orig. Michel de Notredame
born Dec. 14, 1503, Saint-Rémy, France
died July 2, 1566, Salon
French astrologer and physician known for his prophecies.
He practiced medicine in southern France from 1529 and gained a reputation for his innovative treatment of plague victims in 1546–47. He began making prophecies in 1547, and in 1555 they were published in a book titled Centuries . He wrote them in rhymed quatrains, using a cryptic style that mingled French, Latin, Spanish, and Hebrew. Catherine de Médicis invited him to her court as an astrologer, and in 1560 he was appointed physician to Charles IX . His prophecies are still widely read; readers have discovered apparent predictions of such world events as the French Revolution and World War I.