, and the Pope called for aid from the Spanish forces in Milan. He also gathered forces from the various Papal states, Faenza being one of them.
            Venice and other independent Italian states came to the Duke’s rescue - they not only repulsed the Pope, but counter attacked the Papal estates as well. This futile war went on for 2 years, and cost an enormous amount of money. The Pope was determined to win, and lavished unsparing expenses on his army. The Duke of Parma captured Forli and Faenza both, and then actually headed towards Rome itself. This time there was hurried diplomatic meetings and a peace was quickly brokered. Pope Urban VIII got nothing for his trouble but humbled pride, and near bankruptcy. The Duke of Parma was reinstated, and the excommunication lifted. Urban VIII reportedly fell into a faint after the peace treaty was signed, and died not long after on July 29, 1644.
            Note that in the numbering of the quatrain, 7-32, we are given two digits of the date 1623 when this Pope was elected.

    
    King Louis XIII

            9-18 The lily of the Dauphin will reach into Nancy
            As far as Flanders to the Elector of the empire
            A new confinement for the great Montmorency
            Outside a proven place, he will be delivered to a celebrated punishment.

            Le lys Dauffois portera dans Nansi,
            Iusques en Flandres electeur de l'Empire
            Neufue obturee au grand Montmorency,
            Hors lieux prouuez deliure à clere peine.

            This quatrain most certainly refers to this time period, since King Louis XIII was the first French monarch to bear the title of Dauphin since the prophecies were published. The lily referred to is the fleur de lys of the French monarchy, which Louis carried into Nancy in September of 1633. As Nostradamus says, he went to uphold the cause of the Elector of the empire. This elector was that of Treves, Philip Christopher Von Sotern, who was carried off by the Spaniards and taken to Brussels on March 26, 1635.
            The last two lines of the quatrain refer to Henri duke of Montmorency, the Governor of Languedoc, admiral and marshal of France (1595-1632) In 1632 he joined in a conspiracy of Gaston the King’s brother against Richelieu and the King. He was soon captured, and then taken to the newly built Hotel de Ville at Toulouse. His family pleaded for his release in vain, but Richelieu was determined to make an example of him.

            The last two lines of this verse are interesting. Montmorency was confined in a new place, as the prophet says, because the Hotel de Ville was newly built at this time. The last line is fulfilled, because Richelieu did make some small concessions to his family regarding his place of execution – after all, he was a noble. His execution was was to have taken place in the usual public venue, but it was changed to a private courtyard.  Instead of the public executioner, a soldier did the deed instead,  At Toulouse on October 22nd 1632 in the courtyard of the L’Hotel de Ville he was beheaded.
             Some say the name of the soldier was Clere Peyne, which means celebrated punishment in French as well, but it cannot be proved - perhaps it was!

            The next two quatrains deal with the war of the Mantuan succession, and the war in Alsace Lorraine between 1627 and 1633. This event began in 1627, when the aged Duke of Mantua and Montferrat Vincent II died childless. He left the inheritance to a French branch of the Gonzaga family, the Duke of Nevers.
            Neither Spain nor the Emperor were very pleased with this, and decided to contest it with force. They sent in troops to besiege Casale the chief town of Montferrat. Richelieu and King Louis XIII crossed the Alps in December of 1629 to rescue the beseiged town, which they managed to do, driving out the Emperor’s forces.
            However, in May of 1629 the Venetians, Mantuans and French had been routed at Valeggio in Mantua, and in 1630, Mantua fell to the Emperor’s forces. This war carried on back and forth until a peace treaty was hammered out between them on April 6, 1631.

            7-31 From Langudoc and Guienne more than ten
            Thousand will want to pass over the Alps again
            The great Savoyards to march against Brindisi
            Aquino and Bresse will come to drive them back.

            De Languedoc, & Guienne plus de dix,
            Mille voudront les Alpes repasser:
            Grans Allobroges marcher contre Brundis
            Aquin & Bresse les viendront recasser.

            Languedoc and Guienne were in France, and this quatrain foretells the crossing of the Alps by Richelieu and Louis XIII. Aquino and Bresse were in the territory of the Savoyards, who swung back and forth with amazing regularity in their alliances, sometimes going with the French, and sometimes with the Spanish or with the Emperor.
    But in October of 1631, Richelieu made a secret agreement with them to switch sides. Note in the numbering of this quatrain, 7-31, we are given two digits of the date 1631, on which this event occurred.
            Later on in that same year, French troops occupied Moyenciv, in a preliminary step to invade Lorraine, which they did in the next year, 1632.

           3-32 The great tomb of the people of Acquitane
            Will approach near to Tuscany
            When Mars will be in the corner of Germany
            And in the land of the Mantuan people.

            Le grand sepulchre du peuple Aquitanique
            S'approchera aupres de la Toscane.
            Quand Mars sera pres du coing Germanique
            Et au terroir de la gent Mantuane.

            This quatrain as well, deals with the Mantuan succession, and predicts that many Frenchmen – Aquitaine in France -  will die in Tuscany Italy in this fight against the Holy Roman Empire (Germany) over the Duchy of Mantua. Note that in the numbering of this quatrain 3-32, we are given two digits of the date 1632.

           8-33 The great one will be born of Verona and Vicenza
            He who will bear a very unworthy surname
            He who at Venice will want to take vengeance
            He himself taken by a man of the watch and sign

            Le grand naistra de Veronne & Vincence,
            Qui portera un surnon bien indigne.
            Qui à Venise vouldra faire vengeance.
            Lui mesme prins homme du guet & signe.
 

            This quatrain I believe belongs to the Doge Giovani Corner of Venice circa the year 1627 or so. Vernona and Vicenzea are about 30 miles apart and belonged to Venice in the days of Nostradamus.
            In 1627, there was a man by the name of Renier Zen, who was elected to the Council of ten who ruled Venice, headed by the Doge. The Doge at this time was Giovani Corner who had been elected in 1625. Giovani Corner had a son named Frederico, who was the Bishop of Bergamo. Frederico was appointed a Cardinal of Vicenza by Pope Urban VIII, and this was forbidden by Venetian law.
            The first man to complain bitterly about this, was Renier Zen. On December 20 1627, Renier Zen was set upon by masked men, and wounded. The trail of the assassins led directly to the Doge’s son Frederico. There was a trial - of sorts. The assassins were exiled to Ferrara in comfort.
            Zen believed his recovery had been granted to him solely that he might continue to fight corruption in the State. He resumed his attacks, and soon found himself arrested and sentenced to ten years exile. The Doge Giovani Corner meanwhile, died in Ferrara, assassinated by someone unknown.
            I would assume that Nostradamus means Renier Zen in this quatrain, but I am unable to see how his name would especially be “unworthy.” Perhaps it has another meaning that I am not aware of.

        8-23 In the Queen's coffers, letters will be found,
        No signature, without any name of author
        The offers will be concealed by the government
        So that no one will know who the lover is.

        Lettres trouvees de la roine les coffres,
        Point de subscrit sans aucun nom d'hauteur
        Par la police seront caché les offres.
        Qu'on ne scaura qui sera l'amateur.

            Is Queen Anne, wife of King Louis XIII of France, the lady Nostradamus speaks of in this quatrain? It would seem more than likely that it is. Possibly in the numbering of it, 8-32, we could be given a clue as to the date 1632 or so. Anne of Austria, born Dona Ana Maria Mauricia of Spain on September 22, 1601, was the first child of King Phillip III and Margaret of Austria.
             Her marriage with the French King Louis XIII proved to be difficult for her. She was treated badly by an overbearing mother in law, and suffered great humiliation at the hands of her husband, who was more interested in his boy toys than he was in his wife.
            If Richelieu, who was the government of the day, knew about any affairs, certainly he would have kept it silent - and there was nothing that Richelieu did not know about during his years in power in France. He had the most formidable system of underground spies imaginable. Sometimes he kept silent about what he found out, sometimes he told, but always, he used it as blackmail to suit his own agenda.
            It is an absolute  certainty that this Queen's husband was not the father of Louis XIV, who was born on September 5, 1638. This being the case, who was it? Nostradamus isn't saying in this quatrain, but he does give us a few clues in some of his other ones.

        4-93 A serpent will be seen near the royal bed,
        By a lady of the night, the dogs shall not bark.
        Then to be born in France a Prince so royal,
        That the Princes will all say he came from heaven.

        Vn serpent veu proche du lict royal,
        Sera par dame nuict chiens n'abayeront:
        Lors naistre en France vn Prince tant royal,
        Du ciel venu tous les Princes verront.

            Some of the verses concerning Louis XIV, France’s great Sun King, are just priceless! Quatrain 4-93  predicts that France will have an “Illegitimate King” so to speak. The real father of this great prince is no stranger to the royal palace - or the royal bed either, as Nostradamus points out here -  “The dogs will not bark”.  Everyone will marvel at his conception, and say he must have come from God.
            No other monarch in French history fits this one quite like Louis XIV!  His parents were Louis XIII and Anne of Austria according to the history books, but even the history books themselves have doubts upon whether in fact Louis XIII was his real father or not.
            It was assumed at the time that Louis XIII had homosexual leanings, because he always surrounded himself with young men. For 18 long years it was a barren marriage, and there was no sign of an heir for the French throne.
            Then, as a miracle, Anne of Austria became pregnant, and gave birth on Sept 5, 1638, to the greatest King in French history, Louis XIV. Who was the real father? Nostradamus does not say, but he hints that it was someone very close in the royal circle. Note that he gives us two digits of the date 1639 in the numbering of this quatrain, 4-93.

        6-3 The river that proves the new Celtic heir,
        Will be in great discord with the empire.
        The young prince through the ecclesiastical people,
        Will remove the scepter of the crown of concord.

        Fleuue qu'esprouue le nouueau nay de Celtique
        Sera en grande de l'Empire discordes
        Le ieune prince par gent ecclesiastique,
        Ostera le sceptre coronal de concorde.

            This quatrain as well hints at Louis illegitimate birth! The river of Line one is the Rhine. According to an ancient French legend, they took their newly born kings and threw them into the Rhine to see if they could swim up it or not - that being the criteria for which they judged if the infant was lawfully born or not!
            He is also correct in line two of this quatrain, since the Rhine river was definitely in discord during this period in time. The 30 years war had opened on May 21 1635, just a few years before Louis was born. Cardinal Richelue who ran the French empire almost single-handedly, had made a commitment to support the Protestant princes in their war with the Catholic Hapsburg empire by declaring war on Spain. The condition was, that France was to receive the left bank of the Rhine river from Breisach to Strasbourg.
            Line 3 indicates that during his minority the young prince will be guided and ruled by the “Ecclesiastical people” - this is more true in the case of Louis XIV than any other monarch, since the Cardinals Richilue and Mazzarin completely ran the empire during his minority.
            Note in the numbering of this quatrain, 6-3, Nostradamus has given us two digits of the date this miracle Prince was born, 1635, or if one were to turn the 6 upside down, it would read 39, yielding the same digits as the other quatrain gives us.

         10-42 The human reign of an Angelic offspring,
         Will cause his realm to hold in peace and union.
         War half captive in it’s enclosure,
         For a long time, he will cause them to maintain the peace.

         Le regne humain d'Angelique geniture,
        Fera son regne paix union tenir;
        Captive guerre demi de sa cloture,
        Longtemps la paix leur fera maintenir.

            In this quatrain, the first line refers to the “miraculous birth” of Louis XIV. It could also possibly be construed to be a word play on the English, or Anglican. Is it possible that this Queen's lover was an Englishman? It was rumored at the French court of the time that Anne of Austria had an affair going with the Duke of Buckingham, who was English. Rumours also made the circuit that she was having an affair with the Duke of Beaufort. He was French, but interestingly enough,  the name Beaufort refers to a castle in Anjou, France. It is the only current Dukedom in England to take its name from a place outside the British Isles.
            During this King's reign, says Nostradamus, he will keep the peace for a long time - which indeed he did. In the original French, the last line reads Longtemps la paix leur fera maintenir. The word maintenir is rather a sly play on the name of Louis’ mistress at this time, Madame Maintenon.

            4-91 For the Gallic Duke compelled to fight in the duel
            The ship of Melilla will not approach the monarch
            Wrongly accused, perpetual prison
            His son will reign before death stains

            Au Duc Gaulois contrainct battre au duelle,
            La nef Mellele monech n'approchera,
            Tort accusé, prison perpetuelle,
            Son fils regner auant mort taschera.

            There is also another quatrain which refers to the 57 years the Sun King managed to keep all wars out of France.

            The Sun King built Versailles during this period in time. Note the word play on the name Louis (Ioye) in the third line

            10-89 The walls will be converted from brick to marble
            Seven and fifty peaceful years
            Joy to mortals, the aquaduct renewed
            Health, abundance of fruits, joys, and mellifluous times.

            De brique en mabre seront les murs reduits,
            Sept & cinquante annees pacifiques:
            Ioye aux humains, renoué l'aqueduict,
            Santé, temps grands fruicts, ioye & mellifiques.

                      King John IV, Duke of Braganza, King of Portugal, 1640

         4-97 In the year that Mercury, Mars and Venus retrograde
         The line of the great monarch will not fail
         Elected by the Portuguese people near Gaudole
         One who will come to grow very old in peace and reign

         L'an que Mercure, Mars, Venus retrograde,
        Du grand Monarque la ligne ne faillir:
        Esleu du peuple l'vsitant pres de Gaudole.
        Qu'en paix & regne viendra fort enuieillir.

        Although Portugal once did have it’s own monarchy, by the time Nostradamus lived, the country was firmly ruled by the Spanish under Phillip II. Here the prophet foresees the people rising up against the Spanish one day, and electing their own King. He will be a descendent of the illustrious house of his forebears, says the prophet.
        This came to pass, as predicted, in the year 1640, when the Portuguese revolted and turfed the Spanish from their country. In December, they then elected their own King, the Duke of Braganza who became John IV, or John the Fortunate as he was called. He was the nearest Portuguese collateral descendent of Sebastian, who was the next to last King of Portugal in the year 1578 – as Nostradamus says, he will be descended from Portuagal’s greatest King.  John IV lived and reigned in peace for 16 years.
        Mercury and Mars both went retrograde in the year 1640, but Venus did not. However, Venus was retrograde in the last few days of the year 1639, turning straight again on December 25th. Due to the 10 day change in the calendar, this would have been well within the limits set by the Prophet.
        Gaudole in the third line is the town of Guarda, a once important Portuguese town from which the Royal Princes derived their titles Dukes of Guarda. It is written that when  the King, Dom João I, first visited the town he fell in love with the  attractive daughter of a Jewish shoemaker. Her name was Inês  Fernandes and from their union was born a son Afonso who was later to be given the title of Duke of Bragança. It was through this  son 200 years later that his descendants acquired the throne of Portugal.

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