The Arcis enclosure is an urban enclosure in the French commune of Tours in the Indre-et-Loire department.
It was built against the western flank of the city's Gallo-Roman enclosure to extend the walled perimeter. Its construction undoubtedly dates back to the 11th or 12th century, after the building of the bridge over the Loire that ends in its northeast corner, but sources on its subject are scarce. Its purpose was certainly defensive, but it also played a political role in the war of influence between the old city of Tours and the rapidly expanding town of Châteauneuf, one kilometer to the west. It was intended to testify to the prosperity of a growing city, whose authority and prestige weighed heavily on its rival.
In the 14th century, it was replaced by a new rampart protecting a much larger area, including the two urban cores. The district was bombed in June 1944, leaving almost no attested remains.
History
The term "Arcis", formed from the Latin verb ardere, generally indicates a place cleared by slash-and-burn. In the present case, however, this etymology is not certain, and the word may also symbolize the "urban reconquest" of a territory inhabited in Gallo-Roman times but abandoned in the Late Middle Ages.
The village of Arcis, to the west of the Gallo-Roman enclosure (cité de Tours), may have been founded on ancient roads running parallel to the Loire (today's rue de la Scellerie and rue Colbert), whose use was increased by the construction, from the 1030s onwards, of Eudes' bridge over the Loire, which ended at the northeast corner of the village. Craftsmen and merchants settled here. It probably began to develop before being fortified. By the 11th century, it had become a highly fragmented area, with a high proportion of roads and unbuilt land lots (some of which was still wet or marshy).
The enclosure, for its part, probably dates from the 11th or 12th century, depending on the author, but no more precise dating can be proposed. Some historians refer to the 11th century, others to the reign of Henry II Plantagenet.
When the medieval enclosure was built in the 14th century, the western side of the Arcis wall, which was of no use since the new wall was built on its north-west and south-west corners, was abandoned or used as a base for other constructions; moreover, poorly maintained because its status and owners were unclear, it was already in poor condition. This is particularly true of the north-west corner. The north and south flanks, more or less repaired or rebuilt, were integrated into the new enclosure.
Function
The Arcis wall was built to protect the area to the west of the Gallo-Roman enclosure, which also included the Hôtel-Dieu and Saint-Maurice church, whose vulnerable façade spanned the ancient wall. It also secured access to the bridge, as no other permanent crossing of the Loire existed several kilometers upstream or downstream.
While the Arcis wall was built for military reasons, it also had political and religious implications. At that time, Tours was an urbanized area with two very distinct entities, one of which was a growing nucleus around the Basilica of Saint-Martin to the west, protected in the first quarter of the 10th century by the Châteauneuf enclosure, but which it had largely overtaken. It was important for the city councillors (the Counts of Touraine, the Cathedral Chapter and the Archbishop) to show that their city was also growing, and that it too was protected. By appropriating these newly urbanized districts, the city hoped to ostentatiously assert its supremacy and prestige over Châteauneuf, under the protection of the King of France.