Adam Billaut

Adam Billaut (31 January 1602 – 18 May 1662) was a French carpenter, poet and singer. Nicknamed "the Virgil of rabot" he is considered one of the first poet-workers.

French carpenter and poet Adam Billaut by Edme Bovinet, Bibliothèque nationale de France, 1790

Billaut divided his time between Paris, where he met Antoine Girard de Saint-Amant, Guillaume Colletet, Paul Scarron and Michel de Marolles, and Nevers, where he married Catherine Fox in 1630. He received patronage from Marie Louise Gonzaga and the Prince of Condé, and he was also pensioned by Cardinal Richelieu.

He wrote a number of books, including Les Chevilles, which enjoyed some critical success when it was published in 1644, Le Vilebrequin, published posthumously in 1663, and Le Rabot, which was never printed.

Home where Adam Billaut lived while in Nevers