The earliest vaudeville was the "vau de vire", a Norman song of the 15th century, named after the valley of Vire. During the 16th century a style grew in the towns in France called the "voix de ville" ( "city voices"), whose name may have been a pun on "vau de vire". These were also satirical. The two styles came together and in the 17th and 18th century. The term 'vaudeville' came to be used for songs satirizing political and court events. 