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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;seth77, post: 8074736, member: 56653&quot;]I think that the general idea that the Carolingian blueprint was both Christian and (likely) an ancient (tetrastyle) temple converted later on is the safest (and all-encompassing) explanation. The degree of schematization and abstractization seen at Tours around 1100 is likely (at least partially) based on a local landmark -- the old St. Martin&#039;s -- but as we get closer to 1200 I think another aspect begins to take shape as castles and fortifications (keeps and whatnot) were the occurrences du jour: the architrave becomes little by little a spire while the colonnades disappear, leaving room for two (or perhaps four) towers -- of which the first two upfront might represent the idea of an enclosure -- be it abbey or city. Both are known from the coinage of Tours per se: the denier tournois starts as the coinage of the Abbaye St. Martin de Tours, starts its shift during the period of Philippe II Augustus as abbe laique (ca. 1204) to come out ca. 1220 as the Royal coinage of the city of Tours. The reverse legend sequence shows this very well in the relative chronologie of SCS MARTINVS and TVRONVS CIVI.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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