[Footnote 8: _Development and Character of Gothic Architecture._ Second edition. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1899.] In a subsequent chapter the structural and decorative details will be fully discussed. It may, however, be noted in passing that, although the Cathedral of Paris is in all essentials a Gothic building, the influence of the Romanesque style is so marked in some of its details that it is frequently described as a transitional structure. As we have seen, the greater part of Notre Dame belongs to the twelfth century; and De Caumont, who in his _Abécédaire_ attempted for French architecture a work of scientific division similar to that which Rickman essayed for English architecture, describes French work of the twelfth century as _Architecture Romane-Tertiaire ou de Transition_. The _Abécédaire_, however, is now considered ingenious rather than authoritative. With a few words about the west front this brief chapter must be concluded. The great façade of Notre Dame was begun in 1202. It bears a general structural resemblance to that of the cathedral of Senlis, which dates from the second half of the twelfth century, especially in the matter of its triple portals and the towers at the termination of the aisles. At Senlis we have unmistakable evidence of the Gothic spirit, but in its main plan this front is similar to the Romanesque Abbaye-aux-Hommes at Caen. The builders of the west front of Notre Dame thus owe something to the designers of Senlis and the Abbaye-aux-Hommes, but they have achieved a variety and symmetry of which their forerunners probably did not dream. In construction, as well as in the organic significance of its wealth of sculptured decoration, the façade of Notre Dame is genuinely Gothic as opposed to Romanesque. [Illustration: _Photo_] [_Ed. Hautecœur, Paris._ THE WEST FRONT.] CHAPTER III. THE EXTERIOR. [Illustration: _Photo_] [_Ed. Hautecœur, Paris._ CHIMÈRES.]