Historical anomalies in Blackadder
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The British sitcom, Blackadder, takes place in various historical epochs. Although many actual historical figures are seen or mentioned in the series, this is not necessarily done in a strictly historical accurate manner. Since the show is a comedy, though, such anomalies should not be taken to be mistakes.
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The Black Adder
- The entire series is a secret history in which it is suggested that Henry Tudor was defeated at the Battle of Bosworth Field, and that after the death of Richard III at that time his nephew, Richard, Duke of York, one of the Princes in the Tower, succeeded him as Richard IV and reigned for thirteen years. In actual fact, of course, Henry won this battle and began his reign in 1485.
- It is claimed that Harry was born in 1460 and Edmund a year later. In reality, their 'father' King Richard (ala Prince Richard, Duke of York) was not born until 1474. This also means Richard would have been 11 when the Battle of Bosworth Field took place.
- It is believed that Richard, and his elder brother Edward were murdered, possibly upon request of their Uncle Richard III, in 1483.
- The series is rather unclear as to the manner of Richard III's taking the throne. If he did not depose his nephew Edward V, Edward would have remained king, and Richard would never have taken the throne. If he did, in fact, depose and disinherit his nephews, it is unclear why the younger Richard would be his heir at the time of Bosworth Field. (In actual fact, Richard's heir at the end of his reign was another nephew, John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln.)
- Reference is made to a famously homosexual Earl of Doncaster, a title which did not exist until 1663. A dying Duke of Winchester also makes an appearance, but that title, too, did not exist.
- The Duke of Edinburgh is one of Edmund's titles. However the title was not created until after the union of Scotland and England. In the credits to the episode "Born to Be King," however, it is suggested that Richard IV is also King of Scotland, which would explain his ability to grant Scottish fiefs to McAngus. (In actual history, the Kings of Scotland for the period of Richard IV's reign would be James III and James IV.
- In the episode "The Queen of Spain's Beard," various princesses who are betrothed to Prince Henry are listed. Many of them are princesses of countries which did not exist in the late fifteenth century.
- Richard IV is depicted as capturing Constantinople from the Turks with a fruit-knife. In fact, the Turks have never lost control of that city, which is now the Turkish city of Istanbul.
Blackadder II
- Blackadder threatens to call the police if Percy says 'hey nonny nonny'. Actually, the British police force was not established untill 1821, by Sir Robert Peel
- In Bells, Nursie describes Sir Thomas More as having been present at Elizabeth's birth. In fact, More had already been imprisoned some months before Elizabeth's birth in September 1533, and given his antipathy to Elizabeth's mother Ann Boleyn, it is rather unlikely he would have been there even if he had been at liberty to do so.
- In Head, Blackadder says 'I've been on this paltry, boring planet for thirty years...'. Few Elizabethans believed the theory that the Earth is a planet (and Copernicus was condemned as a great liar in the introduction to The Foretelling). Of course Blackadder could be one of those believers.
- Also in Head, Nursie refers to Elizabeth I's "sister Mary" having been beheaded. Elizabeth's sister Mary I of England died of influenza. She is often confused with her contemporary cousin Mary Queen of Scots who was beheaded, but one would expect Nursie to know the difference between the death that brought her mistress to the throne and one that Elizabeth ordered. On the other hand Nursie is senile.
- In Potato, Sir Walter Raleigh refers to an expedition begun in 1552. The historical Raleigh was born in 1554.
- Also in Potato, Raleigh states that nobody has ever gone around the Cape of Good Hope. In fact, it had been done by Bartolomeu Dias in the late 15th century.
- The Earl of Essex is several times mentioned as having been already executed by the Queen. However, Essex was not executed until 1601, nearly the end of the Queen's reign, while the Queen is depicted as a young woman throughout the series.
- Among those whom Blackadder is to execute in Head are Sir Francis Drake and Lord Effingham, the historical victors against the Spanish Armada. Neither of these men were executed during Elizabeth's reign, and Lord Howard of Effingham, indeed, lived well into the reign of her successor
Blackadder the Third
Blackadder the Third, perhaps more than any of the other three series of Blackadder, suffers from inaccurate historical references. Many originate from a lack of clarity as to exactly when it is set. The sleeve for a recent DVD release states that the period is "1760-1815" and the series embraces people and events right throughout this era and beyond, often with little regard for chronology or whether the individuals' lives overlapped. Some have assumed that the series is set during the Regency (1811-1820) but this is by no means clear. This was perhaps a result of a lack of clarity over the period which Prince George reigned as regent, and the period prior to this where he was the Prince of Wales, on the part of the writers Richard Curtis and Ben Elton or else a willingness to ignore precise historical accuracy. Actor Tony Robinson has commented on the popular degree of ignorance about Georgian Britain, compared to Elizabethan England, and the creators possibly felt unbound to follow strict historical accuracy. Although this is of little significance to the overall quality of the series, it is still, perhaps, interesting to note.
General notes
- There are a number of references in many episodes to Prince George as the "Prince Regent". In reality George was only Prince Regent from 1811.
- George's father, George III is referred to on several occasions as being mad. George III suffered his first attack of what is now believed to be porphyria in 1765, but it was not until 1788 that he suffered a more prominent attack. In 1810 he suffered a further attack and from the following year was declared permanently insane in 1811.
- Prince George is portayed as thin and young, when, if it is set during the Regency, by this point he was actually in his early fifties and very, very fat. Bizarrely, jokes are made about his weight which, while appropriate for the real Prince, seem out of place when describing Hugh Laurie.
Dish and Dishonesty
- This episode features William Pitt the Younger becoming Prime Minister, played by a teenage boy. However, Pitt became Prime Minister in 1783 and died in 1806, 5 years before George became Prince Regent. (It is also worth noting that he was 24 years old, not a teenage boy, when he first became Prime Minister, but that was clearly a joke, taken from the contemporary lines ""a sight to make all nations stand and stare: a kingdom trusted to a schoolboy's care," and should probably go without saying.)
- Upon becoming Prime Minister, Pitt declares his determination to go to war with France and Napoleon Bonaparte, however in reality war did not break out until 10 years into Pitt's premiership and before Bonaparte had risen to power. By this point the French Revolution had taken place - see below.
- The start of the episode refers to a general election having just taken place, but Pitt did not become Prime Minister until three years into the Parliament, calling the 1784 general election after his appointment.
- Mr Blackadder claims that Pitt took over from his father, William Pitt the Elder as Prime Minister. However, in reality, their respective premierships were separated by fifteen years and Pitt the Elder died five years before his son's appointment. Blackadder also claims that the Elder Pitt was an ineffective Prime Minister, which is at odds with many historical perceptions of him.
- "Lord Nelson" is referred to in this episode, but Nelson was not enobled until 1798, 15 years after the Younger Pitt first became Prime Minister.
- Blackadder states that Manchester has an electorate of 3 (despite a population of 60,000). However Manchester was not enfranchised at all before 1832.
- Pitt refers to speaking to "Chancellor Metternich at the Congress of Strasbourg". However Metternich did not rise to power until 1809, three years after Pitt's death, and to the position of Foreign Minister, whilst Pitt did not travel abroad to conduct diplomacy.
- Blackadder calls Pitt the "Lord Privy Toastrack", after the position of Lord Privy Seal. However Pitt was instead First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer, though his father was formally Lord Privy Seal during his premiership.
- Pitt has a younger brother active in politics (humourously referred to as "Pitt the Even Younger") however in real life James Pitt died in 1780 before Pitt first entered Parliament, although Pitt's older brother Lord Chatham was a notable politician of the period.
Ink and Incapability
- The episode features Robbie Coltrane playing the great literary figure Dr Samuel Johnson as he completes his dictionary. However, Johnson completed the work in 1755, before Prince George was even born, and died in 1784.
- Also featured as Johnson's followers are the poets Shelley, Coleridge and Byron. However Coleridge was only 12 when Johnson died whilst the other two were not yet born. None of them, at any rate, much cared for Johnson.
- Johnson states that his mother died and his wife had affairs whilst he worked on the dictionary. In reality his wife died early on during his work whilst his mother died four years afterwards.
Nob and Nobility
- The episode is set during the French Revolution, which took place between 1789 to about 1799. If the episodes are assumed to occur in chronological order, this also means the revolution happens after Pitt the Younger calls for war with Napoleon.
Sense and Senility
- Blackadder comments on how the French Revolution has cost Louis XVI his head, setting the episode after 1793.
- Prince George refers to his "future queen" as though he is not yet married. Regardless of chronological order this implies the episode is set before 1795 (see below).
- Blackadder looks at the Situations Vacation section of a newspaper and reads out three positions, but all of them are from different periods:
- "Mr. and Mrs. Pitt are looking for a baby-minder to take Pitt the Younger to Parliament." However the Younger Pitt's mother became Lady Chatham in 1761 when he was only two years old, and his father the Earl of Chatham in 1766 when his son was six. Additionally his father was dead before he first entered Parliament in 1781. (Again, the reference to baby-minders and Pitt's age is a joke.)
- "A fellow called George Stephenson has invented a moving kettle" presumably a reference to Blucher, not invented until 1814 (after Pitt's death).
- Napoleon Bonaparte is looking for someone to be King of Sardinia. Napoleon conquered the larger mainland (Piedmont) portion of the kingdom in 1798, but never the island itself, and the king was restored to his full dominions in 1814.
Amy and Amiability
- Prince George is not yet married. In reality he secretly married Maria Anne Fitzherbert in 1785, though this was illegal under the Royal Marriages Act 1772 and he would have reasons not to mention it. In 1795 he publicly married Caroline of Brunswick (who is mentioned as a prospective bride for him in the show).
Duel and Duality
- The Duke of Wellington and Blackadder discuss the movements of Horatio Nelson, Blackadder suggesting that Trafalgar would be a good place for a naval battle with Napoleon. It is mentioned that Wellington triumphed six months earlier, but Britain is at war with Napoleon at the time of the episode. This victory would most logically be the Battle of Vittoria (June 21 1813) (although that was nearly two years before Napoleon's Hundred Days), but could refer to the Battle of Waterloo. At any rate, the episode must be set no earlier than 1814, when Wellesley became Duke. However, the Battle of Trafalgar, in which Nelson was killed, took place about a decade earlier in 1805.
- Wellington claimed he would 'mention [Blackadder's plan] to Nelson'. In reality, the two only met once. The encounter, in Lord Castlereagh's waiting room, occurred the day before Nelson left for Trafalgar.
- The book The Prince and the Pauper is mentioned. This novel was written by Mark Twain in 1881, more than 70 years after the series is set.
- George III is portrayed with a very strong Germanic accent. In reality English was his first language and he never set foot in Germany.
- At the end of the episode, Blackadder assumes the identity of Prince George while the real Prince dies. The opening credits show Blackadder as born in 1760 and dying in 1827. However, if George IV was really Blackadder, Blackadder must have lived to 1830.
Blackadder Goes Forth
- In the second episode "Corporal Punishment", Captain Blackadder simulates radio interference by impersonating crosstalk, and this includes a song and then weather report from a commercial radio station but the first commercial radio station (KDKA) began in 1920.
- In the second episode "Corporal Punishment", Blackadder reads aloud a letter from George to his family which refers to his Great Uncle Rupert becoming Minister of War. However the position was a Secretary of State, not a Minister (titles such as "Minister of..." only began to be used to senior British ministers from midway during the First World War) and nobody called Rupert held this position during the 1914-18 conflict.
Blackadder: The Cavalier Years
- Charles I is depicted as in hiding when the story begins, in 1648. In fact, Charles had been captured by Parliamentary forces two years earlier, in 1646.
- At the end of the sketch, Blackadder has been given Charles's son to watch after. The son is depicted as an infant, but the historical Charles II was already 19 years old at the time of his father's death.