Black Research Paper Skeleton Source OutlineAlex HallMr. BlackEnglish 12 CP 7th Period7 April 2014The life and mind of NostradamusNostradamus, probably the most famous author of prophecies, has been credited with predicting the execution of King Charles I, the abdication of Edward VIII, the rise and fall of Hitler, the assassination of John F Kennedy, and even the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. “Michel De Nostradamus was born in St-Remy-De-Provence, France. December 14, 1503. In a modern world that was beginning to be born" (Smoley, The Essential Nostradamus). His family was Jewish, but switched to Catholicism during the previous century. We don't know much about his childhood, but at the age of fifteen he attended the University of Avignon. After a year he was forced by illness, the Plague, to leave again. In 1529 he attended the University of Montpellier to obtain a doctorate in medicine, but ended up being expelled when it was discovered that he had been an apothecary. He later created a pill called the "rose pill" which was strongly believed to help with the disease. deadly plague of the time. He still continued to work as an apothecary and in 1531, an important Renaissance man named Jules-Cesar Scaliger, invited Nostradamus to come to Agen. There he ended up marrying Henriette Encausse, they had two children. In 1534, his wife and children died of the plague. “Nostradamus lost his wife and both children in 1534. Although we do not know the causes, we can assume that they died of the plague. This dealt Nostradamus a catastrophic blow in the loss not only of his wife and children but also of his own prestige as a doctor, since he proved himself incapable... middle of paper... n will surpass the old one in a field martial from a double one on one: In a golden cage his eyes will burst: two classes one, then die, cruel death”. (Smoley, The Essential Nostradamus, 62). This is one of Nostradamus' most famous prophecies. This was believed to be the prediction of the death of King Henry II of France in 1559. King Henry II was killed in a mock medieval joust for entertainment. His younger opponent's spear shattered against the king's shield and a splinter pierced the king's eye. He later died after 10 painful days (“a cruel death”). Many of Nostradamus' predictions are discussed and studied today, perhaps because some seem to come close to facts and names. Readers of some articles can speculate and try to guess what the prediction is really about. Ultimately, a lot of his writing is pretty amazing, believe it or not.