God has ordained two things in this world to act, as it were, as pillars to uphold those divine and human ordinances that govern humankind and permit them to live in peace and according to the dictates of reason, and that promote and nurture the human mind in wisdom and virtue while precluding ignorance; those pillars moreover defend and uphold and increase personal and public good; indeed without them, the world would be a place of confusion and disorder. The two pillars bring us great benefit and great reward – and we should therefore prize them, honour them, uphold them, praise them and revere them; they are, indisputably, Knighthood and Learning. [7] It is right that I should connect the two, for any country or kingdom or empire in which one or the other was lacking would scarcely last for long: if Learning were to be lost, so too would be law, and without law, man would revert to beast; if Knighthood were to be lost, any realm would very soon be destroyed by greedy and fearless enemies. Now God, praise be, has given us those two means of defence; in what follows, we shall concentrate further on one in particular, that is Knighthood, in the person of a valiant and noble knight, thank God still living, having reached a good age in good health, good spirits and noble estate: I speak of our lord Jean Le Meingre, known as Boucicaut, marshal of France and governor of Genoa [Jannes]. This book will be composed and completed in his honour and in tribute to his good deeds: [8] it will recount his righteousness, the nobility of his conduct, his generosity and benevolence, as well as his courage and valour in person as in deed, in all of which virtues he grows better day by day.

And since all life is by nature short, it is fitting and appropriate that the deeds of the valiant should be commemorated in perpetuity, in order that they be not forgotten after their deaths: in other words, it is proper that they be registered in books.