Nostradamus Quotes

The Prophecies of Nostradamus: Quote of the Week

Par grand fureur le Roy Romain belgique,
Vexer voudra par phalange barbare:
Fureur grinsant, chassera gens Lybique,
Depuis Pannons jusques Hercules la hare.

Variations in rendered French

Authors works consulted for variations in French: (a) John Hogue. (b) Henry C. Roberts. (c) Mario Reading. (page, 272.) (d) Edgar Leoni. All French the same except. (b) has, 'Roman,' and 'bare' instead of hare. (a)(c) has, 'vouldra.' (d) has, 'grande,' feminine? 'grincant' and 'Roi.' (b) has, 'grincent.' (a)(c) have, 'grinsseant,' and 'gent'. (c) has, 'despuis,' (a) has, 'iusques'.

Meanings of the French words deemed appropriate

Fureur= Fury, rage, madness; fierceness, outrageousness; extreme wrath, anger, impatience. Romain= Roman. Vexer= To vex, afflict, or torment, grieve extremely, trouble, disquiet. Voudra= Will wish, will want. Phalange= A four-square troop, or battalion of soldiers, ranked so as they may encounter the enemy on any side. Barbare= barbarians= Barbarous, rude, uncivil, ignorant, rustic, but Nostradamus only occasionally uses it in this obvious sense. Nostradamus, uses it to signify Islam. Which considering he was a devoted Catholic, makes sense; to him Islam was a barbaric belief. Grincant, Grinsant, Grinsseant= All bastardisations of Grincement, from, Grinnee, Grincer. A gnashing, grinding, or grating of the teeth. Chassera= Will chase, pursue, hunt, drive away, follow, cast off, expel, exile. Gens Lybique= Libyans. Depuis= since, since then; from. Pannons= Hungaria. Iusque= Till, until, unto, even.

Hercules the Hare, is not obvious, but it would seem odd that this king should push the Barbarians as far as Italy or Rome, or even the Pillars of Hercules. Part of the answer lies in astrology; the Hare, constellation of, sits below Orion, thus considering the labours of Hercules I am inclined to think, Hercules pushes the Hare back to where it came from, this is discussed in greater detail in the eBooks.

Thus, we might translate

With great fury the Roman belgian king,
Will want to vex the Barbarians with his phalanx:
With grinding fury, he will chase the Africans (Libyans)
From Hungary, as far as the shores of Greece.

Further Reading and resources on Nostradamus

For more details on the books considered by these authors, and others, see Nostradamus references.

For further insight into the French words, treated, or deemed unnecessary, consult the Secret Vault Dictionary on words used by Nostradamus.

Variations in rendered French

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