Geoffroy was among the first historians to write in Old French. Almost all that is known about him comes from his Memoirs, from which we get his account of the conquest of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade.
It was in 1207 when he began recording his account of the Fourth Crusade. His account is often compared with the account of the Byzantine historian and eyewitness to the sack of Constantinople, Nicetas Choniates. Other major crusader eyewitness accounts include those of Robert of Clari and Gunther von Pairis.
For Villehardouin, the crusade had a purely religious origin and was begun with only the best of intentions. He noted, for example, that many took the cross because the indulgences were so great. It is possible that his account emphasized what has been referred to as the accidental nature of the crusade, heading to Constantinople, by way of the conquest of the Christian city of Zara, rather than its initial destination of Egypt.
He recorded his Memoirs after Pope Innocent III's displeasure with the crusaders had become known in Constantinople only three months after the crusaders captured the city.
As a result, it must be understood that he wrote as a participant in the events that Innocent III condemned and it would have been in his interests to portray events in the best possible way for the crusaders. Still, his account provides important insights into the thinking of the crusaders as they dealt with the unusual and unexpected events they encountered during the crusade.