The ''White Ship'' (french: la Blanche-Nef;

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functione ...

: ''Candida navis'') was a vessel transporting many nobles, including the heir to the English throne, that sank in the Channel during a trip from France to England near the Normandy coast off

Barfleur Barfleur () is a commune and fishing village in Manche, Normandy, northwestern France. History During the Middle Ages, Barfleur was one of the chief ports of embarkation for England. * 1066: A large medallion fixed to a rock in the harbour ...

, on 25 November 1120. Only one of approximately 300 people aboard, a butcher from Rouen, survived. Those who drowned included

William Adelin William Ætheling (, ; 5 August 1103 – 25 November 1120), commonly called Adelin (sometimes ''Adelinus'', ''Adelingus'', ''A(u)delin'' or other Latinised Norman-French variants of ''Ætheling'') was the son of Henry I of England by his wife M ...

, the only legitimate son and heir of Henry I of England, his half-sister Matilda of Perche, his half-brother Richard of Lincoln, the earl of Chester Richard d'Avranches, and Geoffrey Ridel. William Adelin's death led to a succession crisis and a period of civil war in England from 1135 to 1153 known as the Anarchy.

Shipwreck

The ''White Ship'' was a newly refitted vessel captained by Thomas FitzStephen (''Thomas filz Estienne''), whose father Stephen FitzAirard (''Estienne filz Airard'') had been captain of the ship ''Mora'' for

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

during the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Thomas offered his ship to Henry I of England to return to England from

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

.Judith A. Green, ''Henry I: King of England and Duke of Normandy'' (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006), p. 165 Henry had already made other arrangements, but allowed many in his retinue to take the ''White Ship,'' including his heir,

, his

illegitimate children Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...

Richard of Lincoln and Marie FitzRoy, Countess of Perche, and many other nobles. According to chronicler Orderic Vitalis, the crew asked William Adelin for wine and he supplied it to them in great abundance. By the time the ship was ready to leave there were about 300 people on board, although some, including the future king

Stephen of Blois Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne ''jure uxoris'' from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 1135 unti ...

, had disembarked due to the excessive binge drinking before the ship sailed.William M. Aird, ''Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy c. 1050–1134'' (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2008), p. 269 The ship's captain, Thomas FitzStephen, was ordered by the revellers to overtake the king's ship, which had already sailed. The ''White Ship'' was fast, of the best construction and had recently been fitted with new materials, which made the captain and crew confident they could reach England first. But when it set off in the dark, its port side struck a submerged rock called ''Quillebœuf'', and the ship quickly capsized. William Adelin got into a small boat and could have escaped but turned back to try to rescue his half-sister, Matilda, when he heard her cries for help. His boat was swamped by others trying to save themselves, and William drowned along with them. According to Orderic Vitalis, Berold (Beroldus or Berout), a butcher from Rouen, was the sole survivor of the shipwreck by clinging to the rock. The chronicler further wrote that when Thomas FitzStephen came to the surface after the sinking and learned that William Adelin had not survived, he let himself drown rather than face the king. One legend holds that the ship was doomed because priests were not allowed to board it and bless it with holy water in the customary manner. William of Nangis wrote that the ''White Ship'' sank because all the men aboard were sodomites. See: ’’Chron.’’ in Rolls series, ed. W. Stubbs (London, 1879), vol. 2, under A.D. 1120. which reflects the medieval belief that sin caused pestilence and disaster. See also: ''Codex Justinian'', nov. 141. Another theory is expounded by Victoria Chandler, "The Wreck of the ''White Ship''", in ''The final argument : the imprint of violence on society in medieval and early modern Europe'', edited by Donald J. Kagay and L.J. Andrew Villalon (1998). Her theory discusses the possibility of it being a mass murder. For a complete list of those who did or did not travel on the ''White Ship'', see Victims of the ''White Ship'' disaster.

Repercussions

A direct result of William Adelin's death was the period known as the Anarchy. The ''White Ship'' disaster had left Henry I with only one legitimate child, a second daughter named Matilda. Although Henry I had forced his barons to swear an oath to support Matilda as his heir on several occasions, a woman had never ruled in England in her own right. Matilda was also unpopular because she was married to

Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou Geoffrey V (24 August 1113 – 7 September 1151), called the Handsome, the Fair (french: link=no, le Bel) or Plantagenet, was the count of Anjou, Touraine and Maine by inheritance from 1129, and also Duke of Normandy by conquest from 1144. His ...

, a traditional enemy of England's Norman nobles. Upon Henry's death in 1135, the English barons were reluctant to accept Matilda as

queen regnant A queen regnant (plural: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank and title to a king, who reigns '' suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known as a "kingdom"; as opposed to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigni ...

. One of Henry I's male relatives,

, the king's nephew by his sister Adela, usurped Matilda as well as his older brothers

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

and

Theobald Theobald is a Germanic dithematic name, composed from the elements '' theod-'' "people" and ''bald'' "bold". The name arrived in England with the Normans. The name occurs in many spelling variations, including Theudebald, Diepold, Theobalt, Tyb ...

to become king. Stephen had allegedly planned to travel on the ''White Ship'' but had disembarked just before it sailed; Orderic Vitalis attributes this to a sudden bout of diarrhea. After Henry I's death, Matilda and her husband Geoffrey of Anjou, the founder of the

Plantagenet dynasty The House of Plantagenet () was a royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. The family held the English throne from 1154 (with the accession of Henry II at the end of the Anarchy) to 1485, when Richard III died in ...

, launched a long and devastating war against Stephen and his allies for control of the English throne. The Anarchy dragged from 1138 to 1153 with devastating effect, especially in southern England. Contemporary historian

William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury ( la, Willelmus Malmesbiriensis; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as " ...

wrote:

Historical fiction

* Reference to the sinking of the ''White Ship'' is made in

Ken Follett Kenneth Martin Follett, (born 5 June 1949) is a British author of thrillers and historical novels who has sold more than 160 million copies of his works. Many of his books have achieved high ranking on best seller lists. For example, in the ...

's novel ''

The Pillars of the Earth ''The Pillars of the Earth'' is a historical novel by British author Ken Follett published in 1989 about the building of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge, England. Set in the 12th century, the novel covers the time between the ...

'' (1989) and its later game adaptation. The ship's sinking sets the stage for the entire background of the story, which is based on the subsequent civil war between Matilda (referred to as Maud in the novel) and Stephen. In Follett's novel, it is implied that the ship may have been sabotaged; this implication is seen in the

TV adaptation An adaptation is a transfer of a work of art from one style, culture or medium to another. Some common examples are: * Film adaptation, a story from another work, adapted into a film (it may be a novel, non-fiction like journalism, autobiography, ...

– even going so far as to show William Adelin assassinated whilst on a lifeboat – and the

video game adaptation An adaptation is a transfer of a work of art from one style, culture or medium to another. Some common examples are: * Film adaptation, a story from another work, adapted into a film (it may be a novel, non-fiction like journalism, autobiography ...

. * Ellen Jones, ''The Fatal Crown'' (1991) *

Sharon Kay Penman Sharon Kay Penman (August 13, 1945 – January 22, 2021) was an American historical novelist, published in the UK as Sharon Penman. She was best known for the Welsh Princes trilogy and the Plantagenet series. In addition, she wrote four medieval ...

describes the sinking in detail in her historical novel ''When Christ and His Saints Slept'' (1994). * The sinking of the ''White Ship'' is briefly referenced in Glenn Cooper's novel ''The Tenth Chamber'' (2010). * The ''White Ship'' sets the stage for the 2009 novel ' (The Brothers of Job) by the German author Rebecca Gablé, which details the rise of

Henry II of England Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...

, son of Empress Matilda. * The long conflict between Stephen and Matilda is important in the ''

Brother Cadfael Brother Cadfael is the main fictional character in a series of historical murder mysteries written between 1977 and 1994 by the linguist-scholar Edith Pargeter under the name "Ellis Peters". The character of Cadfael himself is a Welsh Benedic ...

'' series. This 20-book set of mysteries, by

Ellis Peters Edith Mary Pargeter (28 September 1913 – 14 October 1995), also known by her ''nom de plume'' Ellis Peters, was an English author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her transla ...

, has a 12th-century Benedictine monk as its protagonist. Depending on the book, the conflict is either very important or serves as a backdrop to the plots. The sinking directly affects the outcome of the short story "A Light on the Road to Woodstock".

Poetry

Felicia Hemans Felicia Dorothea Hemans (25 September 1793 – 16 May 1835) was an English poet (who identified as Welsh by adoption). Two of her opening lines, "The boy stood on the burning deck" and "The stately homes of England", have acquired classic statu ...

, "He Never Smiled Again", c. 1830 *

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti (), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhoo ...

, "The White Ship: a ballad"; first published 1881 in his collected ''Ballads and Sonnets''. *

Edwin Arlington Robinson Edwin Arlington Robinson (December 22, 1869 – April 6, 1935) was an American poet and playwright. Robinson won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry on three occasions and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature four times. Early life Robin ...

, "Ballad of a Ship", 1891 *

Geoffrey Hill Sir Geoffrey William Hill, FRSL (18 June 1932 – 30 June 2016) was an English poet, professor emeritus of English literature and religion, and former co-director of the Editorial Institute, at Boston University. Hill has been considered to be ...

, "The White Ship". In his first book, ''For the Unfallen'', 1959. * Franck K. Lehodey, "White Ship". A graphic novel, 2011.

Notes

References

{{coord missing, Atlantic Ocean Shipwrecks in the English Channel The Anarchy Duchy of Normandy 1120s in France 1120 in England 12th-century maritime incidents Medieval ships Henry I of England Ships of England Stephen, King of England