[2] Nicetius was the most important bishop of the ancient see of Trier, in the era when, after the disorders of the Migrations, Frankish supremacy began in what had been Roman Gaul.

Considerable detail of the life of this zealous bishop is known from various sources, from letters written either by or to him, from two poems of Venantius Fortunatus and above all from the statements of his pupil Aredius, later Abbot of Limoges, which have been preserved by Gregory of Tours.

About 527 Nicetius set out as the new bishop for Trier, accompanied by an escort sent by the king, and while on the journey had opportunity to make known his firmness in the administration of his office.

He preached daily, opposed vigorously the numerous evils in the moral life both of the higher classes and of the common people, and in so doing did not spare the king and his courtiers.

The king died, however, in the following year, and his son and successor Sigebert I, the ruler of Austrasia (561-75), allowed Nicetius to return home.

Another letter that has been preserved is to Chlodoswinda, wife of the Lombard King Alboin, in which he exhorts this princess to do everything possible to bring her husband over to the Catholic faith.

[6] In his personal life Nicetius was very ascetic and self-mortifying; he fasted frequently, and while the priests and clerics who lived with him were at their evening meal he would go, concealed by a hooded cloak, to pray in the churches of the city.