Sometimes storms and bad weather can have a profound effect on history, such an event happened on December 2nd, 1120.
On that during a very powerful storm the ship named The
White Ship crashes into rocks in the English Channel and sinks with all hands-on
board. Among those on board is Prince William Adelin, the only legitimate son and
heir of King Henry I This will lead to a succession crisis and civil war in
England.
The Norman Saxon nobility owns land in both France and
England and sailings between the two countries is very routine although this
sailing was late in the year, with the increased risk of bad weather. The ship
because it was being used for royal service was well fitted out. This did not
save it from disaster.
Henry I failed to produce another male heir and was forced
to pass the succession to his daughter Matilda. With all the confusion caused
when Henry died his nephew Stephen of Blois claimed the English throne in
1135. By one of those strange strokes of
fate Stephen should have been on the White Ship but he was poorly and did not
sail.
In medieval times eclipses of the Sun were seen as omens of
bad fortune, the eclipse of August 2nd, 1133, was such an eclipse, as it was
believed to have foretold the death of King Henry I of England in 1135 and all
the chaos that would follow.
England would be plunged into 19 years of civil war. This
period in English history is known as ‘The Anarchy’. This was the backdrop to
the TV series of Cadfael which was aired in the 1990s.
www.theramblingastronomer.co.uk
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