The Abbey which developed around the shrine of Saint Martin at Tours became one of the most prominent and influential establishments in medieval France.
Charlemagne awarded the position of Abbot to his friend and adviser Alcuin. At this time the abbot could travel between Tours and the court at
Trier in Germany and always stay overnight at one of his own properties. It was at Tours that Alcuin's
scriptorium (a room in
monasteries devoted to the copying of manuscripts by monastic
scribes) developed
Carolingian minuscule, the clear round hand that made manuscripts far more legible. In later times the abbey was destroyed by fire on several occasions and ransacked by
Norman Vikings in 853 and in 903. It burned again in 994, and was rebuilt by Hervé de Buzançais, treasurer of Saint Martin, an effort that took 20 years to complete. Expanded to accommodate the crowds of pilgrims and to attract them, the shrine of St. Martin of Tours became a major stopping-point on
pilgrimages. Between 1354 and 1368,
a new wall was constructed to encompass the basilica and the city of Tours. In 1453 the remains of Saint Martin were transferred to a magnificent new reliquary donated by
Charles VII of France and
Agnès Sorel. During the
French Wars of Religion, the basilica was sacked by the Protestant
Huguenots in 1562. It was disestablished during the
French Revolution. It was deconsecrated, used as a stable, then utterly demolished. Its dressed stones were sold in 1802 after two streets were built across the site, to ensure the abbey would not be reconstructed. == Current basilica ==