Geoffrey of Villehardouin

Geoffrey of Villehardouin (c. 1150 – c. 1213[1]) was a French knight and historian who participated in and chronicled the Fourth Crusade.

The Conquest is the earliest French historical prose narrative that has survived to modern times.

Although Geoffroi does not say so specifically in his own account, he probably supported the diversion of the Crusade first to Zara and then to Constantinople.

In recognition of his services, Boniface of Montferrat gave to Geoffroi the city of Messinopolis in Thrace.

Villehardouin's account is generally read alongside that of Robert of Clari, a French knight of low station, Niketas Choniates, a high-ranking Byzantine official and historian who gives an eyewitness account, and Gunther of Pairis, a Cistercian monk who tells the story from the perspective of Abbot Martin who accompanied the Crusaders.