Olivier Basselin

Olivier Basselin (; ) was a French poet whose drinking songs became famous under the name Vaux-de-Vire, that later became known as vaudeville.

Life He was born in the Val-de-Vire in Normandy about the end of the 14th century. He was by occupation a fuller, and tradition still points out the site of his mill. His drinking songs became famous under the name of Vaux-de-Vire, corrupted in modern times into "vaudeville." From various traditions, it may be gathered that Basselin was killed in the English wars about the middle of the century, possibly at the Battle of Formigny (1450).

Literary legacy At the beginning of the 17th century a collection of songs was published by a Norman lawyer, Jean Le Houx, purporting to be the work of Olivier Basselin. There seems to be very little doubt that Le Houx was himself the author of the songs attributed to Basselin, as well as of those he acknowledged as his own.