Eudes de Sully (French:Odon de Sully, Odo de Sully;Latin:Odo de Soliaco)[1] (died 1208) wasBishop of Paris, from 1197 to 1208. He is considered to be the first to have put emphasis on the Elevation liturgy during the Catholic Mass. He worked to address many social matters including regulating celebrations in his cathedral. He also tried to ban chess. He founded the abbey that becamePort-Royal.
Eudes de Sully was son ofEudes Archambaud of Sully[2] and Matilda of Baugency. His brotherHenry wasarchbishop of Bourges.[2]
On the political stage, Eudes came into conflict withPhilip II of France, over Philip's intended repudiation of his wife.[3]
As a churchman, Eudes continued the building work onNotre Dame de Paris. Eudes is considered the first to have emphasized theelevation of the host during theCatholic Mass.[4] In 1175, Eudes forbade communion for children.[5]
Eudes attempted to regulate celebrations in his cathedral,[6] Christmas[7] and theFeast of Fools.[8] He also tried to banchess.[9]
Eudes is also known for his promotion ofpolyphony in church, and the music ofPérotin.[10]
Eudes was a founder of the abbey that becamePort-Royal.[11]
Upon his death in 1208, de Sully was buried in an above-ground stone sarcophagus which was placed in the choir of Notre-Dame. The location of the tomb was unusually prominent, directly in the middle of the first double bay of the choir, or about eight meters behind the current high altar. The sarcophagus was covered with a copper slab which stood on four legs and featured a relief sculpture of the bishop and two angels by Étienne de Boisses. The tomb remained at this location for 491 years before it was removed during the renovations ofRobert de Cotte. This first tomb was drawn byRoger de Gaignières before it disappeared.
De Sully, along with several others buried in Notre-Dame's choir, were reinterred on 6 June 1699 in a common grave in theapse. This grave measured about 1.65 meters by 0.66 meters and was placed in the floor.
Eudes' synodal decrees appear in volume 22 ofGiovanni Domenico Mansi'sSacrorum conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, 53 vols., Graz : Akademische Druck- u. Verlangsanstalt, 1961. More recently Odette Pontal produced a critical edition of these statutes inLes statuts synodaux Français du XIIIe siècle. Tome 1: Les Statuts de Paris et le synodal de l'ouest. Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale, 1971.
