The author of the Livre des fais presented the biography of Boucicaut as a celebration of a glorious career during which the marshal had proven himself a worthy role model for future generations. But the narrative could not mask the plain truth that the marshal had endured many disasters and setbacks, particularly during his governorship of Genoa. The biography was probably written between April 1406 and April 1409. These were particularly difficult years for Boucicaut: Florence seized Pisa on 9 October 1406; plans for a meeting between the rival popes at Savona on 21 April 1407 collapsed, and Benedict XIII excommunicated Charles VI on 23 March 1408; King Ladislaus of Naples seized Rome on 25 April 1408; Gabriele Maria Visconti was executed on 15 December 1408 after trying to seize Genoa with the help of the condotierro Facino Cane. All of these incidents marked very public failures by Boucicaut, but the Livre des fais carefully sought to reapportion blame in order to defend the marshal and protect him from his critics and enemies in Paris, Venice, Pisa, Florence and even Genoa itself. This was a tricky balancing act for the author, who could not constantly challenge these critics without damaging the camouflage that masked his agenda and subjectivity.

The Papal Schism

It seems likely that when the biographer started writing the Livre des fais between April 1406 and April 1407, it was intended first and foremost as a record of Boucicaut's efforts to support Pope Benedict XIII. While the biography was being written, French policy on the Schism shifted dramatically, so that circumstances had radically changed by the time that the Livre des fais was completed on 9 April 1409. Charles VI withdrew France from the obedience of the Avignon papacy on 25 May 1408, following the failure of efforts to force the rival popes to meet and Benedict XIII's excommunication of the French king on 23 March 1408. From that moment onwards, the French crown and the University of Paris were united in supporting the plan for a general council of the church to resolve the Schism, culminating in the election of Pope Alexander V at Pisa on 26 June 1409.