When The White Ship hit a rock near Barfleur on 25th November, 1120, she sank, killing all 300 noblemen on-board. Among the dead was Henry I’s one legitimate son, William Adelin, plunging the English throne into a dynastic crisis.

Like the Titanic, the vessel was considered the epitome of safety and prestige for its time, Captained by Thomas FitzSteven, whose father had piloted the boat that brought William the Conqueror to England. But, despite this pedigree, the crew and passengers’ decision to a) get drunk and b) race the King home sealed their doom.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover the plotting that unseated the next in line to the throne (because she was a GIRL); explain how a humble butcher was the sole survivor of the shipwreck; and consider why contemporaries thought it was all God’s work… 

Further Reading:

• ‘900 years since the White Ship disaster’ (British Library, 2020): https://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2020/11/white-ship.html

• ’Earl Spencer - The White Ship, the worst ever royal disaster’ (The Oldie, 2020): https://theoldie.co.uk/blog/the-900th-anniversary-of-the-worst-ever-royal-disaster

• ‘The White Ship by Charles Spencer’ (Brights of Nettlebed, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVKDHDgyTXY

#Medieval #Royals #Mistakes #Rowing #France

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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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