A personal view by Kenneth Clark

'In the nineteenth century people used to think of the invention of printing as the lynch-pin in the history of civilisation. Well, fifth-century Chartres and fifteenth-century Florence got on very well without it - and who shall say that they were less civilised than we are. Still, on balance, I suppose that printing has done more good than harm.'
The theme of protest and communication leads Sir Kenneth Clark to the Reformation-the Germany of Albrecht Durer and Martin Luther-to Erasmus, to the France of Montaigne, and to the Elizabethan England of Shakespeare.
Extracts from Shakespeare performed by William Devlin, Ronald Lacey, Eric Porter, Ian Richardson and Patrick Stewart
Shown on Sunday
The narrative of this programme will be printed in The Listener of April 3
(Colour)