Great Calamity
Despite the inscrutability of his writings and the fact that he was only one of a number of court astrologers advising Catherine de' Medici, "Serpent Queen" of France, Nostradamus’s prophecies have found a dedicated audience in the centuries following their publication. How is it that Nostradamus and his writings have such a lasting legacy? This episode brings you the story of Catherine de’ Medici, her occult advisors, and the life and lasting influence of Nostradamus.
Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.
Music
Purple Planet - Midnight Bell
Purple Planet - Deadlock
Purple Planet - Possessed Doll
Purple Planet - Samurai Warrior
Purple Planet - Sense of Loss
Purple Planet - Shadowlands
Sources
Primary
Machiavelli, Niccolò. The Prince. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1916.
Nostradamus. “Epistle to Henry II.”
Nostradamus. The Final Prophecies of Nostradamus, translated and edited by Erika Cheetham. New York: Perigee, 1989.
Secondary
Alexandra, Rae. “Why We’ve Turned to Nostradamus and Divination in the Age of Coronavirus.” KQED. Feb. 3, 2021.
Broomhall, Susan. “The Game of Politics: Catherine De’ Medici and Chess.” Early Modern Women 12, no. 1 (2017): 104-118.
Broomhall, Susan. “In the Orbit of the King: Women, Power, and Authority at the French Court, 1483–1563.” In Women and Power at the French Court, 1483-1563, edited by Susan Broomhall, 9–40. Amsterdam University Press, 2018.
Crawford, Katherine. “Catherine de Medicis and the Performance of Political Motherhood.” The Sixteenth Century Journal 31, no. 3 (2000): 643–73.
Crouzet, Denis. ““A Strong Desire to be a Mother to all Your Subjects”: A Rhetorical Experiment by Catherine De Medici.” The Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies 38, no. 1 (2008): 103-118.
Eftekhari, Kian, MD, Christina H. Choe MD, M. Reza Vagefi MD, and Eckstein, Lauren A., MD, PhD. “The Last Ride of Henry II of France: Orbital Injury and a King’s Demise.” Survey of Ophthalmology 60, no. 3 (2015): 274-278.
ffolliott, Sheila. “Casting a Rival into the Shade: Catherine de’ Medici and Diane de Poitiers.” Art Journal 48, no. 2 (1989): 138–43.
Finucci, Valeria. “A Royal Accident: Medical Authority and Political Dynamics in 1559.” I Tatti Studies 24, no. 1 (2021): 41-65.
Geevers, Liesbeth. “Ties, Triangles and Tangles: Catherine De Medici as Philip II of Spain’s Mother-in-Law.” Court Historian (London, England) 25, no. 3 (2020): 186-200.
Gordetsky, Jennifer, Ronald Rabinowitz, and Jeanne O’Brien. “The “Infertility” of Catherine De Medici and its Influence on 16th Century France.” Canadian Journal of Urology 16, no. 2 (2009): 4584.
Heinemann, Julia. “Motion Pictures of the Royal Family: Making Kinship Relations and Political Concepts Visible in the Letters of Catherine De’ Medici, Henri III, and François d’Anjou.” French Historical Studies 44, no. 2 (2021): 191.
Jensen, De Lamar. “Catherine De Medici and Her Florentine Friends.” The Sixteenth Century Journal 9, no. 2 (1978): 57-74.
Robison, William B. “Bad Girl, Bad Mother, Bad Queen: Catherine De’ Medici in Contemporary Fiction, Film, and History.” In Bad Girls and Transgressive Women in Popular Television, Fiction, and Film, edited by Chappell, Julie A. and Mallory Young, 159-182. Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Sutherland, N. M. “Catherine De Medici: The Legend of the Wicked Italian Queen.” The Sixteenth Century Journal 9, no. 2 (1978): 45-56.
