Section 47. THE WHITE SHIP. (A.D. 1120.) I.
Reading edition
King Henry I went[1] over to Normandy with his son Prince (S. 10, N. 2) William and a great retinue, to have the prince acknowledged[2] as his successor by the Norman nobles, and to contract[3] the promised marriage between him and the daughter of the count of Anjou. When both[4] these things had been done with great show[5] and rejoicing, the whole retinue prepared[6] to embark for the voyage home.
When[7] all was ready, there came to the king Fitz-Stephen[8], a sea-captain, and said: “My[9] liege, my father served your father all his life, upon the sea. He steered[10] the ship[11] with the gold boy upon the prow, in[12] which your father sailed[13] to conquer England. I beseech you to grant[14] me the same office. I[15] have a fair vessel in the harbour here, called the White Ship, manned by fifty sailors of renown. I pray you, Sire[16], to[17] let your servant have the honour of steering[18] you in the White Ship to England.”