Civil war erupted with violence and treachery that lasted years, tore apart families, laid waste to all England and Normandy, and involved not only English and Norman barons, but Welsh princes and the Scottish and French kings, all vying for power. However, after Henry’s death in 1135, anarchy occurred, as Henry’s nephew Stephen of Blois challenged Matilda’s claim, and many of the barons sided with him. The grief-stricken Henry, after realizing his second wife would provide him no heir, attempted to salvage his ruined plans for his kingdom’s future by appointing his strong-minded daughter, Matilda, to be his successor. Most of the passengers and crew were intoxicated from wine-soaked revels onboard, and when the ship struck Quilleboeuf rock one mile out of Barfleur, all were drowned in the freezing water save one. ![]() Known as the fastest ship afloat, it counted among its nearly 300 passengers prominent members of the clergy, high-ranking Anglo-Norman nobility, knights, a relative of the Holy Roman Emperor, and three of the king’s children, including his only legitimate son and heir, William Atheling. The sinking of the White Ship on the night of November 25, 1120, completely shattered Henry I’s dream of leaving a peaceful and united Anglo-Norman kingdom at his death. ![]() ![]() The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I’s Dream
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