As the chaplain and confessor of Baldwin, Frankish lord of Marash, he wrote a funeral oration on the latter's death at the battle for Edessa in 1146.
He also presents his life as a warning to other Frankish leaders, for Baldwin was "unrepentant, arrogant and wicked".
[4] Despite all the flaws Basil lists—and he refrains from listing specific misdeeds—he declares that "all of [his] sins have been forgiven, and he has been made whole through his ceaseless confession and afterward through the shedding of his blood in the great battle.
According to the 13th-century Armenian historian Sempad the Constable, Basil himself distributed copies of his poem to the Franks of northern Syria, especially Antioch.
[6] Basil's depiction of Baldwin's death in battle as cleansing him of sin is consistent with the theology of the Crusades and represents western influence.