11th century
14 episodes
Al-Biruni
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Central Asian polymath al-Biruni and his 11th-century book India, one of the first scholarly works about the country.
10 June 2010
Featuring: James Montgomery, Hugh Kennedy, Amira Bennison
CultureAstronomical instrument makersIslamic philosophersAstronomers of the medieval Islamic worldMedieval Iranian pharmacologists, Transoxanian Islamic scholarsPsychology in the medieval Islamic worldAlchemists of the medieval Islamic worldExplorers of AsiaAsharis, Muslim critics of atheismCritics of deism11th centuryAstronomyIslamPsychologyAl-Ghazali
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Islamic scholar Al-Ghazali, one of the most significant and influential philosophers of the Middle Ages.
19 March 2015
Featuring: Peter Adamson, Carole Hillenbrand, Robert Gleave
Philosophy12th-century Muslim theologiansMetaphysiciansIslamic philosophersPsychology in the medieval Islamic worldEconomists of the medieval Islamic world, MujaddidIranian ethicists, Iranian logiciansEpistemologistsAsharis, Muslim critics of atheismAutobiographers11th century12th centuryEconomicsIslamMedicinePsychologyTheologyCnut
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Danish prince who became King of England in 1016, and restored stability and prosperity to the troubled country he inherited.
6 April 2023
Featuring: Erin Goeres, Pragya Vohra, Elizabeth Tyler
Muslim Spain
Melvyn Bragg discusses Muslim Spain, a culture that lasted 700 years, from Cordoba’s golden age to the fall of Granada.
21 November 2002
Featuring: Tim Winter, Martin Palmer, Mehri Niknam
Shahnameh of Ferdowsi
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the epic poem the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi, the 'Book of Kings', which has been at the heart of Persian culture for the past thousand years.
13 December 2012
Featuring: Narguess Farzad, Charles Melville, Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis
The Battle of Clontarf
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Brian Boru's victory over Sigtrygg Silkbeard and his Viking allies outside Dublin in 1014, one of the best known events in Irish history.
10 April 2025
Featuring: Seán Duffy, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Alex Woolf
The Battle of Stamford Bridge
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Battle of Stamford Bridge, a decisive English victory over Viking forces which took place in September 1066.
2 June 2011
Featuring: John Hines, Elizabeth Ashman Rowe, Stephen Baxter
The Diet of Worms
Melvyn Bragg discusses the Diet of Worms where the Holy Roman Emperor demanded Martin Luther explain his attacks on the Catholic Church. The ensuing arguments helped trigger the Reformation.
12 October 2006
Featuring: Diarmaid MacCulloch, David Bagchi, Charlotte Methuen
The Domesday Book
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Domesday Book, a vast survey of England and Wales completed in 1086.
17 April 2014
Featuring: Stephen Baxter, Elisabeth van Houts, David Bates
The Four Humours
Melvyn Bragg discusses the four humours, a medical theory that saw the body as a concoction of four essential juices.
20 December 2007
Featuring: David Wootton, Vivian Nutton, Noga Arikha
The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, a collection of Persian poetry translated into English in the 19th century by Edward FitzGerald.
22 May 2014
Featuring: Charles Melville, Daniel Karlin, Kirstie Blair
The Schism
Melvyn Bragg discusses events surrounding the 11th century division of medieval Christendom into what became the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church.
16 October 2003
Featuring: Henrietta Leyser, Norman Housley, Jonathan Shepard
The Song of Roland
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the epic reimagining of the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778AD when Charlemagne's rearguard was ambushed and his knight Roland fought and died.
4 November 2021
Featuring: Laura Ashe, Miranda Griffin, Luke Sunderland
Third Crusade
Melvyn Bragg discusses the Third Crusade, from death of the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, to the famous encounter between Richard I and Saladin.
29 November 2001
Featuring: Jonathan Riley-Smith, Carole Hillenbrand, Tariq Ali
