Summary of Charles Spencer's The White Ship

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

Book Preview: #1 Henry I, the king of England, was also the duke of Normandy. He had established strong rule over his lands by overcoming dangerously powerful enemies among the Anglo-Norman nobility. He was focused and uncompromising, and his ruthlessness and speed enabled him to seize the royal treasury before any rival even knew the crown was in play.

#2 The France of the early twelfth century was different from the republic of today. It included what is now Belgium, while the Roman Empire controlled Burgundy in the south-east and Lorraine in the east. The area that Louis VI of France truly dominated was more modest again, comprising the Île-de-France.

#3 The house of Normandy’s influence extended far beyond France during the reign of Richard the Fearless. Two of his daughters became duchess of Brittany and countess of Blois, while his eldest daughter, Emma, married Æthelred the Unready, King of England, in 1002.

#4 Robert the Magnificent, King of the Franks, died in 1035 on his way to Jerusalem to pray for forgiveness for his sins. He had left his son, William, as his successor. William was a duke by many of his subjects and overlord Henry I of France.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Mar 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669354628

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Insights on Charles Spencer's The White Ship

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

Henry I, the king of England, was also the duke of Normandy. He had established strong rule over his lands by overcoming dangerously powerful enemies among the Anglo-Norman nobility. He was focused and uncompromising, and his ruthlessness and speed enabled him to seize the royal treasury before any rival even knew the crown was in play.

#2

The France of the early twelfth century was different from the republic of today. It included what is now Belgium, while the Roman Empire controlled Burgundy in the south-east and Lorraine in the east. The area that Louis VI of France truly dominated was more modest again, comprising the Île-de-France.

#3

The house of Normandy’s influence extended far beyond France during the reign of Richard the Fearless. Two of his daughters became duchess of Brittany and countess of Blois, while his eldest daughter, Emma, married Æthelred the Unready, King of England, in 1002.

#4

Robert the Magnificent, King of the Franks, died in 1035 on his way to Jerusalem to pray for forgiveness for his sins. He had left his son, William, as his successor. William was a duke by many of his subjects and overlord Henry I of France.

#5

William was a devout Christian, and he made sure that Normandy embraced the key reforms that the papacy was starting to promote: he outlawed the buying and selling of clerical offices, and barred priests from marrying.

#6

In 1066, the Norman Duke William invaded England with a huge fleet, led by his wife Matilda’s ship the Mora. He claimed that King Edward the Confessor had selected him as his successor.

#7

The Bayeux Tapestry shows the Mora, the flagship of the Norman invasion fleet, with a mainsail of red and gold, and atop the mast fluttered the papal banner: white with a blue border and emblazoned with the golden cross of St Peter.

#8

The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066. It was a Norman