He was born of humble parentage at
Tielt in
Flanders. His original surname was "de Neckere", that in Flemish means "evil spirit", giving him the nickname of
"Olivier le Mauvais" ("Olivier the Wicked"). Seeking his fortune at
Paris, he became court barber and valet to Louis XI, and so ingratiated himself with the king that in 1474 he was ennobled under the title Le Daim and in 1477 made
comte de Meulan. In the latter year he was sent to
Burgundy to influence
Mary of Burgundy, the young heiress of
Charles the Bold, but he was ridiculed and compelled to leave
Ghent. He thereupon seized and held
Tournai for the French. Le Daim had considerable talent for intrigue, and, according to his enemies, could always be depended upon to execute the baser designs of the king. He amassed a large fortune, largely by oppression and violence, and was named gentleman-in-waiting, captain of Loches, and governor of Saint-Quentin. He remained in favour until the death of Louis XI, when the rebellious lords were able to avenge the slights and insults they had suffered in the hands of the royal barber. He was arrested on charges, the nature of which is uncertain, tried before the of Paris, and on May 21, 1484, hanged at the
Gallows of Montfaucon without the knowledge of
Charles VIII, who might have heeded his father's request and spared the favourite. Le Daim's property was given to the
Duke of Orléans. Memoirs of his contemporaries include: •
Philippe de Commines (ed. Mandrot, 1901–1903, Eng. trans. in Bohn Library) •
Robert Gaguin,
Compendium de origine et gestis Francorum (Paris, 1586) it was Gaguin who made the celebrated epigram concerning Le Daim: "Eras judex, lictor, et exitium." • De Reiffenberg,
Olivier le Daim (Brussels, 1829) • Delanone,
Le Barbier de Louis XI (Paris, 1832) • G. Picot, "Procès d'Olivier le Daim", in the ''Comptes-rendus de l'Académie des sciences morales et politiques'', viii. (1877), 485–537 The memoirs of the time are uniformly hostile to Le Daim. ==In popular culture==