He is recorded in an account by the chronicler Rodulfus Glaber who states Leutard's beliefs began after dreaming his body had been invaded by bees.
[7][8] He preached for a number of years but his doctrine is not known, except for his opposition to tithes and a position that only certain books of the Bible should be followed because some prophets "had said many good things they were not to be believed in everything".
[12] R. I. Moore, Professor of History at Newcastle University, considers that Leutard may have been characterised as mentally ill by the church authorities to dissuade any popular support for tithe reform.
[13] Fichtenau considers Leutard's destruction of the crucifix as evidence for a possible belief in the rejection of the image of Christ's torture as a central element of worship.
[14] Geoffrey Koziol, Professor of History at University of California, Berkeley considers Leutard's actions indicate a belief in the rejection of the church as the official interpreter of the word of God and in its role in granting and annulling marriages.
[15] American historian Brian Stock suggests Leutard's preachings might have been anti-feudal in stance or an early form of Catharism; the latter interpretation also being put forward by Henry Charles Lea in the 19th century.
[16][17] Stock considers that the bees in the story might be symbolic as a representation of chastity, of diabolical thought entering the body or a portent of Leutard's appeal to the masses.
Landes suggests that Rodulfus modelled Leutard's story on that of the "false Christ" described by Gregory of Tours, a labourer driven mad by flies.