Saint-Maurice was built around a Benedictine convent in the 11th century. The commune changed its name many times. Before the French Revolution the name was "Saint-Maurice-Terlin" (contraction of "Terre à lin" - Land of Flax) because the inhabitants grew flax. The village then became "Saint Maurice Torsinet" in 1793. Eight years later, in 1801, the name was changed again, first to "Saint-Maurice-en-Lanas" then