The “ancient and modern quarrel” in western literary criticism appears during

The correct option is Sixteenth century CE.

Explanation:
The "quarrel of the ancients and the moderns" (often associated with the French Querelle des Anciens et des Modernes) is a celebrated debate in Western literary criticism and intellectual history. It centered on whether contemporary (modern) writers and artists could produce works that surpassed the achievements of the classical (ancient) Greek and Roman civilizations.

Although the most famous phase of this controversy erupted in late 17th-century France, the intellectual origins and initial critical formulations of the debate appeared during the Renaissance in the sixteenth century CE. During this time, the rise of vernacular languages and the rediscovery of classical texts led humanist critics to debate the limits of imitation (imitatio) and argue whether modern writers could equal or excel beyond ancient authorities.