Career
He seems to have gained considerable renown and popularity as a trouvèretrouvere (minstrel) in his day and was about to join the Fourth Crusade (1202-1204) when an attack of leprosy cut short his career. These details of his life are all drawn from his own Les Congés, a touching poem of farewell to the world.
Besides four Pastorals, his only other extant works are Le Jeu de Saint Nicolas, the earliest known French miracle play, and La Chanson des Saisnes (Saxons), a chanson de geste (epic poem).