The Shipwreck that Broke England

Following the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, the new continental dynasty managed to successfully secure their rule over the kingdom. After the passing of King William the First in 1087, his three surviving sons entered into a period of on-and-off conflict over the succession to the English throne, but this fight was kept strictly within the royal family, and thus maintained their dynastic dominance over the kingdom, with William and his sons collectively ruling England for nearly seventy years. The crown eventually passed to the youngest son Henry in 1100, and for a time the rule of the dynasty appeared secure over their conquered territories. Henry, however, would prove to be the last Norman ruler of England from this direct male line to William the Conqueror, throwing the realm into chaos. This crisis came as a result of the infamous White Ship Disaster, which would have a profound effect on the trajectory of English history. Sources: Jones, Dan. The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England. Penguin Publishing Group, 2014. William of Malmesbury. Gesta Regum Anglorum: The History of the English Kings, vol. 1, ed. and trans. R.A.B. Mynors, R.M. Thomson, and M. Winterbottom, Oxford Medieval Texts, Clarendon Press, 1998. Music is all from the soundtrack of Mount and Blade: Warband, by Jesse Hopkins: Uncertain Homestead Travel Rhodok Outdoor Beautiful Land Travel Vaegir Lord's Hall Swadian