The Tudor Renaissance (First Turning, 1487–1517) was an era of political and social consolidation. To popular acclaim, King Henry VII crushed challenges to his new dynasty and strengthened royal writs and commissions. On this foundation of central authority, births rose, commerce thrived, and construction boomed. The new sumptuous worldliness was best reflected in the palaces of Cardinal Wolsely. The era closed in a mood of cultural sterility.

• Arthurians entering midlife
• Humanists entering young adulthood
• Reformation entering childhood