According to the title page, the 1559-Progno-GB was published in Antwerp. Some English authors qualify the 1559-Progno-GB as a “pirate edition” and state that it was printed secretly in London, despite the publishing rights of Henry Sutton, who printed the Almanacke for the yeare of our Lorde God, 1559 in London on February 20, 1559.³

   The 1559-Progno-GB opens with the predictions for January 1559 and ends with the ones for December 1559.

   The 1559-Progno-GB does not contain an introduction letter. In the 1559-Commentaires, item #2 refers to such a letter (“Epistre Liminaire”). This letter precedes the predictions. In the 1559-Commentaires, there is no reference to its date.⁴

   The 1559-Progno-GB does not contain the thirteen Présages for 1559 or the calendars for each month. These calendars contain noon lunar longitude tables for each day, dates and times of lunar phases and aphorisms about e.g. weather or politics. The Présages and calendars are translated from the 1559-Almanach-F and published in the 1559-Almanacke-GB. In the 1559-Almanacke-GB, the Présage for each month is printed above each calendar. In the 1557-Almanach-F, the February 1557 calendar is produced in the same way: the Présage for February 1557 above the February 1557 calendar.⁵

   The emphasis in the 1559-Progno-GB lays on predictions, based upon lunar phases, completed with predictions, based upon quartercharts and aspects. Most of the times, these predictions open with weather circumstances. Next, religious and political matters are discussed.

   In the 1557-Prono-F and the 1558-Prono-F, the predictions are produced in a different order. First, a general prediction for the year is given, together with predictions for each season, based upon quartercharts and completed with astrological aspects. Then, beginning with January, predictions are given for each month, based upon lunar phases. Most of the time, the time and zodiacal longitude of these lunar phases is specified. The impact of the lunar phases is mostly on weather and environmental circumstances, whereas the quartercharts and astrological aspects deal with religious and political matters. Both books close with an “Almanach-table” which contains for example the dates of Easter, Ascension Day, Whitsunday and the beginning of the Advent.

   Next follows a prediction, based upon Jupiter: Iupiter in the 12. in his retrogradation, but yet afflicted by the quadrine aspect of Mars to Sagittarius… This Mars-Jupiter square (Mars: 17 Sagittarius, Jupiter retrograde: 17 Pisces, the twelfth sign of the Zodiac) occurred on August 10, 1559. In the 1559-Commentaires, this square is quoted in item #168 in the predictions for August.¹⁰ The remark about this square precedes a remark about a figure of the last time of the summer, in which Mars is in 8 and Jupiter in 12 is retrograde. In the 1559-Commentaires, this remark is quoted in item #170 in the predictions for August.¹¹ The quote in item #171 (Le Soleil dans la IXe & la Lune dans la XIIe en Virgo, levez le cueur, Seigneurs, quell presage sera ce?) is not included in the 1559-Progno-GB. This item is also not included in the remaining predictions for August 1559 in the 1559-Progno-GB. Apparently, it got lost during the production of the 1559-Progno-GB.

   The remark about the Mars-Jupiter square also precedes a First Quarter, dated the 10.daye at 4. of the clocke in the morninge, by another quadrine aspect of Mercury oriental. This is the First Quarter of August 10, 1559 (Sun: 27 Leo, Mercury: 22 Leo, Moon: 27 Scorpio). The next prediction is quoted in items #172-174 of the 1559-Commentaires, in the prediction for August.¹² The reference to another Moon-Mercury square is quite peculiar. No Moon-Mercury square is discussed in the predictions for the previous months, except the one on December 21, 1559. In the 1559-Progno-GB, this square became mixed in the predictions for January 1559. The square of December 21, 1559 occurs after the square of August 10, 1559. The reference to it as a “previous” square does not fit chronologically and is due to the fact that the text became mixed.

   A few lines further, a Full Moon is mentioned, dated the 18. daye at one of the clocke in the morning. 45 minutes. This is the Full Moon of August 18, 1559. This prediction includes an explanation of a Moon-Mercury opposition (Sun: 4 Virgo, Mercury: 7 Virgo, Moon: 4 Pisces). In the 1559-Commentaires, this explanation is quoted in item #177 in the prediction for August.¹³

   Next to this Full Moon comes a First Quarter, dated the 6. at 11. houres in Pisces, in the head of the dragon by another quadrine aspect of Saturne to Mars. This First Quarter occurred on December 6, 1559 (Sun: 25 Sagittarius, Moon: 25 Pisces, conjunct the Caput Draconis on 26 Pisces, which explains the remark in the head of the dragon). Mars on 3 Pisces is in square with Saturn retrograde on 2 Gemini. In 1559, Saturn moved from 16 Taurus into the first decanate of Gemini and Mars moved from 10 Scorpio to 16 Pisces. Only on December 5, 1559, Mars was in square with Saturn. There was no preceding square between Mars and Saturn earlier that year. In the 1559-Progno-GB, such a preceding square is not discussed. The word another makes no sense.

   The prediction for this First Quarter is that the enemies of France shall be ruined and subject to the French monarchy; Mars is favourable for France until 1565. In the 1559-Commentaires, this is quoted in items #265 and 266 in the prediction for December.¹⁴ Further comments regarding the impact of the Mars-Saturn square are quoted in item #277 in the prediction for December.¹⁵

   Next to this First Quarter comes a Full Moon, dated the 14. at 7.houres.22.minutes, by certayne other sinister oppositions. This is the Full Moon on December 14, 1559 (Sun: 3 Capricorn, Moon: 3 Cancer). The other oppositions (the Moon is in full opposition with the Sun) are a Moon-Mercury opposition (Mercury: 29 Sagittarius) and a Moon-Venus retrograde opposition (Venus retrograde: 11 Capricorn). The predictions that follow are not quoted in the 1559-Commentaires.

   Next comes a Last Quarter, dated the 30 of the moneth at noone. This Last Quarter occurred on January 30, 1559.

Table 1. Lunar phase data for January 1559 in the 1559-Progno-GB

   In the 1559-Commentaires, the predictions for August 10, August 18, December 6, and December 14 are situated on their proper places. Together with the results, obtained by means of AstroScoop Plus, this means that the production of the January chapter in the 1559-Progno-GB resulted in a mixture of texts, which partly belong to August 1559 and December 1559. A part of the prediction for August 1559 went lost. In order to maintain continuity, the mixed text was changed in one case.

   In the 1559-Progno-GB, the chapters that deal with August and December 1559 are brief. Sizeable parts of the text of these chapters are included in the chapter about January 1559.

References to writing data

   The 1559-Progno-GB contains four references to writing dates. The first reference is in the prediction for the Last Quarter on January 30, 1559. Its writing date: May 23, 1558:

   On this date, March 17, 1558, predictions for July 1559 were written in the 1559-Prono-F.²¹ The prediction for July 5, 1559 in the 1559-Progno-GB, which is a translation of the 1559-Almanach-F, is also written in March 1558.

Table 2. References to writing dates

   The order of references to writing dates in table 2 is based on these dates. If they are correct and not subject to printer’s errors, they imply that the predictions are not worked out chronologically. The Faciebat, written on April 27, 1558, seems to have been written before the writing of all predictions was finished. From an astrological point of view, this is very uncommon. The most logic and efficient procedure to write predictions for a year, is to interpret the aspects as they occur chronologically throughout the year, starting with the aspects in January.

   The privilege for the 1559-Almanach-F was granted on October 7, 1558.²²

Incompatible astrological sources

   The 1559-Almanacke-GB and the 1559-Progno-GB contain dates and times of lunar phases. The notation of time differs entirely from the 1557-Prono-F and the 1558-Prono-F.²³

   Together with the Last Quarter of February 28, 1559, there was a mentioning of other squares, but they were not specified. The squares are: a Moon-Venus square (Moon: 20 Sagittarius, Venus: 19 Pisces), a Mercury-Mars square (Mercury: 8 Pisces retrograde, Mars: 7 Sagittarius) and a Mars-Jupiter square (Mars: 7 Sagittarius, Jupiter: 1 Pisces). Also, a Sun-Saturn sextile was mentioned (February 28, 1559: Sun: 20 Pisces, Saturn: 19 Taurus).

c. March 1559

   The prediction for March 1559 starts with a reference to the quarterchart of March 11,1559. The noon solar longitude: 0:02 Aries. There is also a reference to the Sunne at 21. from Pisces. This seems to be a reference to March 1, 1559, when the Sun was located on that degree.

   A Venus-Saturn conjunction is mentioned. The text in the 1559-Progno-GB reads:

   Item #98 in the 1559-Commentaires reads:

   The 1559-Progno-GB gives April 25; the 1559-Commentaires give April 23. In this case, 16th-century epehemeredes should reveal which date is at stake. The Venus-Saturn conjunction became full on April 22, 1559.

   The word vernale means: spring. These lines contain a reference to a quarterchart, perhaps the one for March 11, 1559, when the Sun entered Aries. This chart was discussed in the predictions for March 1559, but the time of the ingress of the Sun in Aries was not given.

   If the words and the middle of the aire.25.degrees. 28.minutes of Libra refer to the zodiacal longitude of the MC in this quarterchart, they mean that on March 11, 1559, the entrance of the Sun in Aries took place around midnight. The entrance took place on March 11, 1559, around noon. This results in a zodiacal longitude of the MC in the last degrees of Pisces.

   There is another reference in these lines: the reference to quartercharts in the 1559-Prono-F. One wonders about the ingress-data for spring 1559 in the 1559-Prono-F.

   While discussing the New Moon on May 7, there is a reference to two squares: one by Mars, one by Venus. Both planets are in square with Jupiter on 15 Pisces (Mars: 18 Sagittarius, retrograde, Venus: 15 Gemini). The remark about many and diverse conjunctions of the good and pleasant planets is difficult to understand. The Moon, Venus and Jupiter are the “benefics” (good and pleasant planets). The New Moon on 26 Taurus is conjunct Saturn on 26 Taurus and Mercury on 2 Gemini. In the next weeks, there are conjunctions between the Sun and Venus, the Moon and Venus and Mercury and Venus (all in Gemini), but all of them will square Jupiter in Pisces.

   While discussing the New Moon, Saturn was mentioned with the words the Occidentalitie of colde Saturne. No Sun-Moon-Saturn conjunction seems to be meant here.

   Next, there is a reference to a Moon-Jupiter conjunction in the 12, the attendant is Libra. The Moon-Jupiter conjunction occurred much later, on 17 Pisces on May 29, 1559.

   Next, the First Quarter on May 14, 1559 is discussed, with a reference to a Mars-Venus opposition, with Mars in 9 (Venus: 21 Gemini, Mars: 17 Sagittarius, retrograde). In the explanation of the impact of Mars in Sagittarius, there is a reference to the Arabian astrologer Albumasar.³⁴

   When the Full Moon of May 21 is discussed, Venus and Mercury are in 4, i.e. Cancer. AstroScoop data locate both planets on the last degree of Gemini.

   Saturn is described as signifying wind, which might refer to a location in Gemini. A Sun-Saturn conjunction is mentioned twice, both times in Gemini. This is not confirmed by AstroScoop data (May 21, 1559: Sun: 9 Gemini, Saturn: 28 Taurus). The Sun-Saturn conjunction occurred on May 7, 1559, together with a New Moon. Sun, Moon and Saturn were conjunct on 26 Taurus on May 7, 1559, but this triple conjunction was not discussed when the New Moon on May 7 was discussed. An astrological text does not necessarily need to contain all occurring aspects, but this triple conjunction is too important to omit. A similar case occurs in the predictions for November 1559.

   The First Quarter is given to be on June 12, 1559, 15:35, Moon in Virgo. On this day, the noon lunar longitude was 29 Virgo. The First Quarter took place at 15:04 True Local Time Venice, with the Moon on 1 Libra. There was also a reference to the dragon’s tail, i.e. the Cauda Draconis. Its longitude was 6 Libra, conjunct the Moon and squaring the Sun. Together with the First Quarter, a Mercury-Venus conjunction was mentioned (Mercury: 23 Cancer, Venus: 26 Cancer).

   At the time of the Full Moon on July 19, Mars is in square with Venus (Venus: 10 Virgo, Mars: 8 Sagittarius).

   In the prediction for September 1, 1559, there is a reference to February 12, 1559, on which day a prominent person, one of the greatest, shall fall. The astrological fundament of this prediction might have been Mars on 29 Scorpio, squared by Venus (28 Aquarius), Jupiter (27 Aquarius) and (to a lesser degree of impact) the Sun (4 Pisces).

   Together with the First Quarter on October 8, 1559, a conjunction with Mars is mentioned (Moon: 25 Capricorn, Mars: 15 Capricorn). Also, an aspect between Venus and Jupiter is mentioned. This turns out to be a square: Venus: 11 Sagittarius, Jupiter retrograde: 9 Pisces). There is a correct reference to Mercury becoming retrograde between this First Quarter and the next Full Moon.

   Together with the Full Moon on October 16, 1559, a square with Mars in mentioned (Sun: 3 Scorpio, Moon: 3 Taurus, Mars: 26 Capricorn, orb of this square: 7 degrees).

   In the prediction for the First Quarter on November 7, 1559, there is a reference to Jupiter and Mars together with some fixed stars. Jupiter on 9 Pisces was conjunct Achernar; Mars on 11 Aquarius was conjunct Castra and Nashira, and close to Sadalsuud and Deneb Algedi.³⁵ There was also a Mars-Jupiter sextile mentioned. According to AstroScoop data, no sextile occurred around November 7, 1559. In October, Mars and Jupiter were in sextile and from December 4, 1559, both planets were in Pisces, as written in the prediction for December 1559.

   The Full Moon on November 15, 1559, is described to be voyde of any aspect. The words voyde of aspect mean: no aspect. Strange, since at Full Moon, the Moon is in opposition with the Sun. AstroScoop data point to a different situation: Sun: 3 Sagittarius, Moon: 3 Gemini, Jupiter: 9 Pisces and Saturn retrograde: 4 Gemini. The aspects: Full Moon, Sun opposition Saturn, Moon conjunct Saturn, Sun and Moon square Jupiter, Jupiter square Saturn. Again, as in the case of the New Moon on May 7, 1559, a Moon-Saturn conjunction is overlooked as well as four other major aspects. This is strange, since together with the Last Quarter on November 22, 1559, a Moon-Jupiter opposition and a Moon-Saturn square are mentioned. (Moon: 10 Virgo, Jupiter: 10 Pisces, Saturn retrograde: 3 Gemini).

   There is also a reference to the quarterchart for the winter of 1559. According to AstroScoop data, the chart was dated on December 13, 1559. In this chart, both Mars and Jupiter were in Pisces, as described in the text of the 1559-Progno-G.

   In the 1559-Commentaires, the kind of lunar phase is seldom given and the date of the lunar phase is almost never given. Weather circumstances, indicated by the lunar phases, are not commented.

   In the 1559-Progno-GB, the prediction for the New Moon on March 9 begins as follows:

   In item #58 of the 1559-Commentaires, this line reads as follows:

   Item #58 is the translation of the second sentence of the quote from the 1559-Progno-GB. In the 1559-Commentaires, the first sentence, containing the kind of lunar phase, its date, its time and its impact on weather circumstances, is not quoted. Most of the other lunar phases are treated the same way.

   Sometimes, the efforts to erase references to lunar phases have been tremendous, as the next example shows.

   In a part of the prediction for the Last Quarter on April 29, 1559, in the 1559-Progno-GB, the text reads:

   These sentences are quoted in items #100 and 101 of the 1559-Commentaires:

   In the 1559-Progno-GB, the number 12 is printed in Arab notation instead of Roman notation. The number 17 does not occur in the text in the 1559-Commentaires. The words le jour descouvrira le tout are not included in the 1559-Progno-GB.

   The last part of item #100 (puis le 21 de ce mois seront faits amis) refers to April 21, 1559. On this day, a Full Moon occurred. The text of the 1559-Progno-GB reads: Than the first day of the ful of this present moone they shalbe made frendes. Previously, the date of this Full Moon was given in the 1559-Progno-GB. In the 1559-Commentaires, the April 21 Full Moon was not mentioned, so the reference to it in item #100 simply had to be converted in its date.

   Chevignard supposes that most astrological references were excluded from the Commentaires in order to hide Nostradamus’ weak arithmetical skills.³⁹ There is also a different point of view possible, not in favour of Nostradamus, but in favour of the author of the RPP.

   The subtitle of the RPP reads:

   The subtitle shows that the RPP deals with the history of troubles and wars in France from their beginning until their end, and with exceptional events, which occurred in the leading countries and empires. A discussion of weather predictions does not belong to this kind of report. The subtitle further indicates that not the Almanachs and Pronostications are the departing point, but history (civil wars etc.) in an attempt to relate it to several sets of predictions. The RPP is not an anthology, it is a result of connecting history to predictions. Such an act gives room for realizing political purposes such as legitimating one’s political preference. For example, it has been demonstrated elsewhere on this Site that De Chavigny went out of his way to prove that Nostradamus correctly predicted the decease of Henry II and the specific circumstances.⁴⁰

   A second important aspect of the Commentaires is that most of the dates and times of lunar phases were omitted. By doing so, it became possible to relate predictions to events which occurred on another date, sometimes much later. An example of this can be found in the comment on item #17. This item reads:

   The comment was given in Ianus Francois, p.126:

   The dernier quart (Last Quarter) was the January 30, 1559 Last Quarter. Mentioning this lunar phase would have made it necessary to explain why the impact of this lunar phase would occur four years later.

   In a number of cases, the 1559-Commentaires present a kind of summary, which without the original source text hardly can be noticed. An example of this can be read in item #130 in the predictions for June 1559 in the 1559-Commentaires:

   In the 1559-Progno-GB, the full text reads:

   Item #205 reads:

   In the 1559-Progno-GB, the translation reads:

   It has been demonstrated that parts of the text of the predictions for August and December 1559 were included in the text of the predictions for January 1559. One part of the prediction for August 1559 got lost. In one case, the translation was silently altered in order to maintain continuity. This means that, although during the production process the mix of texts was noticed, nothing was done to restore the original translation.

   References to writing dates raise a series of questions about the way the astrological aspects as they occurred in 1559 were worked out: chronologically or at random, as the 1559-Progno-GB suggests.

   Examination of astrological contents showed the simultaneous use of incompatible sources. This incompatibility also occurs in other Almanachs and Pronostications. It is possible that this is without consequences, since ephemeris data are copied rather than interpolated.

   Many quotes in the 1559-Commentaires are close to the text in the 1559-Progno-GB. However, one must keep in mind that the 1559-Commentaires (i.c. the RPP) are not a set of annotated quotations. The object of the RPP is to relate a series of specific events (civil wars etc. in France) to Almanachs and Pronostications, sometimes by altering or neglecting the context of these predictions. Sometimes, astrological data are omitted in order to make it possible to relate astrological configurations to events which took place in other years. Sometimes, summary-quotes in the RPP are partly the result of an interpretation of the context.

T. W. M. van Berkel
De Meern, October 27, 2003

Notes

¹ Halbronn : Pour une relecture du Recueil des Présages Prosaïques. Retour