Geoffroy de Villehardouin was a French nobleman born in the mid-12th century who participated in the Fourth Crusade. After the crusade he wrote Chronicles of the Crusades which cover not only the founding of the Fourth Crusade and the events up to the conquest of Constantinople, but also the conflicts that followed. Before the crusade he was marshal of Champagne and, although this gave him no direct experience in warfare, he probably took part in the disputes in Champagne. This position probably gave him an administrative and military focus that explains the general statesmanlike tone throughout the book, as well as his choice of describing strategies. Throughout the book, Villehardouin makes his religiosity clear. This is not surprising considering the status of the religion at that time and the fact that Villehardouin was a crusader. The reverence for the crusaders among European nobles probably also contributed to his values. At the beginning he uses the typical vocabulary of the crusades speaking of acting "in the name of God" or "by the grace of God". Even more interesting, he repeatedly links the days of their events to religious days. Observe that the day of the agreement between the Venetians and the envoys was in Lent, the day the siege of Zadar began was St. Martin's Day, the day of departure from Scutari was St. John the Baptist's Day, the day of the capture of Constantinople was the Monday before Palm Sunday and so on. This suggests the level of importance he places on the events of the Fourth Crusade. It is not simply a matter of conquest, personal pilgrimage, or military glory, but something deeply tied to the history and health of Christianity in Villehardouin's eyes. Furthermore, the repeated use of r...... means of paper. .....noble nobles, so that those noble families who read the chronicle can come to know how their relative died in these events, instead of simply being missing. Villehardouin's background as a French noble as well as his apparent admiration as the French nobility likely led him to write in a manner that used religious and other imagery to sanctify the Fourth Crusade and its participants. The religious themes, glorious descriptions, and attention paid to the nobles can explain a lot about both Villehardouin himself and the audience his book was aimed at, who were probably the French nobles. Works Cited Villehardouin, Geoffroy de and Jean de Joinville. Chronicles of the Crusades, translated and edited by MRB Shaw. London: Penguin, 1963.Madden, Thomas F. The New Concise History of the Crusades. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield, 2006.