His famous uncle was the founder and rector of the "Gymnasium Illustre" in Lauingen, Bavaria (Magnus Agricola's future school) and later became councilor and State minister of the reigning Dukes of Zweibrücken and Pfalz-Neuburg, while his grandfather, also named Magnus Agricola, was a judge and administrator of Holzheim. The senior Agricola was educated at Ingolstadt, Bavaria and, planning to join the Benedictine Abbey of Elchingen, moved to Rome at a Benedictine cardinal’s (Jean Bilhères de Lagraulas). However, due to problems in Rome, including the nepotism of Pope Alexander VI and the belligerent behavior of the future Pope Julius II, the senior Agricola enlisted in the Imperial Troops. Thus, he became involved in King Charles VIII of France's Italian war (1494/95-1497). Eventually, he returned to Germany, where he later showed interest in Martin Luther's work.