Nothing is known of John's early life; of aristocratic birth, he possibly was of Lorraine descendance from the area of Metz.
Though Margaret could rely on her marriage with Prince John Henry of Luxembourg, the mission ultimately failed when the two Habsburg dukes, Albert II of Austria and his brother Otto the Merry, took possession of the contested Carinthian lands in her stead.
The Austrian dukes thereby also became the lords of Viktring Abbey, they too learned to value the abbot's abilities and consulted him in all important government matters.
John frequently stayed at their residence in Vienna as a confidential secretary until 1341, when he withdrew to the quiet of his Carinthian monastery to write a history of his own time.
The information on the earlier period was based on the rhyming chronicle of the medieval historian Ottokar from Gaal and the works by Martin of Opava, while the rest was written from data which he himself had collected during his many travels.