Early Editions Le Propheties

 

1555 Bonhomme – Generally acknowledge to be the first incomplete Edition of the Centuries and Quatrains known as Le Propheties of Nostradamus. It has the proper mixture of both Roman and Arabic Numerals to number the Quatrains. Only 4 Centuries are present and they are incomplete.

1557 Rosne – Generally acknowledged by most Nostradamus scholars to be the only known second addition which is still incomplete and does not contain all the Quatrains. The copy that survives is most likely an early pirated edition since it has only Roman numerals to number the quatrains. It has the first 7 centuries and is incomplete.

1566 Pierre Rigaud – Now starting to be acknowledged by modern scholars as what ancient commentators called it, the Editio Princeps which was referred to by many early commentators and occultists and the source for many early works on Nostradamus. This is the first complete edition of the Prophecies of Nostradamus. There are several later variants of this book, and the actual first edition may no longer exist, however, a possible candidate for the Editio Princeps or possibly the earliest best reprint of it is now known to exist in the Bavarian National Museum and also in a famous private collection by a modern seer hailed as the New Nostradamus. A very early pirated edition is in the National Library of France. Numerous later editions bearing the 1566 date and name of Pierre Rigaud that have too many Quatrains in them were commented on by modern authors. However, this was not the edition we are referring to which is acknowledge as the best early edition of the writings of Nostradamus due to the excellent spelling and typesetting of the work. It can be viewed at True Prophecies of Nostradamus and the Bavarian National Museum. This is the early pirated edition in the National Library of France that has the correct number of Quatrains but has the improper mixture of Roman and Arabic numerals that we believe Nostradamus demanded of his authorized printers to differentiate his authorized work from pirated works. The true editions do refer to a Friar from the Monastery named in Nostradamus’ Last Will and Testament who was Fr. Jean Vallier. This work if from 1566 shows a Pierre Rigaud who was not the son of Benoist of Rigaud (most likely a brother or uncle) printed in Lyon contemporary to Benoist. If it is not from 1566, then it is pre 1609 and from the son of Benoist Rigaud and was supervised by Fr. Jean Vallier along with the son of Nostradamus who was Cesar Nostradamus. The Rigaud family also printed copies of Cesar’s book in the early 17th Century.

1568 Benoist Rigaud – The earliest copies of this work are similar to the 1566 Pierre Rigaud Edition in that they have only 942 Quatrains but the spelling and typesetting is similar to early pirated editions, so it is most likely an early pirated edition. None of these editions have the name Fr. Jean Vallier on them as do the authentic and clearly superior 1566 Pierre Rigaud editions. While Benoist did have a son named Pierre who printed in the later 16th and early 17th Centuries, it is our belief that Benoist may have printed alongside either his father or uncle named Pierre or a brother named Pierre. The Nostradamus family connection to the Rigaud’s is very clear in that Simon Rigaud did print the book of Cesar in the the early 17th Century. What is not 100% clear is if Cesar first hired Pierre from that era to print the complete prophecies under the supervision of Fr. Jean Vallier or not. If Cesar did this act, then the early 1566 Editions of Pierre Rigaud are circa 1595 to 1605 and he dated it 1566 in memorial to the death of Nostradamus.  The Religious Wars of France destroyed many of the Protestant Printers of Lyon that had printed the original Nostradamus writings. So due to the state of flux in Lyon at this time and how printers were being burnt at the stake for their work, it is not 100% clear who printed what and when. However, based on the quality of the works, the 1566 Pierre Rigaud Edition mentioned above is the superior edition that has the proper mixture of Roman and Arabic numerals excellent typesetting and superior spelling of important words.