Davila, Louis

, a Spanish gentleman, native of Placentia, was commander in the order of Alcantara, and general of cavalry for Charles V. at the siege of Metz in 1552. The duke of Guise had the command of that place. Davila sent a trumpet to him to ask for a fugitive slave who had run off with a horse of great value, which was only a pretext for gaining an observation of the town. The duke of Guise was not a man to be so easily imposed upon: however, he sent him back the horse, which he ransomed with his own money; and, as the slave had pushed on farther, he sent him word, that “he was already a good way in France; and that a slave became free on setting his foot on that ground.” He wrote historical memoirs of the war carried on by that emperor against the protestants of Germany, printed for the first time in Spain, 1546, and afterwards translated into Latin and French. The president Thuanus censures him for his partiality in favour of Charles V. There is also by him, “Memoires de la Guerre d’Afrique.” ³

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