François de la Noue (1531 – August 4, 1591), called Bras-de-Fer (Iron Arm), was one of the
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
captains of the 16th century. He was born near
Nantes
Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...
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
**Gale ...
family.
He served in
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
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 ...
, 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
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
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, 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)). 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 emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
of the
Low Countries
The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...
. 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 Spanish Army of Flanders led by Alexander Farnese, Prince of Parma, upon a fortified camp at the village of Borgerhout, near Antwerp, where several thousand French, En ...
, where Alexander Farnese, 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, a commander in the
Army of Flanders
The Army of Flanders (; ) was a field army of the Spanish Army based in the Spanish Netherlands between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was one of the longest-serving field armies of the early modern era, being founded in 1567 and disbanded in 170 ...
. La Noue was imprisoned in Limburg, and kept confined for five years. Negotiations for his release in exchange for the royalist commander Jean de Noircarmes, who had been captured by forces loyal to
Francis, Duke of Anjou
''Monsieur'' Fran̤ois, Duke of Anjou and Alen̤on (; 18 March 1555 Р10 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, and his pitted face and s ...
, came to nothing.Émile de Borchgrave, "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
Basel
Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
(in English) in 1587, Frankfurt on Main (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 Philip, Count of 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 and took no part in public matters, but in that year he joined Henry of Navarre against the Leaguers. He was present at both sieges of
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
Brittany
Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
he received a wound of which he died at Moncontour on August 4, 1591.
Plutarch
Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...
'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 ...