Anne McElvoy talks to Antonia Fraser, David Graeber and Jesse Norman. 
-
Pilgrims, raiders and traders
56. Vale of York Hoard
57. Hedwig glass beaker
58. Japanese bronze mirror
59. Borobudur Buddha head
60. Kilwa pot sherds
Medieval Europe was not isolated from Africa and Asia, pilgrims and merchants regularly criss-crossed between the continents carrying with them goods and ideas. The Scandinavian Vikings travelled and traded from Greenland to Central Asia. In the Indian Ocean a vast maritime trade network connected Africa, the Middle East, India and China. Buddhism and Hinduism had spread along these trade routes from India to Indonesia. Even the Crusades did not prevent trade flourishing between Christian Europe and the Islamic World. In contrast, Japan, under the Heian dynasty, chose to isolate itself, closing off relationships with its neighbour China for the next 300 years.
Shakespeare's Restless World
Neil MacGregor uncovers Shakespeare's world through twenty objects.
