History Recap / BlackadderS1E1TheForetelling

** St. Ralph the Liar is given as one of history's great liars in the opening narration. Later on, it turns out the Battle of Bosworth Field takes place on Ralph the Liar's Day.

* EarlyBirdCameo: the Bishop of Bath and Wells is mentioned...no sign of him being a baby-eater yet.

* MilesGloriosus: After the battle, Blackadder claims to have killed nearly all of the Lancaster nobles.

--> '''Percy''': I'm going to use it to prove that I killed a nobleman!

-->'''Blackadder'''(seething with anger): And just ''whose'' head is that?

* GeniusBonus: Edmund, Percy and Baldrick's conversation about Edmund being very "witty" makes a lot more sense if you know "wit" was an Elizabethan euphemism for penis, and Edmund's enormous codpiece makes him VERY witty indeed!

-->''"History has known many great liars. Copernicus, Goebbels, St. Ralph the Liar. But there have been none quite so vile as the Tudor King Henry VII. It was he who rewrote history to portray his predecessor, [[RichardOfGloucester Richard III]], as a deformed maniac who killed his nephews in the Tower. But the real truth is that Richard was a kind and thoughtful man who cherished his young wards, in particular Richard, Duke of York, who grew into a big, strong boy. Henry also claimed he won the Battle of Bosworth Field and killed Richard III. Again, the truth is very different; for it was Richard, Duke of York, who became king after Bosworth Field, and reigned for thirteen glorious years. As for who really killed Richard III and how the defeated Henry Tudor escaped with his life, all is revealed in this, the first chapter of a history never before told: the history of... the Black Adder!"''

* [[ArentYouGoingToRavishMe Aren't You Going To Ravish Me?]]: Edmund's mother, upon hearing that Henry Tudor has won the battle of Bosworth resigns herself to being ravished by the conquering troops. When it turns out that Henry lost and the "enemy forces" Edmund is panicking over is his father returning she says wearily to her husband "So I suppose you are going ravish me?" to which he replies "In a moment dear, in a moment. The woman's insatiable..."

* GeniusBonus: Edmund, Percy and Baldrick's conversation about Edmund being very "witty" makes a lot more sense if you know "wit" was an Elizabethan euphemism for penis, and Edmund's enourmous codpiece makes him VERY witty indeed!

The story of The Black Adder begins with the Battle of Bosworth Field. King Richard III, actually a kind man who lavished love on his two nephews, fights alongside his nephew Richard, Duke of York and the Duke's son Harry. And then there's his other son Edmund, who, after obtaining the aid of the street smart peasant Baldrick and the dimwitted Lord Percy Percy, oversleeps on the day of the battle and then decides to abstain anyway upon getting a look at the carnage. He then kills a man who appeared to be stealing his horse, only to find it was actually the victorious King Richard. As he, Baldrick, and Percy dispose of the body, they come across the defeated Henry Tudor, but don't recognize him. As the Duke is crowned King Richard IV, Edmund is displeased to learn that Baldrick and Percy brought Henry, the one man who knows the truth, to the castle, but after hearing that he may reward them for helping him, his ego receives such a boost that on the spot he declares he'll be taking on a new title...The Black Vegetable! Luckily, Baldrick suggests The Black Adder would be a better choice, and he soon picks out an all-black outfit to fit his new image. At dinner that night, a portrait of Henry is brought out to be desecrated, and upon seeing it Edmund finally realizes who he's got in his bedroom. He races away to find that Henry has already escaped, and the vengeful ghost of Richard III conjures up a fog that foils Edmund's pursuit. But it's not a total loss, as he runs into three strange old women who declare that one day he will be king. He heads back to the castle, gleefully anticipating his destiny...and the women realize Henry Tudor was actually the man who passed them just before Edmund.

* BestialityIsDepraved: Edmund's attempt to hide his involvement in King Richard's death results in a (somewhat) unfortunate misunderstanding with the Queen.

* MyNameIsNotDurwood: And that's if his dad even remembers that Edmund is his son.

The story

* ButYouScrewOneGoat: Edmund's attempt to hide his involvement in King Richard's death results in a (somewhat) unfortunate misunderstanding with the Queen.

* [[ArentYouGoingToRavishMe Aren't You Going To Ravish Me?]]: Edmund's mother, upon hearing that Henry Tudor has won the battle of Bosworth resigns herself to being ravished by the conquering troops. When it turns out that Henry lost and the "enemy forces" Edmund is panicking over is his father returning she says wearily to her husband "So I suppose you are going ravish me?" to which he replies "In a moment dear, in a moment. The woman's insatiable..."

-->'''Richard:''' Precisely.

* ShoutOutToShakespeare: So often that the bard is credited with "additional dialogue." Speeches from Richard III and Henry V are parodied, Percy gets an AlasPoorYorick moment with Richard III's head, Harry says [[GoodnightSweetPrince "Good night, sweet king," ]] the three witches from MacBeth show up...you get the idea.

* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: When Edmund is asked how does he know King Richard is dead, he says: "Errr, well, I wouldn't know, really. I was...nowhere near him at the time. I... I just...heard from someone that he'd, er... er... I mean, I don't even know where he was killed. I was completely on the opposite side of the field. I was nowhere near the cottage. Not that it was a cottage - it was a river. But, then, I wouldn't know, of course, because I wasn't there."

* ShoutOutToShakespeare: So often that the bard is credited with "additional dialogue." Speeches from Richard III and Henry V are parodied, Percy gets an AlasPoorYorick moment with Richard III's head, Harry says [[ Good night, sweet king, GoodnightSweetPrince ]] the three witches from MacBeth show up...you get the idea.

* ShoutOuToShakespeare: So often that the bard is credited with "additional dialogue." Speeches from Richard III and Henry V are parodied, Percy gets an AlasPoorYorick moment with Richard III's head, Harry says [[Good night, sweet king, GoodnightSweetPrince]] the three witches from MacBeth show up...you get the idea.

* ShoutOuToShaekspeare: So often that the bard is credited with "additional dialogue." Speeches from Richard III and Henry V are parodied, Percy gets an AlasPoorYorick moment with Richard III's head, Harry says [Good night, sweet king, GoodnightSweetPrince]] the three witches from MacBeth show up...you get the idea.

* ShoutOut: Numerous times to [[WilliamShakespeare Shakespeare]].

-->History has known many great liars. Copernicus, Goebbels, St. Ralph the Liar. But there have been none quite so vile as the Tudor King Henry VII. It was he who rewrote history to portray his predecessor, [[RichardOfGloucester Richard III]], as a deformed maniac who killed his nephews in the Tower. But the real truth is that Richard was a kind and thoughtful man who cherished his young wards, in particular Richard, Duke of York, who grew into a big, strong boy. Henry also claimed he won the Battle of Bosworth Field and killed Richard III. Again, the truth is very different; for it was Richard, Duke of York, who became king after Bosworth Field, and reigned for thirteen glorious years. As for who really killed Richard III and how the defeated Henry Tudor escaped with his life, all is revealed in this, the first chapter of a history never before told: the history of... the Black Adder!