Hated by many Toulousains and by Count Raymond VI of Toulouse he left Toulouse on 2 April 1211, after the crusaders laid siege to Lavaur.
A desultory work, it mentions episodes of the Crusades (including the Albigensian Crusade) alongside events in Johannes' own life, illustrating the details of his affair with a young man from his University, with sketches of some acquaintances including John of London, his teacher at Oxford; bishop Foulques of Toulouse; Alan of Lille, a contemporary at Paris; and Roland of Cremona, a contemporary at Toulouse.