Table of Contents

Translator�s Preface
Introduction. Fragments of History
1. The Place Beyond Words
2. A Self-Contradictory Utterance
3. Treasures Beneath an Oak Tree
4. A Would-Be Astrophile
5. Thresholds Dependant on Subjectivity
6. An Evangelist Cogito
7. �For the Common Profit of Mankind�
8. �A Burning Mirror�
9. Divine Light
10. From the All to the One
11. The Word of Creation
12. An Episteme of Reason
13. Sacredness and Nothingness
14. The Energetics of Obscurity
15. Powers of Evil
16. Man Against Man
17. All the Sins of the World
18. The Horror that Invites Horror
19. Faith: Trial and Tribulations
20. From Alpha to Omega
21. The Philology of Angst
22. The Panic Paradox
23. The Eschataology of the Rainbow
24. The Ontological Turn
25. Liberty in Christ
By Way of Conclusion: Why Nostradamus?
Notes
Chronology
Sources and Bibliography

About the Author

Denis Crouzet is Professor of Modern History at the University of Paris IV-Sorbonne. His work focuses on the French Wars of Religion and the use of violence in the Renaissance.

Reviews

"This study by the distinguished historian of Renaissance France, Denis Crouzet, is a milestone in studies of Nostradamus for two reasons: its attention to the sixteenth century context of the prophecies, and its 'anti-interpretation', arguing that the meaning of the texts 'is always left hanging in the air'."
Peter Burke, University of Cambridge

"In this very subtle and thought-provoking book Denis Crouzet makes sense of Nostradamus precisely by accepting his deliberate obscurity. The extraordinary violence and disquieting imagery of his quatrains can be compared with the paintings of Bosch, portraying a world turned upside down where sin and cruelty presage divine punishment. Crouzet skillfully weaves this into a broader understanding of the spiritual and emotional imaginary of the Reformation era, when all old certainties seemed to be melting down, amidst terrifying human savagery."
Robin Briggs, All Souls College, University of Oxford