The family's original possession, the Barony of Kalavryta, had been lost to the Byzantines in the 1260s or early 1270s.
According to Antoine Bon, John's father, Geoffrey of Durnay, received the Barony of Gritzena in compensation.
[2] John succeeded his father as lord of Gritzena (and titular baron of Kalavryta) some time after 1283.
[4] In 1292, following a series of destructive raids in the Greek and Latin-held islands of the Aegean Sea, the Aragonese admiral Roger of Lauria led his fleet to anchor at Navarino.
With Prince Florent absent in Italy, the local castellan, George I Ghisi, assembled two hundred knights, at Androusa to oppose any Aragonese attempt at plunder or the capture of lands in Achaea.