He was born to poor parents at
Sully-sur-Loire (Soliacum), near
Orléans, at the beginning of the twelfth century. He came to
Paris towards 1140 and studied for the ecclesiastical state. He soon became known as an able professor of
theology and an eloquent preacher. It has been frequently asserted, but without sufficient proof, that he was a
canon of
Bourges. In 1159, he was mentioned as the Archdeacon of Paris, and on 12 October 1160, largely through the influence of
Louis VII, he was elected to succeed
Peter Lombard in the
episcopal see of that city. The present
Cathedral of Notre-Dame stands as a monument to his episcopal administration. Its construction was begun and almost entirely completed under him. In 1163,
Pope Alexander III laid the cornerstone of the magnificent edifice, and in 1185 the
Patriarch of Jerusalem,
Heraclius, officiated in the completed sanctuary. He also converted the synagogue that stood on the site of the now
Église de la Madeleine when it was seized by
Philip II of France from the Jews of Paris in 1182, and duly consecrated it as a church dedicated to
Mary Magdalene. Maurice de Sully also rebuilt the episcopal palace in which the nobility and clergy met in 1179 at the coronation of
Philip Augustus as joint ruler with his father Louis VII. He enjoyed in a high degree the confidence of both rulers, accompanied Louis to his meeting with
Frederick Barbarossa at
Saint-Jean-de-Losne in 1162, and was one of the guardians of the royal treasury during the
Third Crusade (1190). In the controversy between
Thomas Becket and
Henry II of England, he energetically defended the former and, in three letters still extant, pleaded his cause with Alexander III. He forbade the celebration of the
feast of the Immaculate Conception in his diocese, but is said to have strongly supported by appeals to the Bible (
Job, xix, 25-27) the doctrine of the
resurrection of bodies, against some sceptical noblemen. Although he retained the administration of his diocese, he retired, late in life, to the
Abbey of Saint Victor, Paris, where he died. == Works ==