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Historical Anomalies (Blackadder)Historical anomalies in the English sitcom, Blackadder. The Black Adder - 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 untill 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 upon request of their Uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Later, Richard III) in 1483.
- Had the series been correct, and the murders of Edward and Richard never taken place, it would have been Edward, not Richard III who would have been King in 1485, when the series begins. Edward's absence from the series could be explained by a premature death of natural causes, but even then, the throne would have gone to his brother Richard, rather than his Uncle Richard, who is King when the series begins.
- Reference is made to a famously homosexual Earl of Doncaster, a title which did not exist until 1663.
- Richard requests that Wessex have his troops dress up as Germans, so that he can invade his allies, the Swiss, and pillage Geneva. However, Germany as a nation-state was not formed until 1871, though the term was in use to refer to the geographic area and the peoples there.
- The Duke of Edinburgh is one of Edmund's titles. However the title was not created until after the union of Scotland and England.
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 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.
- In Money, the idea of having pokers shoved up the backsides of people was a medieval practice which Elizabeth I outlawed. Therefore, it would not be possible for the baby eating Bishop of Bath and Wells to threaten Edmund with it. On the other hand, he hardly seems a law-abiding sort.
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the Third Blackadder the Third, perhaps more than any of the other three series of Blackadder, suffers from inaccurate historical references.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.
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.
- 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 kingdom in 1798 and the king was restored in 1814.
Amy and Amiability Dual 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 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.
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, nobody called Rupert held this position during the 1914-18 conflict.
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