is
not known; toward 1152 it was already in construction, and 150 years
later, in 1299, it was not concluded. Consequently, and more than in the
case of Zamora and Toro, the upper part of the building shows decided
ogival tendencies; yet in spite of these evident signs of transition,
the ensemble, the spirit of the building, is, beyond a doubt,
Romanesque-Byzantine, and not Gothic.

[Illustration: OLD SALAMANCA CATHEDRAL]

The plan of the church is the same as those of Zamora, Toro, and Coria:
a nave and two aisles cut short at the transept, which is slightly
prolonged beyond the width of the body of the church; there is no
ambulatory walk, but to the east of the transept are three chapels in a
three-lobed apse, the central lobe larger than the others and containing
the high altar; the choir was placed (originally) in the centre of the
nave, and a _cimborio_ crowns the _croisee_, this latter being a
peculiarity of the three cathedral churches of Zamora, Toro, and
Salamanca.

Unluckily, the erection of the new building as an annex of the old one
required (as in Plasencia, though from different reasons) the demolition
of certain parts of the latter; as, for instance, the two towers of the
western front, the northern portal as well as the northern half of the
apse, and the corresponding part of the transept. Parts of these have
either been surrounded or replaced by the new building.

The narthex and the western end are still preserved. They are of the
same width as the nave, for, beneath the towers, of which one seems to
have been far higher than the other, each of the aisles terminates in a
chapel. Byzantine in appearance, the two western doors are,
nevertheless, crowned by an ogival arch, and flanked by statuettes of
the same style. The facade, repaired and spoilt, is of Renaissance
severity.

The interior of the building is more impressive than that of either
Zamora or Toro; this is due to the absence of the choir,--removed to the
new cathedral,--which permits an uninterrupted view of the whole church,
which does not occur in any other temple throughout Spain. Romanesque
strength and gloominess is clearly discernible, whereas the height of
the central nave (sixty feet) is rendered stumpy in appearance by the
almost equal height of the aisles. The strength and solidity of the
pillars and columns, supporting capitals and friezes of a peculiar and
decided Byzantine taste (animals, dragons, etc.), show more keenly th