A term used to denote a turning-point from mediaeval to modern times, a re-birth or revival of the classical spirit and its influence on art, literature, science and learning generally, and a change over from despotism to comparative freedom in religion, politics and thought. It is obviously impossible to fix a date for the turning-point of a movement of such wide extent, but it began during the fifteenth century, and is sometimes associated with the fall of Constantinople in 1453. The movement was greatly assisted by the invention of paper and printing. The Renaissance originated in Italy, and its influence was felt early in the sixteenth century in England where many helpful conditions existed at the time, among which were the desire of the English monarchs to emulate the splendour of the French Court, the encouragement of learning and luxurious living given by Wolsey, the building of great country houses, the increase of private wealth, the desire of the citizen to live in more comfortable surroundings, and the introduction of foreign artists and craftsmen. The spirit of the Italian Renaissance reached England mainly through Flemish sources, and the admixture of Flemish Renaissance with Gothic art formed what is termed the Tudor style. A development later on in the sixteenth century is sometimes called Elizabethan, and this style was followed by the Jacobean. Furniture was still sparsely used in the Tudor period, and was usually designed by architects, or imported from abroad.