LA MOUE, 14 noo, Francois de (BRAS DE Fm), Huguenot captain: b. near Nantes, 1531; d. Moncontour, 4 Aug. 1591. He came of an ancient Breton family and saw military service in Italy. He was in the first Huguenot War and in the second one distinguished him self by capturing Orleans in 1567 with only 15 followers. He commanded the rear guard at the battle of Jarnac in March 1569 and was taken prisoner at Moncontour in October of that year. However, he was soon exchanged, resumed the governorship of Poitou and de feated the royalist army at Rochefort. He lost his left arm at the battle of Fontenay in 1570, but an iron one was made for him, thus giving him the name uBras de fen' With the dawn of peace in France he joined the Dutch Protestants in 1571, but was captured and sent as a prisoner to France. He was requested by Charles IX, after the massacre of Saint Bartholomew, to attempt the reconciliation of the Huguenots with the king, but finding the task impossible and war inevitable he gave up his royal commission and served as general of La Rochelle from 1574-78. With the conclusion of peace, La
Noue served the Huguenot cause in Holland, but in 1580 he was taken prisoner by the Span iards; they, holding him dangerous through the splendid character he bore, confined him for five years in prison. While in prison he wrote
politiques et militaires,' a work of great value, which has been translated into English and German. He was exchanged in 1585 and bound not to take arms against his captors. In 1589 he joined Henry of Navarre, saw service through the siege of Paris, at Argues, Ivry and other battles, and was fatally wounded at the siege of Lamballe in Brittany. He wrote 'Declaration our prise d'armes et la defense de Sedan et Jamets' (1588) ;