Edmund Blackadder: An Unreliable Witness? Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Edmund, "The Black Adder", is not much remembered by historians. In fact until his journals were discovered in 1982, he was completely unknown. However, his words challenge some commonly accepted truths of English history. For example, Edmund's great uncle was a much maligned English king, known to history and to Shakespeare as a usurper and a murderer. Who was this king, whom Edmund, by contrast, claimed was actually particularly fond of his nephews?

Answer: Richard III

King Richard was played in typically flamboyant style by legendary comic, Peter Cook. For much of the opening episode, Cook appeared only as a floating head, after his death at the battle of Bosworth Field.

2. History is written by the winners--but not always if Edmund is to be believed. Much of what we know of the period comes to us from the Tudor writers but according to the Blackadder journals, which of the following "truths" of history is actually a falsehood?

Answer: Henry Tudor won the Battle of Bosworth Field

Richard III won the battle of Bosworth Field and would have returned to his palace triumphant if it hadn't been for a little mishap when searching for a horse...

3. In the history recounted by "The Foretelling", who slayed Richard III?

Answer: Edmund, The Black Adder

Edmund, having overslept and missed the battle, was relieving himself in a bush when he saw a nobleman trying to take his horse. Protecting his property, Edmund raised his sword and smote the would-be thief with a blow so fierce and accurate that it took the man's head clean off. Proud of his achievement, Edmund lifted the dead man's visor only to discover, to his horror, that the man he had dispatched was none other than the king he had failed to turn up and fight for.

4. The history books say that the man who succeeded Richard III as king of England was Henry VII but according to "The Black Adder" this was not the case. Who became king in 1485 and ruled England for 13 years?

Answer: Richard IV

Richard probably had a louder voice than any English king before or since, as he was played by shouty thespian, Brian Blessed. The real Richard, nephew of Richard III, was one of the princes in the tower that disappeared shortly after the death of their father in 1483. Richard III is blamed by many for the disappearance but "The Black Adder" suggests that this is merely one of Henry Tudor's lies.

5. Fleeing the scene of battle and fearing all is lost, "The Black Adder" tells of his flight to a cottage where he encounters a man whom he later discovers is Henry Tudor. When Tudor discovers who Edmund is, what does he describe himself as?

Answer: A wealthy, modest person who wishes to remain nameless

Edmund acknowledges that he recognises Tudor's face. Tudor declares that he feels the same about Edmund and The Black Adder declares himself to be the son of King Richard IV. Horrified by the realisation of the tight spot he is now in, Tudor claims that he is "of no importance". Edmund questions whether that means he is not rich, leading Tudor to state his modest anonymity.

As Edmund is only concerned with the money, he pushes no more and Tudor is able to keep his identity hidden.

6. The diaries of "The Black Adder" reveal that, after the battle, Lord Percy had stowed Henry Tudor in Edmund's bedroom in order that they be handsomely rewarded by him once he had recovered. Tudor is nearly discovered by Edmund's mother. What does he do to prevent the queen from discovering his presence?

Answer: Bleats like a sheep

When the queen first knocks on the door of Edmund's bedroom, he is being visited by the ghost of the recently slain King Richard. Panicking that his treacherous murder of the king will be revealed, Edmund refuses to let her in. The queen asks whether he has someone in the bedroom with him. When Edmund responds "not as such", the queen asks, "it's not a sheep is it?"

Once Richard's ghost has departed, Edmund lets his mother in. As she approaches the bed, Tudor, having heard the prior conversation lets out a bleat. The queen looks crestfallen, turns to Edmund and says, "Oh Edmund. It's the lying I find so hurtful."

7. According to "The Black Adder", Prince Harry was responsible for recording the battle averages. Edmund lays claim to the despatch of several nobles, despite having missed the battle entirely. One of Edmund's claimed victims, Warwick the Wild of Leicester, surprises Harry particularly. Why?

Answer: Because Harry killed Warwick himself

Edmund is put on the spot when Harry asks him who he killed in the battle. Edmund first proffers Lord Coverdale, who Harry reminds him fought on the same side as him. Increasingly flustered, he looks to Baldrick for help. Baldrick mimes an effeminate man and Edmund recognises him as Warwick the Wild.

He puts his name forward to Harry with the words "..and pretty wild he was too. he took some finishing off I can tell you," to which Harry replies, "Yes, indeed -- I killed him myself at one point."

8. According to the man himself, who was the first person to come up with the name, "The Black Adder"?

Answer: Edmund, The Black Adder

The journal of Baldrick, discovered at the same time as those of his master, disputes this claim. Edmund had initially chosen the name "The Black Vegetable" but Baldrick suggested that "The Black Adder" had a more fearsome ring to it. However, Edmund then claimed to have had an even better idea - to call himself, "The Black Adder". To go with the new name, Edmund chose a new severe haircut and a new entirely black outfit with snake motif.

The very height of medieval fashion.

9. There is evidence that suggests that William Shakespeare was familiar with the story of Edmund Blackadder. One story that "The Black Adder" tells is similarly retold in Shakespeare's "Macbeth". Who or what does Edmund encounter in this story?

Answer: Three witches

The three witches proclaim that, much like Macbeth, Edmund will one day be king. Unlike Macbeth, Edmund is not discomfited but delighted by the news. However, it is later revealed that the witches had thought that Edmund was Henry Tudor!

There are many other references to Shakespeare in the opening episode. The witches are named Goneril, Regan and Cordelia, the same names as the three daughters in "King Lear" and two of Richard III's speeches in the course of the episode are heavily adapted from Shakespeare's play about the king. The final credits includes the line, "With additional dialogue by William Shakespeare."

10. Edmund Blackadder's name was lost to history until now. One of the reasons, suggested by his journal, was that his father called him by so many different names. What name did he call him by at the feast before the battle?

Answer: Edna

At the start of the banquet on the eve of battle, Richard had to ask who Edmund was, only to be told by his eldest son, Harry, that he was in fact, "your other son." A further inquiry as to his name was answered by Harry with a mouth full of chicken. Mishearing, Richard hailed him as "Edna".

Source: Author Snowman

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Gamemaster1967 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Discovery of a remarkable journal has unearthed a new voice in the history of England. If the chapter entitled "The Foretelling" is true then much of what we know of the late middle ages must be re-assessed. But is the Black Adder a reliable narrator?

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