Monluc, Blaise de (c.1502-1577). French memorialist. A member of the generation which fought in the Italian Wars before participating in the Wars of Religion, he won great renown in the former as a result of his stout but unavailing defence of Sienna, and great notoriety in the latter as a result of his brutal methods. He was sceptical about the motives of the various leaders of the civil war, but sincerely believed that the only way to end it quickly was to act ruthlessly. His Commentaires, which were not published until 1592, were originally begun partly as a work of self-justification and partly in order to serve as a model for future captains, but they expanded into a lively panorama of the wars in which he participated. Monluc shared the view of most of his fellow nobles that the aristocrat's chief role should be military, but was aware of the fact that social and political changes would make it more and more necessary for the noble d'épée to receive a good education. Although more interested in ‘le bien faire’ than ‘le bien dire’, he became increasingly aware of the value of his memoirs.
[James Supple]
