What language did Nostradamus use? Can people today understand what he meant?
• Answer Nostradamus wrote primarily in “early Modern French,” with an admixture of archaic words mostly derived from Latin and Greek. Early Modern French is approximately contemporaneous with Shakespearian English. He also incorporates words from the “Languedoc” or Provencal dialect of southern France. Readers who are familiar with Latin and modern French can often understand the original language, even if they have not studied early French or Provencal. last updated 5/7/96 Author/Editor: Jeffrey Koenke (email: j-koenke@eurysis.
