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 Habsburg Netherlands was the Renaissance period fiefs in the Low Countries held by the Holy Roman Empire's House of Habsburg. The rule began in 1482, when the last Valois-Burgundy ruler of the Netherlands, Mary, wife of Maximilian I of Austr ...

to loyalty after the

Pacification of Ghent The Pacification of Ghent, signed on 8 November 1576, was an alliance between the provinces of the Habsburg Netherlands. The main objectives were to remove Spanish mercenaries who had made themselves hated by all sides due to their plundering, and ...

, with the only two royal demands being the maintenance of Catholicism and the recognition of Philip II's sovereignty. In December 1577 he was sent from Madrid with royal letters to this effect, arriving in Brussels in January 1578.

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 The ''Biographie nationale de Belgique'' (French; "National Biography of Belgium") is a biographical dictionary of Belgium. It was published by the Royal Academy of Belgium in 44 volumes between 1866 and 1986. A continuation series, entitled the ' ...

''
vol. 15
(Brussels, 1899), 780-784. His negotiations with the

States General The word States-General, or Estates-General, may refer to: Currently in use * Estates-General on the Situation and Future of the French Language in Quebec, the name of a commission set up by the government of Quebec on June 29, 2000 * States Gener ...

proved fruitless, but he was able to conclude the

Treaty of Arras (1579) The Treaty of Arras of 17 May 1579 was a peace treaty concluded between the Spanish Crown, represented by Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, and representatives of the County of Hainaut, the County of Artois, and the cities of Douai, Lille, Orchie ...

with the provinces that had formed the

Union of Arras The Union of Arras (Dutch: ''Unie van Atrecht'', French: ''Union d'Arras'', Spanish: ''Unión de Arrás'') was an alliance between the County of Artois, the County of Hainaut and the city of Douai in the Habsburg Netherlands in early 1579 during ...

. Jacques Bernard, ''Recueil des traitez de paix, de trêve, de neutralité, de suspension d'armes, de confédération, d'alliance, de commerce, de garantie, et d'autres actes publics'' (The Hague, 1700), p. 421
On Google Books
/ref> In September 1579 his credentials as a royal negotiator were not renewed and he returned to military service. By 20 August 1583 he was a prisoner of war in the hands of forces loyal to Francis, Duke of Anjou. His wife, Catherine de Tisnacq, sought to negotiate his release in a prisoner exchange for

François de la Noue François de la Noue (1531 – August 4, 1591), called Bras-de-Fer (Iron Arm), was one of the Huguenot captains of the 16th century. He was born near Nantes in 1531, of an ancient Breton family. He served in Italy under Marshal Brissac, and in t ...

, but Noircarmes died in captivity in January 1585.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noircarmes, Jean de 16th-century births 1585 deaths People of the Eighty Years' War 16th-century diplomats