The White Ship Disaster 1120: The Shipwreck That Changed English History (Half Hour History)
On the night of 25 November 1120, one of the most important ships in medieval Europe sailed from Barfleur for England.
Aboard the White Ship was William Adelin, the only legitimate son and heir of King Henry I, accompanied by some of the richest and most powerful young nobles of the Anglo-Norman world.
They would never reach England.
After a night of drinking and celebration, the White Ship raced into the darkness and struck a rock just off the Norman coast. The vessel sank rapidly. William initially escaped in a small boat, but according to the famous medieval account, he ordered his rescuers to turn back after hearing the cries of his half-sister.
The boat was overwhelmed.
Almost everyone aboard died.
Only one man survived.
William's death left Henry I without a legitimate male heir and shattered the carefully constructed succession to the English throne. Fifteen years later, Henry's nephew Stephen seized the crown from his designated heir, Empress Matilda, helping plunge England into the brutal civil conflict remembered as the Anarchy.
Out of that struggle emerged a new king: Henry II, founder of the dynasty that would produce Richard the Lionheart and King John and transform medieval England.
The White Ship Disaster tells the remarkable story of the voyage, the shipwreck and the extraordinary chain of events that followed. Discover who was aboard, why Henry I was not, what probably caused the disaster, how William Adelin almost escaped, the story of the sole survivor, and how one maritime accident changed the course of English history.
Part of the Half Hour History series - concise, accessible history for readers who want the whole story without the thousand-page textbook.
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