Going even further than Labande, Eitan Burstein admires "la richesse
et l complexite" of Guibert's diction.[16] One might also point out
that Guibert was not the first to compose a text of an historical
nature in a self-consciously elaborate, difficult style. A century
earlier Dudo of Saint Quentin had used such a style for his history
of the Normans;[17] Saxo Grammaticus' History of the Danes indicates
that the acrobatic style did not die out with Guibert.[18]

Translating into English the work of a deliberately difficult writer,
whose declared aspiration is to be as hermetic as possible, might
become a quixotic task, if Guibert's passion and energy had been
focused only on providing a performance worthy of Martianus Capella.
[19] The abbot of Nogent, however, also provides additional material,
excises or corrects stories that he considers inaccurate, or worse,
and, as his corrective title indicates, alters the focus of the
material. The results of Guibert's efforts certainly provide
unusually rich material for those interested in medieval mentalite.
In addition, since history was a branch of rhetoric during the
middle-ages (i.e., it was a part of literature),[20] those interested
in intertextual aspects of medieval literature will find a treasure
trove, particularly since Guibert eventually sets about correcting
and improving two earlier texts.[21]

A clear example of what Guibert means by improvement occurs in his
amplification of the Crusaders' arrival at Jerusalem. Where the
Gesta Francorum had provided:

We, however, joyful and exultant, came to the city of Jerusalem...

Guibert composes a veritable cadenza on the arrival: