Nostradamus and the 1999 King of Terror
A verse attributed to Nostradamus about a leader arriving in 1999 and seven months was linked by some readers to the eclipse of 11 August 1999.
A well-known supposed prophecy of Nostradamus says a great and terrifying leader would come from the sky in 1999 and seven months, to revive the great King of Angoumois. Interpreters tied it to several events. The Skeptic's Dictionary says some followers took Nostradamus to mean the total solar eclipse of 11 August 1999, and that others dreaded a NASA probe falling on the planet. That eclipse was a total one on a Wednesday, among the most-viewed in history. A column in the TES archive reports a reading that put the King of Terror's appointment on 4 July, which came and went.
The wording itself is in doubt. Wikipedia notes that the phrase translated as "of terror" appears nowhere in the original printing, which has a word meaning defraying or hosting, and that Nostradamus sometimes uses the word for sky to mean a region. The day shown is that of the eclipse, the occasion some readers chose. The verse itself names no day.
"One well-known supposed prophecy is that "a great and terrifying leader would come out of the sky" in 1999 and 7 months "to resuscitate the great King from Angoumois." But the phrase d'effraieur (of terror) in fact occurs nowhere in the original printing, which merely uses the word deffraieur (defraying, hosting), and Nostradamus sometimes uses the word ciel simply to mean 'region', rather than 'sky'."
- Nostradamus - The Skeptic's Dictionary, Skeptic's Dictionary
- Spam (TES archive), Times Educational Supplement
- Solar eclipse of August 11, 1999, Wikipedia