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In
the article The Almanach
ende pronosticatie vanden Iare M.D.LXVI which is
published on this website, a Dutch almanac is discussed which carries
the name of Nostradamus but in fact is not written by him.
In the article you just opened, another publication is discussed which
carries the name of Nostradamus but is not written by him. It is an
undated pamphlet with four French quatrains and a translation in Dutch.
According to the French and the Dutch title, these quatrains were
written by Nostradamus and printed in 1525 in Aix-en Provence. According
to the Dutch translation, these quatrains "are fulfilled in these
days" (or.: in dese tijdt
worden vervuldt), but the actual period of fulfilment is not given.
At the bottom of this pamphlet, there is a remark which shows that it
was published in The Hague by a certain I. Veli, a female bookseller,
living in "De Poote".
A copy of this pamphlet is preserved in the Royal Library in The Hague,
NL.
The
Pamphlet Quadrains
de Nostradamus... / Eenige Prophetien van Michiel Nostradamus...
QUADRAINS
DE
NOSTRADAMUS,
Imprimez à Aix
en Provence, 1525 |
Eenige
PROPHETIEN van
MICHIEL NOSTRADAMUS
van 't jaer 1525, tot Ake in Proventie gedruckt,
dewelcke nu in dese tijdt worden vervuldt.
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Quand
de Troné à St. Germain ira,
Prestre & Collogne auront Guerre Cruelle,
Une grand Dame Londres Couronnera,
Lis flêtrira par une grand Querelle. |
Als
een Ontthroonde naer St. Germain sal gaen,
En Priester tegen Keulen wreedt oorlogh hebben,
Dan sal tot Londen een groote Dame zijn Gekroont,
En de Lelie door grote twisten verslenst zijn. |
Quand
Fleur d'Orange a Londres fleurira,
La Fleur de Lis de Blanche viendra Noire,
Londres la grande sol lustre eclatera:
Mais le Crapau de cherra de sa gloire. |
Als
d'Orangie-bloem tot Londen sal bloeyen,
Dan sal de Witte Lelie Swart worden,
En de groote stadt Londen sijn glans blinken:
Maar de Padden sullen van haere glorie vervallen. |
Le
Fils aine de Mere St. Eglise,
Le Pape & luy auront grand decruelle:
Mais le Lion luy mordra la chemise,
Jusqua ce point qu'il sera tout pêlé. |
d'Outste
Soon van de Heylige Moeder-kerck,
Den Paus en hy sullen groote twisten hebben:
Maar de Leeuw sal hem soo naer aan 't hemde komen,
Dat hy 'er heel kael van af sal komen. |
Celuy
qui la Principaute tiendra par grande Evanté,
àLa fin verra grand phalange, pour coup de Feu tres dangereux.
Par Accord pourront faire mieux,
Autrement boira Suc d'Orange. |
Die
het Prinsdom met groote wreedtheit houdt,
Sal eyndelyk groot geraes sien, door seer periculeuse
Vuyr-slagen.
Hy soude met Accoordt beter konnen doen,
Anders sal hy het Sop van Orangie moeten drincken. |
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In
s'Gravenhage by I. Veli, Boekverkoopster in de Poote.
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Pamphlets:
general information
Most probably, the word pamphlet is
borrowed from an anonymous love poem, entitled Pamphilus
de amore, written in the twelfth century.
A pamphlet is a publication with an actual meaning, in which for example
clerical or political events can be described. Some pamphlets contain
government announcements concerning for example roads or sentences.
Sometimes, pamphlets contain news about events in the society.
Sometimes,
they contain astrological predictions or stories about miracles. The
contents of a pamphlet can also be polemic or satirical, whether or not
by means of poetry. Sometimes, a pamphlet contains an illustration.
The size of a pamphlet can vary from a sheet of paper to a brochure or
even a booklet. Until the eighteenth century, pamphlets supplied the
need for information and mobilization of opinion concerning politics. In
the eighteenth century, their role was taken over by the newspapers.
In the Netherlands, a huge amount of pamphlets was spread in the
seventeenth century. This was caused by e.g. the war with Cologne,
England, France and Münster in 1672, which year in Dutch history is
known as the Calamitous Year, and the events in the period 1689-1702,
when the Dutch stadtholder William III, also known as Dutch William, became king of England until his
decease in 1702.
Dating
of Quadrains de Nostradamus...
Quadrains de Nostradamus...
does not contain a year of issue. In the French and the Dutch title,
it is mentioned that the quatrain texts were printed in 1525 in
Aix-en-Provence. Nostradamus lived from 1503 to 1566. No publications
by him, dating from 1525 or before, are known.
According to the Dutch title, the quatrains are fulfilled "in
these days", which can be interpreted as a reference to the year
of issue and the events which took place around that time.
P.A. Tiele (1834-1889), a leading Dutch bibliographer and librarian,
mentioned the title, the size and the publisher of this pamphlet in
volume III of
Bibliotheek
van Nederlandsche Pamfletten, in chapter VIII
(1689-1702), entitled Van het vertrek van Willem III naar Engeland,
tot zijn dood (tr.: from William III's departure to England until
his decease). Tiele's information about this pamphlet can be found in
the first part of this chapter, which deals with the period January - May
1689.
Tiele did not argue why he linked this pamphlet to the period January - May
1689. In the study upon which this article is based, it has been
verified to what period the events, described in Quadrains de
Nostradamus..., can be linked. For this purpose, the Encarta®
Encyclopedie basiseditie Winkler Prins 2002 and The
Catholic Encyclopedia were consulted.
It became clear that the quatrains in Quadrains
de Nostradamus... contain numerous elements which deal with events
in the days around the coronation of William III in London in February
1689.
The
first quatrain
In the first quatrain, the abdication in 1688 of the English king
James II is described, his flee to France and the succession by Mary
II Stuart.
The words de Troné in
the first line deal with the abdication of James II as a result of
William III's invasion in England in November 1688, which is known as
the Glorious Revolution. The words St. Germain in
this line deal with the flee of James II in December 1688 to France,
where Louis XIV received him as England's legitimate king.
The words Prestre & Collogne in the second line can be
linked to Pope Innocent XI (Prestre) and the diocese of Cologne (Collogne). In
July 1688,
Innocent XI and Louis XIV had a quarrel about who would become the new
bishop in Cologne: Wilhelm Fürstenburg, bishop of Strasbourg and marionet of Louis
XIV, or Joseph
Clement, whose nomination was supported by all European leaders,
except Louis XIV and James II. As the votes were equally divided and
Innocent XI appointed Clement, Louis XIV occupied the papal
territories in Avignon, arrested the papal Nuntius and wanted to provoke a
schism. If the second line indeed is an allusion to this
conflict, the Dutch translation, according to which a Priest is in war
with Cologne, is not correct.
The third line (Une grand Dame Londres couronnera) can be
linked to the succession of James II by Mary II Stuart and/or the
coronation of Mary II Stuart on February 13, 1689, together with
William III.
The
second quatrain
The second quatrain refers to the coronation of William III in London
on February 13, 1689, and its political consequences.
The words Fleur d'Orange in the first line deal with stadtholder
William III, a descent of the house of Orange. The first line as a whole
can also be an allusion to his future kingship, since Mary II Stuart
already succeeded James II.
The
third quatrain
In the third quatrain, conflicts between Louis XIV and Innocent XI
are described as well as conflicts between Louis XIV and William III.
The words Le Fils aine de Mere St. Eglise in the first line
can be linked to Louis XIV. In his time, the French catholic church was
highly independent from the central catholic authorities in Rome; it was
Louis XIV himself who appointed the bishops in France.
The second line contains an allusion to conflicts between Louis XIV and
Innocent XI. This line might deal with the "regale war"; a
conflict between Louis XIV and Innocent XI about who would receive the
income of a diocese when there was a vacancy for a bishop, and who in
such a period had the right to appoint. Perhaps, the second line is also
an allusion to the conflict between Louis XIV and Innocent XI, mentioned
in the first quatrain, about who
in 1688 would become the bishop of Cologne.
The word Lyon in the fourth line most likely deals with William
III, who was one of France's adversaries in the Nine Year War (1688-1697)
and who had a conflict with Louis XIV because of the occupation of the
principality of Orange.
The
fourth quatrain
The fourth quatrain deals with Louis XIV's occupation of the
principality of Orange in 1685. The end of this occupation, either
willingly or unwillingly, is announced.
The words La Principaute in the first line deal with the
principality of Orange. The first line as a whole deals with the
occupation by Louis XIV in 1685. In 1689, he cleared the principality,
but it was only in 1697 that he handed it over to William III. In this
quatrain, Louis XIV is warned that he would better make peace, otherwise
he would pay dearly (the words Suc d'Orange in the fourth line).
The publisher
The events which are described in Quadrains de Nostradamus...,
deal with the coronation of William III in 1689 and with events which
preceded this. The addition "which are fulfilled in these
days" in the Dutch title of Quadrains de
Nostradamus... deals with these events, which means that this
pamphlet has been published in the first months of 1689, as Tiele
already assumed.
At the bottom of the pamphlet it reads that it was published in The
Hague by I. Veli, a female bookseller, living in "de Poote".
In 1663, according to www.bibliopolis.nl,
the website of the Royal Library in The Hague which deals with the
history of the Dutch book, there was a bookseller in The Hague, named
Johan Veely de jonge (tr.: Johan Veely jr.). This Veely had his office
in "de Pooten". In the catalogue of the Royal Library, a
publication is listed, dating from 1663, in which his name is mentioned
as the publisher.
Johan Veely de jonge, baptized in 1638, married in 1662 with Maria
Groenesteyn. He had two children: Jan and Sophie. Johan Veely de jonge died in
1664. In 1667, his widow married again. If the name I. Veli, printed on
the pamphlet, is the name of a woman, as suggested by the word boekverkoopster
(tr.: female bookseller), this might mean that twenty years after
the decease of her husband, the widow of Johan Veely de jonge still used
his name as a company's name. The name I. Veli might also be the name of
Jan, the son of Johan Veely de jonge[1]
Origins
of Quadrains de Nostradamus...
One of the
features of pamphlets is that they are written in relation with actual
events. The extreme number of correspondences between the contents of Quadrains de Nostradamus...
and the period November 1688 - February 1689 indicate that this
pamphlet not only was published in 1689, but also that it was written in
that year. In other words: the title of this pamphlet is antedated and
it is falsely attributed to Nostradamus. The purpose of the antedating
might have been to raise the impression that predictions are at stake,
which were compiled far more earlier than the predictions in the Centuries,
from which in the Netherlands in the period 1550-1568 three French
editions were printed (Leiden, 1650; Amsterdam, 1667 and Amsterdam,
1668) and to make it superfluous to consult the Centuries.
We notice that the contents of this pamphlet are in the shape of
predictions, attributed to someone who in the seventeenth century had
some reputation regarding predicting political events.
Perhaps, the main purpose of this pamphlet can be read in the fourth
quatrain: the warning to Louis XIV in case he would not put the
occupation of the principality of Orange to an end. The purpose of the
description in the shape of predictions of events, prior to the
coronation of stadtholder William III, might have been the enforcement
of the warning prediction, directed to Louis XIV, by predictions which
were fulfilled already.
In the correspondence I had at the beginning of the study of this
pamphlet, Peter Lemesurier, chairman of the Nostradamus Research Group,
stressed the fact that the French quatrains contained a rhyme scheme
(a-b-a-b). This implies that originally, these quatrains are composed in
French and next translated into Dutch. However, there are other
questions, such as if these quatrains were composed in French by a
Frenchman or a Dutchman, and whether they were composed in France or in
the Netherlands. At the moment, I have no information to answer these
questions.
Notes
-
Cf.
De boekhandel te 's-Gravenhage tot het eind van de 18de eeuw, E.F.
Kossman, The Hague, 1937, p. 425-426 (Van
Delft [Royal Dutch Library, The Hague] to Van Berkel, January 14,
2007). [text]
De
Meern, September 12, 2006
T.W.M.
van Berkel
actualized on January 14, 2007
Expression
of thanks; justification
The author of
this article expresses his thanks to Jacques Halbronn D.Litt (Bibliotheca
Astrologica, Paris), who in 2003 sent a copy of Quadrains de
Nostradamus...
In April 2006, Mario Gregorio, a member of the Nostradamus Research
Group and webmaster of a.o. the online-library Bibliotheque
Nostradamus, was looking for information about the origins of this
pamphlet. There was a brief correspondence between him, Peter Lemesurier
and me.
This article is the result of further study I did in August-September
2006.
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