 There do not appear to be any predecessors of this family in the bishopric of Metz which prior to 590 was not important enough to warrant a single mention from Gregory of Tours.Prior to Agilulf, the most powerful bishops in the Austrasian kingdom were Egidius of Rheims and Gregory of Tours.Egidius was convicted of treason in 590 and the rise of the Bishops of Metz from that time certainly is in part due to those events.