11 Shockingly Accurate Predictions From Nostradamus

French apothecary and purported prophet Nostradamus may have his skeptics, but you can't deny his ideas have staying power.

He wrote his first book, "Les Propheties," in 1555, and publishing companies still roll out copies today. There's even a "Nostradamus For Dummies."

In the text of his book, each four-line block, called a quatrain, attempts to predict the future.

While logic might suggest Nostradamus' claims could apply to almost any event, some of them come eerily close to reality. In these 11 cases, we couldn't ignore his speculative prowess.

The Death of Henry II

Prediction:

"The young lion will overcome the older one,
On the field of combat in a single battle;
He will pierce his eyes through a golden cage,
Two wounds made one, then he dies a cruel death."

What happened:

France's King Henry II lined up to joust Gabriel, comte de Montgomery, seigneur de Lorges, a nobleman six years his junior, in the summer of 1559.

In their final pass, Montgomery's lance tilted up and splintered into two shards. One went through the king's visor and hit his eye, and the other lodged in his temple. Henry suffered for 10 days before dying in his bed.

Some reports say their shields displayed lion emblems, though disagreement exists. Skeptics also claim "field of battle" in the quatrain probably shouldn't apply to the friendly jousting match that killed Henry II.

The Great Fire of London

Prediction:

"The blood of the just will be lacking in London,
Burnt up in the fire of '66:
The ancient Lady will topple from her high place,
Many of the same sect will be killed."

What happened:

On Sept. 2, 1666, a small fire in Thomas Farriner's bakery on Pudding Lane in London turned into a three-day blaze that consumed the city. It became known as the Great Fire of London.

Peasant deaths weren't recorded at the time, but many historians claims at least eight people died in the blaze. Thousands of houses and businesses burned, as well. 

"Blood of the just"might refer to the elimination of millions of flea-carrying rats that spread the Black Death. That deadly plague died out during the Great Fire.

The French Revolution

Prediction:

"Songs, chants, and demands will come from the enslaved
Held captive by the nobility in their prisons
At a later date, brainless idiots
Will take these as divine utterances."

What happened:

In 1789, the French people decided they'd had enough of aristocratic rule. They revolted, storming the Bastille, a Paris fortress used as a prison. The fall of the Bastille, which symbolized the monarchy's abuses, marked the height of the French Revolution.

The peasants quickly took control of Paris and enforced their demands by kidnapping the royals. Some of them were even beheaded.