François de la Noue (1531 – August 4, 1591), called Bras-de-Fer (Iron Arm), was one of the
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
captains of the 16th century. He was born near
Nantes
Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...
in 1531, of an ancient
Breton
Breton most often refers to:
*anything associated with Brittany, and generally
** Breton people
** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany
** Breton (horse), a breed
**Ga ...
family.
He served in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
Orléans
Orléans (;"Orleans" (US) and second war. During the third war, at the
battle of Jarnac
The Battle of Jarnac on 13 March 1569 was an encounter during the French Wars of Religion between the Catholic forces of Marshal Gaspard de Saulx, sieur de Tavannes, and the Huguenots led by Louis I de Bourbon, prince de Condé The two forces met ...
in March 1569 he commanded the rearguard, and at Moncontour the following October he was taken prisoner; but he was exchanged in time to resume the governorship of
Poitou
Poitou (, , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe.
Geography
The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical c ...
, and to inflict a signal defeat on the royalist troops before Rochefort.
At the siege of Fontenay (1570) his left arm was shattered by a bullet and later amputated; but a mechanic of
La Rochelle
La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...
made him an artificial iron arm (hence his sobriquet) with a hook for holding his reins. When peace was made in France in the same year, La Noue carried his sword against the Spaniards in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, but was taken at the recapture of Mons by the Spanish in 1572.
Permitted to return to France, he was commissioned by Charles IX, after the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, to reconcile the inhabitants of La Rochelle, the great stronghold of the Huguenots, to the king (see
Siege of La Rochelle (1572-1573)
The siege of La Rochelle (, or sometimes ) was a result of a war between the French royal forces of Louis XIII of France and the Huguenots of La Rochelle in 1627–28. The siege marked the height of the struggle between the Catholics and the Pr ...
). But the Rochellois were too much alarmed to come to terms; and La Noue, perceiving that war was imminent, and knowing that his post was on the Huguenot side, gave up his royal commission, and from 1574 till 1578 acted as general of La Rochelle.
When peace was again concluded La Noue once more went to aid the
Protestants
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
of the
Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
. In 1579, together with the Englishman
John Norreys John Norreys may refer to:
*Sir John Norris (soldier) or Norreys (c. 1547–1597), the son of Henry Norris, 1st Baron Norreys, a lifelong friend of Queen Elizabeth
*Sir John Norreys (Keeper of the Wardrobe) for Henry VI of England (c. 1400–1466) ...
, he led the Dutch States' army at the
Battle of Borgerhout
The Battle of Borgerhout was a battle during the Eighty Years' War, of the Army of Flanders, Spanish Army of Flanders led by Alexander Farnese, Prince of Parma, upon a fortified camp at the village of Borgerhout, near Antwerp, where several th ...
, where
Alexander Farnese Alessandro Farnese may refer to:
* Pope Paul III (1468–1549), Roman Catholic Bishop of Rome
*Alessandro Farnese (cardinal) (1520–1589), Paul's grandson, Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal-nephew
* Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma (1545–1592), ...
, Spanish Governor of the Netherlands, defeated them. He took several towns and captured Count Egmont in 1580; but a few weeks afterwards he fell into the hands of
Robert de Melun
Robert de Melun (died 1585), viscount of Ghent and marquis of Roubaix, was a nobleman from the Low Countries who fought in the Eighty Years' War.
Life
Melun was the son of Hugues d'Epinoy and Yoldande de Warchin, lady of Roubaix, and was probably ...
, a commander in the
Army of Flanders
The Army of Flanders ( es, Ejército de Flandes nl, Leger van Vlaanderen) was a multinational army in the service of the kings of Spain that was based in the Spanish Netherlands during the 16th to 18th centuries. It was notable for being the longe ...
. La Noue was imprisoned in
Limburg
Limburg or Limbourg may refer to:
Regions
* Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium
* Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands
* Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...
, and kept confined for five years. Negotiations for his release in exchange for the royalist commander
Jean de Noircarmes
Jean de Noircarmes (died 1585), lord of Selles, was a royalist soldier and diplomat, loyal to Philip II of Spain, during the Dutch Revolt. His most important mission was to attempt to negotiate a return of the Habsburg Netherlands to loyalty aft ...
, who had been captured by forces loyal to
Francis, Duke of Anjou
'' Monsieur'' Francis, Duke of Anjou and Alençon (french: Hercule François; 18 March 1555 – 10 June 1584) was the youngest son of King Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici.
Early years
He was scarred by smallpox at age eight, a ...
, came to nothing.
Émile de Borchgrave
Baron Émile Jacques Yvon Marie de Borchgrave (1837–1917) was a Belgian historian and diplomat.
Life
Borchgrave was born in Ghent on 27 December 1837. He was educated at the College of St Barbara in Ghent and spent one year studying philosoph ...
, "Noircarmes (Jean de)", ''Biographie Nationale de Belgique'' vol. 15 (Brussels, 1899), 780-784.
It was in captivity that La Noue wrote his celebrated ''Discours politiques et militaires'', a work which was published at
La Rochelle
La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...
in 1590,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
(in English) in 1587,
Frankfurt on Main
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its ...
(in German) in 1592 and 1612. It had an immense influence on the soldiers of all nations. The abiding value of La Noue's ''Discourses'' lies in the fact that he wrote of war as a human drama, before it had been elaborated and codified.
At length, in June 1585, La Noue was exchanged for Egmont and other important prisoners, while a heavy ransom and a pledge not to bear arms against the King of Spain were also exacted from him. Between 1586 and 1589 La Noue lived in
Geneve
Geneve may refer to:
* Genève, French for Geneva
, neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier
, website = https://www.geneve.ch/
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ...
and took no part in public matters, but in that year he joined
Henry of Navarre
Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...
against the Leaguers. He was present at both sieges of
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
he received a wound of which he died at Moncontour on August 4, 1591.
Works
He wrote, besides the ''Discourses'',
*''Declaration pour prise d'armées et la défeute de Sedan et Jarnets'' (1588)
*''Observations sur l'histoire de Guicciardini'', 2 vols, (1592)
*Notes on
Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
's ''Lives''.
His ''Correspondence'' was published in 1854.
References
*
*''La Vie de François, seigneur de La Noue'', by Moyse Amirault (Leiden, 1661)
* Pierre de Brantôme, ''Vies des Capitaines français''
* C. Vincens, ''François de La Noue, dit Bras de Fer'' (1875)
*
Henri Hauser
Henri Hauser (19 July 1866 – 27 May 1946) was a French historian, geographer, and economist. A pioneer in the study of the economic history of the early modern period, he also wrote on contemporary economic issues and held the first chair in e ...