[3] He fulfilled his monastic duties by travelling to attend Church councils and writing of poetry and history, his most influential piece being a historical account of the First Crusade.
Despite the ruling of the pope, Baldric was not able to win the favor of the clergy at Dol, leading him to travel to several locations across France and Europe for councils, witnessing charters, and resolving Church-related disputes rather than remaining at home with a hostile monastery.
[4] In Avranches, he witnessed a charter in 1115 which saw Henry I of England grant the monks who founded the abbey of Savigny, and were led by preacher and former hermit Vital of Mortian,[6] its forest.
He was buried on December 30 of that same year in the abbey church of Saint Pierre-de-Preaux in the Diocese of Lisieux,[4] remaining in his preferred region of France in Normandy where many monastic figures would originate from and spend their lives.
[11] His constant citations and interpretations reveal a deep knowledge and appreciation of Ovid that was rare for the age, and many biblical allusions and references to classic texts throughout his works reflects the vast amount of literature available to Baldric during his time at the Abbey of Bourgueil.
His epistolary poems to notable figures such as Count Roger of Sicily and Adela of Normandy also suggest Baldric had few ties to the aristocracy since he does not mention any connections with the nobility despite his attempts to impress them.
[4] Due to having written the text years after the end of the First Crusade, Baldric was able to offer a hindsight perspective on the Christian forces, noting that they were socially respectful and deserved greater compensation than they were awarded.
[12] Among his other works are poems on the conquest of England and on the reign of Philip I; lives, in Latin, of his friend Robertus de Arbrissello,[18] of St. Valerian,[19] and of St. Hugh of Rouen;[20] finally a letter to the monks of Fécamp Abbey which contains some valuable material relating to Breton manners, and to English and Norman monasteries.