Its origin was probably the 'oud', which can still seen in the near east today, which after it's spread at the time of the Moorish invasions of Europe, evolved into various forms of lute during the middle ages. By the mid-sixteenth century, the small, shallow-bowled, high-pitched members of the lute family, originally 'gitterns' in England, and 'quinterns' in Germany, came to be known as 'mandora' or 'mandola', and 'mandores' in France. The smallest version was called the 'mandolina' in Italy.