Jacobean age , (from Latin Jacobus, “James”), period of visual and literary arts during the reign of James I of England (1603–25). The distinctions between the early Jacobean and the preceding Elizabethan styles are subtle ones, often merely a question of degree, for although the dynasty changed, there was no distinct stylistic transition. In architecture the Jacobean age is characterized by a combination of motifs from the late Perpendicular Gothic period with clumsy and imperfectly understood classical details, in which the influence of Flanders was strong. The Tudor pointed arch is common, and in interior work there is considerable simple Tudor paneling and an occasional use of Perpendicular vaulting forms. Doorways, fireplaces, and the like are usually framed with classical forms, and both outside and inside there is a wide use of terms, pilasters, S-scrolls, and the type of pierced, flat ornament known as strapwork. Jac...