The Life of Nostradamus (1503 - 1566)Nostradamus was born on 14 December 1503 in Saint-Remy de Provence in France as Michel de Nostredame. He should be the first of nine children of Jacques de Nostredame and Renee de Saint-Remy. Little is known about his early childhood. It is said that it was thought of by his grandfather Jean de Saint-Remy, but it is not known whether this is true or not. In 1519, Michel de Nostradame left home to study at the University of Avignon where he had wanted to earn a degree in Baccleaurette but due to the plague the University closed shortly after a year of studying Nostradamus. Nostradamus then spent the next eight years traveling through the countryside of France studying herbal medicine. By 1529 Nostradamus was now known as an apothecary and treated sick people with remedies. In 1530, when the plague broke out, he became known for his treatments which were quite advanced at the time. He advised the people of the villages to quickly bury all the dead and leave their homes for fresh air as the people did not realize that the Black Death came from rat fleas in their homes and not from human contact. Even in the countryside there was cleaner drinking water. Nostradamus also used his treatment called “Rose Pills” which was rich in vitamin C and helped strengthen the body to fight diseases. This treatment was very successful. Nostradamus then decided to go to the University of Montepellier to study medicine and become a doctor. In the book. “The Legends of The Renaissance: The Life and Legacy of Nostradamus” by Charles River Editors, I said that “unfortunately, the University of Montepellier had a strict policy in accepting students who had to be…middle of paper.” .....a document in his coffin that would decode his prophecies. From reading the book "The Legends of The Renaissance: The Life and Legacy of Nostradamus" by Charles River Editors, it is stated that in 1700 the coffin was moved to a church wall where a quick look inside the coffin showed that, as suspected, the rumors were in fact wrong. Historians such as Ian Wilson remain skeptical as to whether Nostradamus' prediction was truly accurate or coincidental. Ian Wilson said: "Books about Nostradamus are written mostly by so-called 'Nostradamians' convinced that [he] had a genuine prophetic gift." Or by born-again skeptics like James Randi, absolutely determined to reject that idea. I don't belong to either camp. Wilson has stated that events such as Henry II's death in a joust are "eerily accurate", but is still skeptical of Nostradamus.