Calvados, en Normandía

The town of Vire, capital of Calvados in Normandy, was an important settlement in the Middle Ages, and the composing and singing of songs that satirized the events and personalities of the region was a popular entertainment. These songs were known as chansons du Vau de Vire, 'songs of the valley of Vire'. This was eventually shortened to vau de vire.
The name was first given to songs composed by Oliver Basselin, a poet and fuller of Vire in the fifteenth century. By 1500 vaux de vire was applied to current popular, satirical songs composed anywhere in France.

While the vaux de vire were folk-based, there was another type of song in sixteenth-centry France called voix de ville, or 'voices of the city', which were songs of courtly love. A collection of the voix de ville was published in 1555. Eventually, the two names were confused, and vaux de ville was the result. In 1573 there was a collection of courtly songs called Premier livre de chansons en forme de vau de ville. By the end of the sixteenth century, vaudeville was in common use in France.