Philippe René Nivelon Louis de Sainte-Aldegonde, Lord of Noircarmes[1] (c. 1530 – Utrecht, 5 March 1574) was a statesman and soldier from the Habsburg Netherlands in the service of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and Philip II of Spain.
He gained notoriety during the suppression of Calvinist insurrections, especially at Valenciennes in 1566-7, and as a member of the Council of Troubles at the start of the Eighty Years' War.
When, in August 1566, social unrest broke out in connection with open-air sermons of Calvinists and subsequently the Iconoclastic Fury, he argued for repression.
He was made acting-stadtholder and grand baillie of Hainaut in July 1566, and at the same time put in charge of the royal forces in that area.
Meanwhile, King Philip had sent Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba to the Netherlands with an army to restore order.
When Maximilien de Hénin-Liétard, the royal stadtholder of Holland, was taken prisoner of war by the rebels in October 1573, Noircarmes was appointed his successor.