Master of the French royal mint at Tours, in October 1458 Nicolas Jenson was dispatched by King Charles VII to Mainz, Germany, to learn the new art of printing. By the time of Charles’ death in 1461, Jenson had still not returned. He left Mainz the following year, when the city was sacked, quite possibly with Sweynheim and Pannartz. It is suggested that Jenson did not wish to return to a France under the new king, Louis XI. These three were the first to introduce the invention of printing to Italy.