View source for William Adelin

{{Short description|Heir apparent of Henry I of England (1103–1120)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2024}}
{{Distinguish|William Clito}}
{{Infobox royalty
| title = [[Duke of Normandy]]
| image = Vilém syn.jpg
| spouse = {{marriage |[[Matilda of Anjou]] |June 1119}}
| house = [[House of Normandy|Normandy]]
| father = [[Henry I of England]]
| mother = [[Matilda of Scotland]]
| birth_date = 5 August 1103
| birth_place = [[Winchester]], [[Hampshire]], England
| death_date = 25 November 1120 (aged 17)
| death_place = near [[Barfleur]], [[Duchy of Normandy]]
}}
'''William Ætheling '''({{IPA|enm|ˈwiliəm ˈaðəliŋɡ|lang}}, {{IPA|ang|ˈæðeliŋɡ|lang}}; 5 August 1103 – 25 November 1120), commonly called '''Adelin''' (sometimes ''Adelinus'', ''Adelingus'', ''A(u)delin'' or other Latinised Norman-French variants of ''[[Ætheling]]''){{efn|''Adelin'' derives from the Germanic element ''adel'', meaning 'noble', and is equivalent to the [[Old English]] word {{lang|ang|æthele}} 'noble'. ''Adelinus'' is thus equivalent to the term "[[Ætheling]]" used for English princes prior to the [[Norman Conquest]]. The Latin term {{lang|la|clito}} (also meaning 'noble') was sometimes used instead, such as in the case of William Adelin's cousin, [[William Clito]]. See "Ætheling" in the ''Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England''<ref>{{Cite encyclopaedia |last=Miller |first=S. |title=Ætheling |encyclopaedia = The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England |publisher=Blackwell |year=2004 |isbn=0-631-22492-0 |editor-last1= Lapidge |editor-first1= Michael |location=Oxford |editor-last2=Blair |editor-first2=John |editor-last3= Keynes|editor-first3=Simon |editor-last4=Scragg |editor-first4=D. G.}}</ref> and the 1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica''.<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Ætheling |volume=1|page= 290}}</ref> }} was the son of [[Henry I of England]] by his wife [[Matilda of Scotland]], and was thus [[heir apparent]] to the English throne. His early death without issue caused a succession crisis, now known in English history as [[the Anarchy]].

==Early life==
William was born in [[Winchester]]. His father, King [[Henry I of England]], had married his mother, [[Matilda of Scotland]], to conciliate his English subjects. Matilda was descended from [[Edmund Ironside]] and was a great-niece of [[Edward the Confessor]]; as such, the marriage represented a union between the new Norman rulers of England and the old Anglo-Saxon dynasty.

Henry's hopes for his succession rested upon William, who was, according to [[Henry of Huntingdon]], "a prince so pampered" that he seemed "destined to be food for the fire."{{sfn|Meade|1991|page = }}

==Duke of Normandy==
During Henry I's lifetime, William was invested as Duke of Normandy, a title he held more in name than in practice. Henry made the investiture when he was pressed by the king of France, [[Louis VI of France|Louis VI]], to do [[Homage (feudal)|homage]] as [[Duke of Normandy]]. As a king in his own right, Henry was loath to comply, and in 1115 he offered to have William do this in his stead. This offer was eventually accepted in 1120, after an intervening period of war, and William did homage to Louis VI in the middle of 1120. For this reason, William is sometimes counted as Duke of Normandy (as either '''William III''' or '''William IV''').{{efn|[[William Clito]], son of Robert Curthose and William's first cousin, is also sometimes designated 'Duke of Normandy'.}} William received, as the heir to the throne, the homage and fealty of the barons of Normandy in 1115 and of the barons of England in March 1116.<ref name="odnb">{{Cite ODNB |last=Mason |first=J. F. A. |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/29453 |title=William (1103–1120) |year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/29453 }}</ref>

William's mother Queen Matilda served as Henry's regent in England while he was away in Normandy. After her death in 1118, William was old enough to serve in her stead. He was closely advised in this role by the King's administrators, such as [[Roger of Salisbury]]. During the last year or so of his life, he was sometimes referred to as ''rex designatus'' (king designate).

During his 35-year reign, [[Henry I of England]] faced several eruptions of hostilities due to the alliances of rival regions with some of his neighbours. To secure the loyalty of [[County of Anjou|Anjou]], a long-time rival of [[Normandy]], Henry betrothed William to [[Matilda of Anjou]], eldest daughter of Count [[Fulk of Jerusalem|Fulk V of Anjou]] in February 1113 near Alençon.<ref name=odnb/> Their marriage took place in June 1119 in [[Lisieux]].<ref name=odnb/>

==Death==
[[File:WhiteShipSinking.jpg|thumb|alt=Picture of White Ship|An early 14th-century depiction of the sinking of the ''[[White Ship]]'' at [[Barfleur]] on 25 November 1120]]
William died in the ''[[White Ship]]'' tragedy of 25 November 1120. The Duke and his companions had been crossing the English Channel from [[Barfleur]] in the ''Blanche-Nef'', the swiftest and most modern ship in the royal fleet. William and his party had remained drinking on the shore until after dark, confident that in a fast ship and on the still sea the delay would have no real effect. Consequently, it was the middle of the night when the drunken helmsman, captained by [[Thomas FitzStephen]], rammed the ship into a [[Quilleboeuf Rock|rock in the bay]].{{sfn|Meade|1991|page = }}<!-- William of Malmesbury, from Marion Meade, ''Eleanor of Aquitaine'' -->

The crew and passengers could not lever the ship off the rock, or prevent the ship from filling with water. William and several of his friends managed to launch a life-dinghy. At the last minute, William dashed back to rescue his illegitimate half-sister, [[Matilda FitzRoy, Countess of Perche]]. When they and several others threw themselves into the small dinghy, it, "overcharged by the multitude that leapt into her, capsized and sank and buried all indiscriminately in the deep."{{sfn|Meade|1991|page = }}<!-- William of Malmesbury, from Marion Meade, ''Eleanor of Aquitaine'' -->

[[Henry of Huntingdon]], speaking of the disaster, wrote that William, "instead of wearing embroidered robes{{nbsp}}... floated naked in the waves, and instead of ascending a lofty throne{{nbsp}}... found his grave at the bottom of the sea."{{sfn|Meade|1991|page = }}<!-- Henry of Huntingdon, quoted in ''Eleanor of Aquitaine'', Meade, Marion.--> William's wife, Matilda, was on another ship at the time of the wreck. William's death left the succession to his father uncertain. After King Henry died in 1135, William's sister [[Empress Matilda]] and cousin [[Stephen of Blois]] waged a long war for the English throne in what is known as [[The Anarchy]].

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Works cited===
*{{Cite book |last=Meade |first=Marion |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ihzvEQuyDQIC |title=Eleanor of Aquitaine|date=November 1991 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=9781101173930 }}
*{{cite DNB|wstitle=William (1103–1120)|display=William (1103–1120)}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite book |last=Hollister |first=C. Warren |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fApJih-hDTQC |title=Henry I |series=Yale Monarchs Series|date=January 2001 |isbn=0300098294|ref=none }}

{{S-start}}
{{S-hou|[[Dukes of Normandy|House of Normandy]]|5 August|1103|25 November|1120}}
{{S-reg}}
{{Succession box
|  before=[[Henry I of England|Henry I]]
|  title=[[Duke of Normandy]]
|  years=5 August – 25 November 1120
|  after=[[Henry I of England|Henry I]]
}}
{{S-end}}

{{Norman Dukes}}
{{Portal bar|Biography}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adelin, William}}
[[Category:1103 births]]
[[Category:1120 deaths]]
[[Category:12th-century dukes of Normandy]]
[[Category:English heirs apparent who never acceded]]
[[Category:English people of French descent]]
[[Category:English people of Scottish descent]]
[[Category:12th-century English people]]
[[Category:House of Normandy|William]]
[[Category:People from Winchester]]
[[Category:Deaths on the White Ship]]
[[Category:Children of Henry I of England]]
[[Category:Anglo-Normans]]
[[Category:Sons of kings]]
[[Category:English princes]]