Thurocz's parents came from Turóc County (formerly also spelled as Thurocz), Upper Hungary (now Turiec region, Slovakia) where they were members of a yeoman family recorded since the first half of the 13th century (the village of Nádasér now Nedožery-Brezany).

Thurocz was educated in a Premonstratensian monastery in Ipolyság (now Šahy, Slovakia), where he studied Latin and law.

Besides more reliable sources, the work relies extensively on oral tradition, folk songs and anecdotes, and contains many references to "miraculous" events and wonders.

Like many of his contemporaries he was convinced of the close relationship between human fortune, historical events and the motion of celestial bodies.

He gave much attention to describing the inner feelings of historical characters, but had an evident tendency to idealize the Hungarian heroes Attila and Matthias Corvinus, while downplaying the significance of Hungary's queens.