Just started watching the series today. It's a good story that I'm enjoying, but I'm finding the historical inaccuracies hard to swallow.
First, the White Ship is depicted as a Cog. Most accounts describe it as a Norman Longboat (much like the Norse Longboats of the Normans ancestors). Second, no account I've read of the sinking ever mentioned a Fire...only that the boat foundered on partially submerged rocks.
It also shows Henry I being told of the disaster, while a 9 or 10 year old Matilda sits at his feet. In 1120, Matilda was 18 years old, and had already been married to the Holy Roman Emperor for 9 years.
Then, the show opens (after the sinking) in 1138.
In 1138, the Henry I had already been dead for 3 years (died in December, 1135), and there was already open warfare between Stephen and Maude (Matilda). That's a pretty glaring mistake that's hard for me to ignore.
It also shows Stephen present at court when Henry I dies. Stephen was not present.
It shows open hostility between Robert (Earl of Gloucester and illegitimate son of Henry I) and Stephen (Count of Blois and grandson of William I) even before Henry I dies. Not so. In fact, Robert actually declared fealty to Stephen after his seizure of the throne (much to Maudes' consternation), and only turned from him after more than a year of Stephens rule.
Stephens charactarisation is wrong also. Tony Curran's portrayal of Stephen casts him as a hard, ruthless opportunist. Contemporary descriptions of him, portray him as genial and friendly to the point of being considered soft. Case in point: Stephen very much wanted the aforementioned Robert of Gloucesters loyalty...wanted it so badly that he was willing to allow Robert to choose his oath. Rather than complete fealty, Robert vowed that he would remain faithful to Stephen, only as long as Stephen remained Faithful to him. A demand that would have found anyone in chains until they relented, had they been dealing with Henry I. This percieved softness of Stephens was one of the reasons why the Barons wanted him over Maude (besides the obvious fact of her being a woman). Maude was very much her fathers daughter, strongwilled and passionate. And her husband at the time, Geoffrey, Count of Anjou (as her first husband, the Holy Roman Emporer had already died), was a strong battlefield commander with a fiery temper. Also, being an Angevin, Geoffrey was a longtime enemy of the Normans. They didn't know if they would get Maude as Queen, or Geoffrey as King, but either possibility was unacceptable to them. The only reason they swore loyalty to Maude in the first place, was because Henry I would brook nothing else from his Barons. Nobody crossed Henry I.
All of the above is within the first ten minutes of the first episode! I haven't read the book that this was made from, so I can't attest to it's accuracy or inaccuracy. But as far as the mini-series goes, this doesn't bode well for accuracay throughout the rest of the series.
