During the first half century of development of the gothic style, the triforium was tall and slender, equivalent in height to the clerestory and thus dividing the elevation in three nearly equal levels. In the course of the 13th century, the triforium will become smaller and smaller, tending to disappear as refinements in technology permit a more unified elevation open to outside light.

The earliest gothic buildings show two competing types of elevation: the three-story elevation, such as is found at Paris and Chartres, and the four-story elevation, as at Noyon. With time, the three story type became the norm, and builders ceased to use the four-story plan.