History WMG / Blackadder

[[WMG: Most of the show's cast are actually [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreed sages]]]]

That would be Mr. Pinkworth, the mean boss in ''Film/BernardAndTheGenie''. He's only concerned with making money, and fires employees who suggest it should be given to those in need. And also fires those who think he was hard on the people who made said suggestion in the first place. Classic Blackadder behaviour.

They are both played by Creator/RikMayall, after all. Most likely, after Philip of Burgundy was killed, a female relation took pity on poor Gerald (who'd only been locked up due to his being another of Philip's rivals) and nursed him back to health and a modicum of sanity ... and then married him in order to keep the family line going. The combination of Burgundy's swashbuckling nature and Gerald's looks and stamina (what else could you call the ability to cackle for months at a time?) gave rise to the Flashheart bloodline. Since Philip's family were nobility, they ended up with a peerage.

[[HospitalHottie Nurse Mary]] as a result of her torrid affair with Edmund, falls pregnant shortly after. Presumably, he and Percy do manage to save her from the firing squad, but she refuses to see him because of what he put her through and he respects her wishes and leaves her be, neither one of them realizing she is pregnant until well after his (probable) death. She later gives birth to a son and not wanting him to be raised with the stigma of being a bastard, pretends to have been (discreetly) married to Edmund and gives him the surname "Blackadder", who then goes on to keep the family line going throughout the centuries, which accounts for why there are Blackadders well into the future despite the events of ''Series/BlackadderGoesForth''.

[[WMG: Most of the show's cast are actually [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreed sages]]

Each of them has a gene that provides the appearance and memories of a different Isu. The various iterations of Blackadder are in fact unrelated, but instead are people who all happened to have a sage gene from a different Isu.
* This actually explains a few things, like how people who were never shown to have kids are able to have "descendants" in later eras. Three of the four Blackadders died before having any confirmed children, and Queen Elizabeth I has a descendant in the 20th century despite famously never producing an heir. It also explains why they all look and act very similar- it's a result of the genetic memories taking over their old identity.
* Baldrick was a really incompetent and annoying Isu that Juno decided no one would miss, so she used him as a guinea pig to test her memory cloning efforts before trying them on Aita. Unfortunately the gene got out and mixed up with human DNA. Most who have this gene find themselves losing all common sense and rationality, but the medieval Baldrick managed to resist the change just enough to retain some intelligence. For an unknown reason, Blackadder and Baldrick's genes have a tendency to activate when they're in proximity to each other.
* Queenie was a spoiled rich kid who loved to flaunt her power and family connections. She misunderstood the process of making sages and thought it would be a way of staying immortal through the apocalypse. This is also why her sages show super entitled behaviour.
* Melchett was a stuffy military leader who tried to crush the human rebellions, but didn't really know what he was doing as he had never fought them before, similar to General Melchett. His Elizabethan sage managed to hold onto his old identity outside of the name. The stress of keeping his memories from being overriden alongside keeping the Queen's favour drove him to take out a lot of his frustration on Blackadder, hence their rivalry.

As everyone knows, Blackadder's timeline/continuity leaves a lot to be desired. So there's no reason why they can't air the episodes out of order. In the beginning of "Ink and Incapability" (the second episode of the third series), George has just woken up from a nightmare involving being mistreated and then shot dead. At the end of the episode, Blackadder's novel has been destroyed and he's still just a butler who looks incredibly depressed. This makes his status both ''Blackadder's Christmas Carol'' and ''Blackadder goes Forth'' more plausible.
* It is also of note that Pitt the Younger becomes Prime Minister in episode one and Pitt the Elder is alluded t as being the Prime Minister in a later episodes (he's referred to as an "old fart"), which is the wrong way round.

So, here's the theory: upon hearing the three witches (who've mistaken him for Henry Tudor) proclaim that he will one day be king, Prince Edmund rides away triumphantly and decides to celebrate ... by getting incredibly drunk and having sex with a woman -- probably a prostitute or a peasant (or even a peasant prostitute) -- and only identifies himself by his new ''nom de guerre'' "The Black Adder". Nine months later this woman gives birth to a boy, and she gives him the surname "Blackadder".

Twelve or thirteen years later when the royal family is wiped out and Henry Tudor re-emerges to take the throne, she realises that her son is the bastard son of the late Prince Edmund -- perhaps she even meets the original Baldrick, who tells her about working for The Black Adder, and pieces it together from there. In order to keep the new claimant quiet, Henry VII gives the boy a lordship and has him raised in the court, and thus he becomes the first Lord Blackadder. He ends up marrying and having several children (at least three sons: Lord Edmund's father, Uncle Osric and Lord Whiteadder), and later grandchildren (including, of course, Lord Edmund).
** Alternatively, Henry VII grants the boy lordship as a way of indirectly repaying the Black Adder for saving his life at the Battle of Bosworth Fields. Granted he did so unknowingly for selfish reasons, but to Henry Tudor it might have seemed a step up from the rest of his family. This would also mean that Baldrick was right and Tudor would reward them, albeit not in a way they would live to see- he's allowing Blackadder's name to live on while wiping everything else of Richard IV's reign from the records.

[[WMG: Richard, Duke of York, had initially relinquished his claim to the throne.]]

This is to address the oddity of Richard III having the throne despite his older brother's son still being alive. Richard had relinquished it at first so he could go off fighting in wars whenever he liked. He only took the claim back when it was clear Richard III would not have heirs, allowing Richard III to finish his reign before asserting his rights as the rightful heir. (Precedent: Queen Anne allowed her brother in law William III of William and Mary fame to finish his reign before claiming the throne, despite him being further down the line and Mary the one who rightfully inherited the throne, meaning the throne should have gone to Anne when Mary died, William be damned.)
* Alternately, Edward V died young and without issue. Richard Duke of York was indeed crowned Richard III, but was so young that he required a regent, his uncle Richard of Gloucester. As time passed and Richard Duke of York showed more interest in warfare than statecraft, Richard of Gloucester acquired more power, and eventually people just started regarding him as the true Richard III, including himself and the rightful king, Richard Duke of York. He only started ruling when Richard III died. And because everyone forgot that Richard Duke of York was crowned already, he was technically crowned twice.
* Come to think of it, Richard IV's own heir Henry was the one who crowned him, and it's entirely likely he grew up believing Richard III was the rightful king.

Why did they lay on an extra seventh goblet in 'The Black Seal'? They obviously didn't know that Edmund was a captive of the Black Seal.

But he died anyway from the poison -- as she'd already been poisoned by that point, she couldn't save him.

[[WMG: Percy's lineage ended with him because...]]

* He actually did discover how to turn one element into another. That "green" was [[GreenRocks radioactive]] and it sterilized him.

* They are played by the same actor. Ludwig may have been in England as he was making plans for "Chains", and had integrated himself into court.

[[WMG:The stinger in the last episode of Blackadder II, "Chains," is not real]]

[[WMG: Actually, Captain Darling fought in the front line before the start of the series.]]

He's evidently General Melchett's assistant throughout 1917, but he has no actual reason ''not'' to be in the trenches. His facial twitch could be caused by a trauma caused earlier in the war. It could be that he was in the same position as Blackadder but something terrible happened while in the trenches (enemy attack, surviving going over the top, etc) leaving him traumatised and transferred to being a [[PostInjuryDeskJob pencil-pusher for the General]]. course, this doesn't save him in the end though...
* Perhaps he once saved Melchett's life as Blackadder did for Haig. Of course, he knows that this won't save him from action, hence his attempts to get transferred to the Women's Auxiliary Balloon Corps.
* It does look like he's got a couple of medals under his belt. Unlike in the U.S. Military, medals and ribbons aren't handed out for every little thing, that's pretty plausible.
* I'd second that. Darling has a Military Cross on him, which is awarded for 'acts of exemplary gallantry'. That puts an interesting question mark on George's Military Cross and Croix de Guerre, but Darling being a former frontline commander makes sense to me.

** Are there any wound stripes on Darling's uniform? If so, then that's a sign that he did serve on the front line, and a good reason why he would be transferred to Melchett's staff.

** On the other hand, Darling's medal ribbons include the Military Cross and the Queen's South Africa Medal, which suggests that he's a Boer War veteran who was at some point decorated for bravery. He could've left the Army at some point after the Boer War and become a reservist, and as such was recalled to the Army in 1914.

[[WMG: Gregory Series/{{House}} is a descendant of Prince George.]]

* Either that, or he is Lieutenant George's ancestor. Part of the family moved to America some time after WWI and Gregory somehow inherited all of the family's brain cells...

[[WMG: The first series is based on a TakeThat written by Creator/WilliamShakespeare.]]

''The Black Adder'' was in fact a play he wrote with a view to discrediting the ancestors of Lord Blackadder, as revenge for Blackadder punching him in the face during ''Back and Forth'' (he assumed, as Elizabeth I did, that the time-travelling Lord Blackadder and the Elizabethan one were the same person). There's even a clue in the credits for the first series, which lists Shakespeare as having provided "additional dialogue"!

* Over the years, members of this family married into other families in the Blackadder 'verse. Genetically, this has resulted in quite a few people who look like Lord Flash but act like other characters...
** [[Series/TheNewStatesman Alan B'Stard]] is the result of a Flashheart marrying a Blackadder.
** [[Series/{{Bottom}} Richard Richard]] is the result of a Flashheart marrying a Baldrick.

[[WMG: Amy in Amy and Amiability and Nurse Mary are descended from Queen Elizabeth]]

After all, Amy seems to retain many of Queenie's cuckoolander traits, and her casual attitude towards violence and Nurse Mary retains the soppyness-hiding-deviousness of Amy. And of course, this would eventually lead to the Elizabeth of Back and Forth
* Except those traits were all just an act.
* Elizabeth was a pretty tough cookie underneath the fluffy bunny exterior too. This makes perfect sense.

''Blackadder Christmas Special'' must take place between 1840 and 1861, because Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are married. ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' ends in 1917, and cannot start any earlier than 1914. Captain Blackadder looks to be no more than 45, meaning he was probably not born any earlier than 1869. We know from the visions that Ebenezer will have descendants, and if he becomes a big meanie in the aftermath of being visited by the spirit of Christmas, then he has at least eight years to amass a fortune and have a kid, and probably more. As for what sort of woman would be willing to marry him, money is a great aphrodisiac.
* Presumably, Ebenezer named his son after his Elizabethan and Georgian ancestors. As for what Captain Edmund is more sympathetic than the others, it may be a side-effect of Ebenezer not being used to being a meanie.

[[WMG: The Blackadder and Flashheart lines eventually mixed, the results being (in the far future...)]]

...Literature/CiaphasCain, a man with Captain Blackadder's views of war and Flashheart's flair for capturing the hearts of the soldiers.

[[WMG: ''Series/TheNewStatesman'' is set in the same universe as ''Blackadder]].

Alan B'Stard is the result of a Flashheart marrying a Blackadder. He's inherited the looks from one side of the family, and the cunning ruthlessness from the other.

The Baron's kids moved to London at some point, coincidentally the same part of town where the Flashhearts lived. [[Series/{{Bottom}} Hammersmith]], to be precise. One of the latter married a Baldrick, culminating in the cowardly, stupid Richard Richard -- who's friends with one Edward Elizabeth Hitler.
** Another two descendants of the Baron and Flashheart end up attending [[Series/TheYoungOnes Scumbag College]] together.

[[WMG: The first series is based on a TakeThat written by Creator/WilliamShakespeare.]]

The first series is based on a play written by Shakespeare, who wrote it to discredit Blackadder's ancestors, as revenge for Blackadder punching him hard in the face during ''Back and Forth''. He's even credited with "additional dialogue"!

And this is how he became king at the end of Back and Forth.

** Elizabeth I did hint at having a crush on Blackadder at one point. And if he was able to bring her more Polos, she'd be all over him.

Originally, Blackadder was killed in the duel and the Blackadder line continued through an illegitimate son, hence Captain Blackadder's reduced fortunes. The ending we saw was the revised timeline created by the ''Back and Forth'' Blackadder, who saw to it that his ancestor survived and became King, setting the scene for his own place on the throne. Edmund-pretending-to-be-the-prince eventually sent for said illegitimate son, not trusting anyone but a Blackadder as his heir and passing the boy off as his son from the rose bush. ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' still happened as we saw, but Captain Blackadder got more respect for being related to the king.

The Blackadder in ''Back and Forth'' had a son with Queen Marian of Sherwood. That son later used his father's time machine to go on adventures, during which he met a Time Lady. He married the Time Lady, and they had a son, who looked like a long-haired Blackadder when he grew up. This Blackadder ended up with his own TARDIS. On one of his adventures, he encountered Cybermen who had recently encountered the Eighth Doctor. The Cybermen altered this Blackadder's memories with an infostamp and made him believe that he was The Doctor, just like what happened to Jackson Lake in "The Next Doctor." When he looked in a mirror, he noticed how different he looked from the Eighth Doctor and concluded that he had regenerated into his ninth incarnation. He met and fell in love with his companion Emma and encountered The Master, who had somehow gotten a new body since the 1996 ''Doctor Who'' TV movie. The Blackadder who believed that he was The Doctor ended up regenerating a few times until he was a woman. While he believed that this was his thirteenth incarnation (since he believed that he was The Doctor), it was actually his fifth incarnation. He went off with The Master but later discovered, possibly with the help of the real Doctor, that his memories had been altered. Blackadder regenerated into a man once again and returned to Emma to marry her, while The Master later went on to become Professor Yana after The Last Great Time War.

They are both played by Rik Mayall, after all. Most likely, after Philip of Burgundy was killed, a female relation took pity on poor Gerald (who'd only been locked up due to his being another of Philip's rivals) and nursed him back to health and a modicum of sanity ... and then married him in order to keep the family line going. The combination of Burgundy's swashbuckling nature and Gerald's looks and stamina (what else could you call the ability to cackle for months at a time?) gave rise to the Flashheart bloodline. Since Philip's family were nobility, they ended up with a peerage.

* This is an old fan theory. Edward is only seen briefly in one scene as a child, and is otherwise never mentioned again. Chiswick is a title, not his actual name. Chiswick has shaggy hair and beard, as Richard does. Chiswick is also often seen with Richard, and seems very loyal to him.

[[WMG: The first series is based on a TakeThat written by Shakespeare.]]
* The first series is based on a play written by Shakespeare, who wrote it to discredit Blackadder's ancestors, as revenge for Blackadder punching him hard in the face during ''Back and Forth''.

[[WMG: The first Blackadder is relieved of all pain and healed by his mother's witchcraft.]]

[[WMG: The closing theme songs are Blackadder's own thoughts about the events.]]
And yes, this is obvious, but not officially confirmed yet that I know of. Considering how frequently the songs call him scum and mock him, that makes it all rather sad.

As everyone knows, Blackadder's timeline/continuity leaves a lot to be desired. So there's no reason why they can't air the episodes out of order. In the beginning of the second episode of S3, George has just woken up from a nightmare involving being mistreated and then shot dead. At the end of the episode, Blackadder's novel has been destroyed and he's still just a butler who looks incredibly depressed. This makes his status both in the Christmas Carol and Blackadder goes Forth more plausible.

It is also of note that Pitt the Younger becomes Prime Minister in episode one and Pitt the Elder is Prime Minister in some latter episodes, the wrong way round.

* However, looking at the paintings and biography of the historical George IV, his personality and appearance resemble Blackadder more than they do Prince George. Therefore, it's possible that Blackadder became king as "George" and edited the historical records to take out all mentions of the real George.

* The Duke was suspicious from the off that "Prince George" (Blackadder) seemed to be a reasonable and intelligent man, while "Blackadder" (the real Prince George) was clearly an incompetent dolt, despite having heard that the opposite was true. However, since he lacked any real proof that anything was going on and the "Prince" made a good suggestion when he suggested attacking Napoleon at Trafalgar, he decided not to say anything. After the actual Prince blew the lid on the whole thing however, the Duke realised just how disastrous it would be for such an idiotic fop to be Britain's future king, and that a man of Blackadder's intelligence and seeming bravery in fighting the duel on his master's behalf would be a far more worthy monarch. He therefore took the opportunity to eliminate the actual Prince and set up Blackadder as the incumbent Prince Regent and the future King George IV.

After assuming the role of the Prince of Wales, Blackadder began to indulge in everything he couldn't get as a lowly butler- fine wines, good food, opium, sexy girls, etc. Since he now had everything he wanted in his grasp, he became less and less inclined to use his cunning and wound up being the BrilliantButLazy AdiposeRex that history remembers "George IV" as.

[[WMG: Captain Blackadder is secretly a badass]]
* His disobedience of orders is not cowardice but is part of a "cunning plan." By not risking his life, Captain Blackadder was, in fact, looking out for the good of the company under his command. Edmund would have no second thoughts about doing his duty if it weren't for the fact that if he were killed George would be promoted to company commander and become '''Captain''' Colthurst St Barleigh who would likely order the company into a disaster. Alternatively, Darling would be transferred to the front as his replacement and Darling, also lacking in battlefield sense, would implement orders from HQ without questioning them. By Edmond staying alive he helps keep the rank and file men under his watch alive as best as he can.

[[WMG: Captain Darling already fought in the front line.]]
* He was evidently General Melchett's clerk throughout 1917, but he has no actual reason not to be in the trenches. However, the twitch could be caused by a trauma caused earlier in the war. It could be that he was in the same position as Blackadder but something terrible happened while in the trenches (enemy attack, surviving going over the top etc.) leaving him with a twitch and trauma, [[PostInjuryDeskJob causing him to become a pencil-pusher for Melchett due to him being incapable of fighting]]. [[spoiler:Of course, this doesn't save him in the end though...]]
** Perhaps he once saved Melchett's life as Blackadder did for Haig. Of course, he knows that this won't save him from action, hence his attempts to get transferred to the Women's Auxiliary Balloon Corps.
** It does look like he's got a couple of medals under his belt. Unlike in the U.S. Military, medals and ribbons aren't handed out for every little thing, that's pretty plausible.
** I'd second that. Darling has a Military Cross on him, which is awarded for 'acts of exemplary gallantry'. That puts an interesting question mark on George's Military Cross and Croix de Guerre, but Darling being a former frontline commander makes sense to me.
*** The medals don't prove anything. Staff officers would receive medals with more regularity than front line troops (I recommend reading Tommy by Richard Holmes as he covers this). George's MC was probably won fairly. Foreign medals were issued amongst the Entente forces on a quota basis and units were able to put forward troops without citation. It's not inconceivable that Darling was a combatant at some point but Tim [=McInnerny=] has stated that his twitch was caused by a life time of having the piss taken out of him because of his surname.
*** Are there any wound stripes on Darling's uniform? If so, then that's a sign that he did serve on the front line, and a good reason why he would be transferred to Melchett's staff.

* Prior to the outbreak of the war they both enjoyed cushy jobs as junior officers. However, war broke out and the two, quickly horrified by the needless slaughter they witnessed on the Western Front, found themselves being forced to compete for the "honour" of commanding a front-line infantry company. Both men quickly resorted to trying to ensure that the other one got the infantry assignment and became enemies as a result. Ultimately, Darling succeeded in leaving the front by become a staff officer, which is what made a jealous Blackadder (who ended up with the infantry assignment by default) come to ''really'' hate him. When Darling gets sent back to the front in the final episode, they (sort-of) reconcile in the face of their impending deaths.

Now before you decide this is insane remember that each of the characters is descended directly from previous incarnations, Melchett in Blackadder 2 was a member of the clergy and presumably took vows of chastity. Also the only thing Melchett was ever sexually involved with was a sheep (although actually prince Ludwig in disguise)Presuming this was not a once in a life time event the only thing Melchett may have ever had sex with were sheep.
Secondly General Melchett say's "Baaaah" quite often for no determinable reason.
* Elizabeth really did not like Catholics (both in the series and in real life) so Melchett, as one of her most trusted friends, must be a Protestant clergyman and so free to take a wife.
* How does this account for the Roman General Melchett who also says "Baaaah" (or rather, [[CanisLatinicus "Baaaah-us"]])?

[[WMG:George used to attend the school in [[Series/DoctorWho Family of Blood]] ]]

The only reason she appeared out of disguise in "Private Plane" was to bang Flash, who's irresitable to all women. Even those who are pretending to be men.

[[WMG: Everyone survived going over the top in Blackadder goes Forth]]

** Same year does not equate to same month.
** Actually, the final episode of ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' takes place in 1917. Darling specifically mentions the year when they think there's a ceasefire.
** "Everyone survived going over the top"? This could be the most unlikely theory on this wiki.
*** They survived of course! Just as they went over the top, Baldrick shouts his cunning plan, which is actually a real doozy. The whole gang escapes, giving Melchett a bloody nose on their way out. Blackadder reasons that the war was pointless, and stupid, and has since been operating behind the wings to make sure world war 3 never occurs.
*** Why would he let World War 2 happen?

*** Here's one possible way they survived- they stripped off their clothes and claimed to be escaped German prisoners. George, given his German uncle, speaks the language like a native, and looks perfectly like an incompetent aristocratic officer. Blackadder and Darling used ObfuscatingStupidity and passed off any problems they had with the language as shell shock, and the same was assumed of Baldrick. Once they were taken back to the German trenches, they took the Germans hostage and radioed back to the British.
*** It's simple. They escaped the same way their ancestors got away from Witchsmeller Pursuivant.
*** [[BigDamnHeroes They were rescued by]] [[ChekhovsArmy the Royal Women's Auxiliary Balloon Corps]].

[[WMG: Baldrick survived going over the top]]

* Mentions of a "chocolate chastity belt" and the appearance of a poodle in the late 15th century are just the tip of the iceberg.

[[WMG: The Blackadder from Back and Forth went back in time and helped the Blackadder from season 1 overthrow the king and claim the throne.]]

* Or, alternatively, he killed Prince Ludwig.
* He went back to the time of "Chains", bumped off Prince Ludwig, and arranged for Blackadder II to marry Elizabeth I. They had a son, thus founding the Royal House of Blackadder, still reigning in 1999.
** Elizabeth I did hint at having a crush on Blackadder at one point.
* Or he arranged the events of Blackadder The Third's finale and in the original timeline that era's Blackadder was killed in the duel.

[[WMG: The time travelling Blackadder got his Elizabethan ancestor to marry the Queen]]
This explains why he became King Blackadder the Third- the first one still failed, the second one technically became a Prince, and the Regency and World War One incarnations became King.
* He brought her more Polos.
* Afraid not. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_I Edmund I]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Ii Edmund II aka Edmund Ironside]] were real kings of England. Unless, of course, Blackadder managed to remove them from history.
* The two Anglo-Saxon Edmunds aren't counted in the English regnal numbering, which started fresh from 1066. Otherwise Edwards I to VIII would be called Edwards IV to XI. Edmund is a popular name in the Blackadder family, so it's not surprising there were two Edmunds in the Royal House of Blackadder before the 1999 one -- it's just surprising there weren't more!
** Maybe they had a long line of female inheritors and Edmund III was the first male born in the family in a long time.
** It's also possible that, Blackadder by this point being an obvious tyrant, he didn't have the regnal numbering changed to suit his own ego.

[[WMG: The end of Blackadder the Third used to be different]]
Blackadder was killed in the duel and the Blackadder line continued through an illegitimate son, hence Captain Blackadder's reduced fortunes. The ending we saw was the revised timeline created by the Back and Forth Blackadder, who saw to it that his ancestor survived and became king, setting the scene for his own place on the throne. Edmund-pretending-to-be-the-prince eventually sent for said illegitimate son, not trusting anyone but a Blackadder as his heir and passing the boy off as his son from the rose bush. Blackadder Goes Forth still happened as we saw, but Captain Blackadder got more respect for being related to the king.

* Except those "Cookoolander Traits" were all just an act.

''Blackadder Christmas Special'' must take place between 10/02/1840 and 14/12/1861, because Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are married. ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' ends in 1917, and cannot start any earlier than 28/07/1914. Captain Blackadder looks to be no more than 45, meaning he was probably not born any earlier than 1869. We know from the visions that Ebenezer will have descendants, and if he becomes a big meanie in the aftermath of being visited by the spirit of Christmas, then he has at least eight years to amass a fortune and have a kid, and probably more. As for what sort of woman would be willing to marry him, money is a great aphrodisiac.

Presumably, Ebenezer named his son after his Elizabethan and Georgian ancestors. As for what Captain Edmund is more sympathetic than the others, it may be a side-effect of Ebenezer not being used to being a meanie.

The first one was fairly dim and was taken advantage of by everybody as a result.

The second learned from this, and is a lot cleverer and he is mean to Percy and Baldrick because both of their ancestors were a SpannerInTheWorks to his ancestor.

Since the second one still failed, the third is much more ruthless and even evil.

It's hard to explain what happened to create Ebenezer, since 3 seemingly won, but I'd assume that somehow 3 failed and the family stayed poor, but reached the middle class. Ebenezer was horrified by 3's behavior, and so he tried to be really good instead, but it didn't work -- he was taken advantage of like 1, but when he turned evil, wasn't smart about it either.

Thus, the fourth is more balanced, having the snarkiness and cleverness of 2 and 3, but isn't nearly as nasty as either of them. We don't know whether 4 survived UsefulNotes/WorldWarI or not, but the well-off and fairly likable time traveler Blackadder is likely his descendent, which shows some reward for 4's relative goodness.

Baldrick is descended from the [[Series/MaidMarianAndHerMerryMen Sheriff of Nottingham]]. This explains not only the family resemblance in both appearance and klutziness, but also the fact that the series ends with [[spoiler: him building a time machine that they use to kill Robin Hood; of course, his plan backfires and Maid Marian ends up Queen of England,]] but the fact that the plan backfires just makes it ''more'' plausible.

[[WMG: Blackadder ties into Series/RedDwarf.]]

[[WMG: Mr. Bean is part of the Blackadder Family.]]
Despite lacking the intelligence of other Blackadders he still can be a very crafty individual. This is supported by the fact that in an episode of the animated series of Mr. Bean a portrait of Blackadder II hangs in Buckingham Palace.
* Heh, a friend of mine referred to Mr. Bean as "Blackadder's retarded cousin."

* Mr. Bean is indeed a member of the Blackadder lineage but the whole truth is a little more horrifying. His father was a Blackadder and his mother was a Baldrick. He retained most of his Father's looks with a few of his Mother's more dorky genes thrown in. He retained much of his paternal ancestor's intellect and cunning but again it was muted by his mother's genes. He also picked up his mother's ancestors social awkwardness and their tendencies to make somewhat complex yet poorly conceived "cunning plans" This is why this version of Blackadder has no Baldrick, he is both. And Darling's descendant drives a blue car with three wheels.

[[WMG: After the events of ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' (where they survive going over the top), Blackadder has a child, as does Baldrick. Those two children are Mr. Bean's parents.]]
Mr. Bean inherits his grandfather's features but not his personality. While Blackadder was the dignified manager of imbeciles, crossing with the Baldrick bloodline caused Bean to have the mind of a child. He also comes up with a few cunning plans.

Fact: Before ascending to the throne, Prince George...well, he couldn't keep it in his pants. Only a few bastards were acknowledged, but there could have easily some not-acknowledged bastards out there, and they or a descendant of theirs could have emigrated to America. Eventually, one of the persons born to that illegitimate line was Gregory House, who happens to [[IdenticalGrandson greatly resemble his ancestor, Prince George]]. The only reason no one picks up on this is because of Edmund taking George's place as Prince Regent.
** Either that, or he is Lieutenant George's ancestor. Part of the family moved to America some time after WWI and Gregory somehow inherited all the family's brain cells...

His LethalCook is even named Baldroy; this can't be a coincidence. Both families are even in cahoots with royalty.

* The Baron's kids moved to London at some point, coincidentally the same part of town where the Flashhearts lived. [[Series/{{Bottom}} Hammersmith]], to be precise. One of the latter married a Baldrick, culminating in the cowardly, stupid Richard Richard -- who's friends with one Edward Elizabeth Hitler.

In series 2, Blackadder lives in total fear of Melchett winning Queenie's favour permanently and getting him put to death; furthermore, he can't seem to shake off Percy. This means he acts horrible TO Melchett and Percy, but notice when he talks to other people -- for example, Mr and Mrs Ploppy in the jail. Despite their inherent disgustingness, he is perfectly polite to them, because they don't irritate him.

Furthermore, he seems to actually have some faith and respect for Baldrick in series 2. At least twice he gets Baldrick to beat people up for money, showing he believes Baldrick can carry out a simple task. Despite the fact that he still does some douchey things to Baldrick, I think this is more releasing anger from other people onto him -- if you actually watch the series, you'll notice that he never actually DOES many bad things to Baldrick, other than insult his intelligence. He even tries to teach him maths in one episode, showing that he doesn't see him as a total lost cause. Compare this to the way the third and fourth Blackadders hit Baldrick on a regular basis for little or no reason -- we can clearly see that Blackadder, in series 2, actually considers Baldrick a friend.

Conclusion: Blackadder (of series 2 and 4) is a perfectly nice guy who only appears to be a Jerkass from his unfavourable surroundings.

Consider that ''Blackadder: Back & Forth'' shows us a Blackadder as a Roman centurion stationed at Hadrian's Wall. Presumably he is not killed by the Scots attacking the wall, but is taken prisoner and enslaved. Centuries later his descendant the Duke of Argyll has an affair with Queen Gertrude who ends up having Prince Edmund and introducing the line to England. Obviously part of the family (the [=MacAdders=]) stuck on in Scotland until at least the Regency...

[[WMG: Cardinal Wolsey and Henry VIII are a Blackadder and a George.]]

* He looks and acts exactly the same but is a different person each time (the opposite of regeneration),
* He's always cruel and cowardly,
* He changes history (more than one line),
* And he's abusive towards his companion, Baldrick.

...was neither "spiritual rewards are the best" nor "bad guys have all the fun". The moral was in fact one of being sensible- don't let people walk all over you, but also don't act rude to everyone for no reason. This would have produced the best reward at the end, though both Blackadder and the Spirit missed it.

[[WMG: Most of the show's cast are actually [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreed
sages]]

This actually explains a few things, like how people who were never shown to have kids are able to have "descendants" in later eras. Three of the four Blackadders died before having any confirmed children, and Queen Elizabeth I has a descendant in the 20th century despite famously never producing an heir. It also explains why they all look and act very similar- it's a result of the genetic memories taking over their old identity.

* Melchett was a stuffy military leader who tried to crush the human rebellions, but didn't really know what he was doing as he had never fought them before, similar to General Melchett. His Elizabethan sage managed to hold onto his old identity outside of the name. The stress of keeping his memories from being overriden alongside keeping the Queen's favor drove him to take out a lot of his frustration on Blackadder, hence their rivalry.

This is just a matter of numbers, and thinking about how Lord Edmund Blackadder's grandfather could have been born. If Blackadder II is set in the 1560s when Lord Blackadder is about thirty, and taking into account the apparent age of his uncle Lord Nathaniel Whiteadder, it seems apparent that his grandfather would probably have had to have been born in the 1480s.

So, here's the theory: upon hearing the three witches [who have mistaken him for Henry Tudor proclaim that he will one day be king, Prince Edmund rides away triumphantly and decides to celebrate: he gets incredibly drunk and has sex with a woman -- possibly a prostitute, or a peasant, or a peasant prostitute -- and only identifies himself by his new ''nom de guerre'' "The Black Adder". Nine months later this woman gives birth to a boy, and she gives him the surname "Blackadder".

[[folder:WMGs specific to the first series]]

So, here's the theory: upon hearing the three witches [[spoiler:who have mistaken him for Henry Tudor]] proclaim that he will one day be king, Prince Edmund rides away triumphantly and decides to celebrate: he gets incredibly drunk and has sex with a woman -- possibly a prostitute, or a peasant, or a peasant prostitute -- and only identifies himself by his new ''nom de guerre'' "The Black Adder". Nine months later this woman gives birth to a boy, and she gives him the surname "Blackadder".

[[folder:WMGs specific to the second series]]

[[folder:WMGs specific to the third series]]

[[folder:WMGs specific to the fourth series]]

[[folder:WMGs relating to the Back & Forth special]]

[[folder:Cross-series WMGs]]

[[WMG: After assuming George's identity, Blackadder ended up BecomingTheMask.]]
After assuming the role of the Prince of Wales, Blackadder began to indulge in everything he couldn't get as a lowly butler- fine wines, good food, opium, sexy girls, etc. Since he now had everything he wanted in his grasp, he became less and less inclined to use his cunning and wound up being the BrilliantButLazy AdiposeRex that history remembers King "George" IV as.

[[WMG: The first Blackadder is relieved of all pain and healed by his mother's witchcraft.]]
But [[spoiler: died anyway from the poison]].

[[WMG:The stinger in the last episode of Blackadder II, "Chains," is not real]]
But, instead, is all a DyingDream of Prince Ludwig's after Edmund impales him with a dagger. It's basically his life long wish fulfillment. Not only does he accomplish his goal of murdering the Queen and those closest to her in the court, but he has also created one of his best, and favorite, disguises.
* Man, I hope so.
** I always stop watching when the credits roll, as it is just so needlessly depressing. And not much of a joke.

[[WMG:George from Blackadder Goes Forth used to attend the school in [[Series/DoctorWho Family of Blood]] ]]
"War is coming. In foreign fields, war of the whole wide world, with all your boys falling down in the mud. Do you think they will thank the man who taught them it was glorious?"



[[WMG: Black Adder really IS the Scarlet Pimpernel]]
After all, only the REAL Scarlet Pimpernel would criticize himself so thoroughly to throw everyone off the trail!

[[WMG: General Melchett is part sheep]]
Now before you decide this is insane remember that each of the characters is descended directly from previous incarnations, Melchett in Blackadder 2 was a member of the clergy and presumably took vows of chastity. Also the only thing Melchett was ever sexually involved with was a sheep (although actually prince Ludwig in disguise)Presuming this was not a once in a life time event the only thing Melchett may have ever had sex with were sheep.
Secondly General Melchett say's "Baaaah" quite often for no determinable reason.
* Elizabeth really did not like Catholics (both in the series and in real life) so Melchett, as one of her most trusted friends, must be a Protestant clergyman and so free to take a wife.
* How does this account for the Roman General Melchett who also says "Baaaah" (or rather, [[CanisLatinicus "Baaaah-us"]])?

[[WMG: Amy in Amy and Amiability and Nurse Mary are descended from Queen Elizabeth]]
After all, Amy seems to retain many of Queenie's cuckoolander traits, and her casual attitude towards violence and Nurse Mary retains the soppyness-hiding-deviousness of Amy. And of course, this would eventually lead to the Elizabeth of Back and Forth
* Except those "Cookoolander Traits" were all just an act.
* Elizabeth was a pretty tough cookie underneath the fluffy bunny exterior too. This makes perfect sense.

[[WMG: After the events of ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' (where they survive going over the top), Blackadder has a child, as does Baldrick. Those two children are Mr. Bean's parents.]]
Mr. Bean inherits his grandfather's features but not his personality. While Blackadder was the dignified manager of imbeciles, crossing with the Baldrick bloodline caused Bean to have the mind of a child. He also comes up with a few cunning plans.

[[WMG: Richard, Duke of York, had initially relinquished his claim to the throne.]]
This is to address the oddity of Richard III having the throne despite his older brother's son still being alive. Richard had relinquished it at first so he could go off fighting in wars whenever he liked. He only took the claim back when it was clear Richard III would not have heirs, allowing Richard III to finish his reign before asserting his rights as the rightful heir. (Precedent: Queen Anne allowed her brother in law William III of William and Mary fame to finish his reign before claiming the throne, despite him being further down the line and Mary the one who rightfully inherited the throne, meaning the throne should have gone to Anne when Mary died, William be damned.)
* Alternately, Edward V died young and without issue. Richard Duke of York was indeed crowned Richard III, but was so young that he required a regent, his uncle Richard of Gloucester. As time passed and Richard Duke of York showed more interest in warfare than statecraft, Richard of Gloucester acquired more power, and eventually people just started regarding him as the true Richard III, including himself and the rightful king, Richard Duke of York. He only started ruling when Richard III died. And because everyone forgot that Richard Duke of York was crowned already, he was technically crowned twice.
* Come to think of it, Richard IV's own heir Henry was the one who crowned him, and it's entirely likely he grew up believing Richard III was the rightful king.
* Wow, this got complicated. No wonder Henry Tudor retconned it.

[[WMG: Lord Chiswick ("FRESH HORSES!!") is actually Prince Edward, Richard IV's brother.]]
* This is an old fan theory. Edward is only seen briefly in one scene as a child, and is otherwise never mentioned again. Chiswick is a title, not his actual name. Chiswick has shaggy hair and beard, as Richard does. Chiswick is also often seen with Richard, and seems very loyal to him.
* Chiswick could be an illegitimate son of Edward IV, and therefore Richard IV's half-brother who has no claim to the throne due to his bastardy, and is thus loyal to the King.

[[WMG: The first series is based on a TakeThat written by Shakespeare.]]
* The first series is based on a play written by Shakespeare, who wrote it to discredit Blackadder's ancestors, as revenge for Blackadder punching him hard in the face during ''Back and Forth''.

[[WMG: Lord Flashheart is descended from Mad Gerald.]]
They are both played by Rik Mayall, after all. Most likely, after Philip of Burgundy was killed, a female relation took pity on poor Gerald (who'd only been locked up due to his being another of Philip's rivals) and nursed him back to health and a modicum of sanity ... and then married him in order to keep the family line going. The combination of Burgundy's swashbuckling nature and Gerald's looks and stamina (what else could you call the ability to cackle for months at a time?) gave rise to the Flashheart bloodline. Since Philip's family were nobility, they ended up with a peerage.
* Over the years, members of this family married into other families in the Blackadder 'verse. Genetically, this has resulted in quite a few people who look like Lord Flash but act like other characters...
** [[Series/TheNewStatesman Alan B'Stard]] is the result of a Flashheart marrying a Blackadder.
** [[Series/{{Bottom}} Richard Richard]] is the result of a Flashheart marrying a Baldrick.

[[WMG: The events of "Blackadder Back And Forth" did irreversible damage to the timeline of the Blackadder universe.]]
* Mentions of a "chocolate chastity belt" and the appearance of a poodle in the late 15th century are just the tip of the iceberg.

[[WMG: Percy's lineage ended with him because...]]
* He actually did discover how to turn one element into another. That "green" was [[GreenRocks radioactive]] and it sterilized him.

[[WMG: Captain Blackadder is secretly a badass]]
* His disobedience of orders is not cowardice but is part of a "cunning plan." By not risking his life, Captain Blackadder was, in fact, looking out for the good of the company under his command. Edmund would have no second thoughts about doing his duty if it weren't for the fact that if he were killed George would be promoted to company commander and become '''Captain''' Colthurst St Barleigh who would likely order the company into a disaster. Alternatively, Darling would be transferred to the front as his replacement and Darling, also lacking in battlefield sense, would implement orders from HQ without questioning them. By Edmond staying alive he helps keep the rank and file men under his watch alive as best as he can.

[[WMG: Captain Blackadder and Captain Darling were once good friends]]
* Prior to the outbreak of the war they both enjoyed cushy jobs as junior officers. However, war broke out and the two, quickly horrified by the needless slaughter they witnessed on the Western Front, found themselves being forced to compete for the "honour" of commanding a front-line infantry company. Both men quickly resorted to trying to ensure that the other one got the infantry assignment and became enemies as a result. Ultimately, Darling succeeded in leaving the front by become a staff officer, which is what made a jealous Blackadder (who ended up with the infantry assignment by default) come to ''really'' hate him. When Darling gets sent back to the front in the final episode, they (sort-of) reconcile in the face of their impending deaths.
* Darling is implied to have been a civilian before the war by stating that he'd like to go back to work for Pratt and Sons, whereas Blackadder is a career soldier who took part in colonial wars.
** On the other hand, Darling's medal ribbons include the Military Cross and the Queen's South Africa Medal, which suggests that he's a Boer War veteran who was at some point decorated for bravery. He could've left the Army at some point after the Boer War and become a reservist, and as such was recalled to the Army in 1914.



[[WMG: At some point between II and Goes Forth, the Percy, Melchett and Tudor lineages all intersected]]
Hence why Captain Darling looks like Percy but has a personality much closer to that of Lord Melchett, whereas General Melchett is implicitly Lord Melchett's IdenticalGrandson but resembles him little in personality, and has a few of Queenie's traits (mostly the madness and indifference to human life)

[[WMG: Bob Parkhurst never actually got revealed publicly as a woman.]]
The only reason she appeared out of disguise in "Private Plane" was to bang Flash.
* Flashheart, for his part, spoke of her as female before this because he'd seen through her PaperThinDisguise so thoroughly and immediately that he didn't realise it was there at all.

[[WMG: Dr. Forrestor and TV's Frank are the new Blackadder and Baldrick.]]
Think about it. Evil master who fails at his goals and has a moustache? Check. Short bumbling sidekick who screws up every task and is constantly beat up as retribution? Check again. I'll even go so far as to say Dr. Erhardt was the new Percy.

[[WMG: ''Blackadder: Back and Forth'' is a prequel to ''Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death.'']]
The Blackadder in ''Back and Forth'' had a son with Queen Marian of Sherwood. That son later used his father's time machine to go on adventures, during which he met a Time Lady. He married the Time Lady, and they had a son, who looked like a long-haired Blackadder when he grew up. This Blackadder ended up with his own TARDIS. On one of his adventures, he encountered Cybermen who had recently encountered the Eighth Doctor. The Cybermen altered this Blackadder's memories with an infostamp and made him believe that he was The Doctor, just like what happened to Jackson Lake in "The Next Doctor." When he looked in a mirror, he noticed how different he looked from the Eighth Doctor and concluded that he had regenerated into his ninth incarnation. He met and fell in love with his companion Emma and encountered The Master, who had somehow gotten a new body since the 1996 ''Doctor Who'' TV movie. The Blackadder who believed that he was The Doctor ended up regenerating a few times until he was a woman. While he believed that this was his thirteenth incarnation (since he believed that he was The Doctor), it was actually his fifth incarnation. He went off with The Master but later discovered, possibly with the help of the real Doctor, that his memories had been altered. Blackadder regenerated into a man once again and returned to Emma to marry her, while The Master later went on to become Professor Yana after The Last Great Time War.















[[folder:Miscellaneous]]

[[WMG: The real moral of Blackadders Christmas Carol...]]

[[AC:Series/{{Blackadder}}]]

[[WMG: Blackadder’s song are his own thoughts about the events.]]

[[WMG: Mad Prince Ludwig is an ancestor of Prince George.]]
Historical fact: King George I and his descendants were German, of the House of Hanover, to be specific. Ludwig is implied to be German. It is possible that he or one of his descendants married into what would be known as the House of Hanover.
This is strengthened by Hugh Laurie playing both characters, and Blackadder has a precedent for Identical Grandson.
* George seems to have inherited a bit of Ludwig's indestructibility. [[spoiler: After all, he was seemingly fine after his gunshot wound, until he realized that a normal man [[NormallyIWouldBeDeadNow should be dead]] or at least bleeding out.]]
[[WMG: The Blackadders share a world with the operas of Creator/GilbertAndSullivan]]
[[WMG: Captain Darling already fought in the front line.]]
* He was evidently General Melchett's clerk throughout 1917, but he has no actual reason not to be in the trenches. However, the twitch could be caused by a trauma caused earlier in the war. It could be that he was in the same position as Blackadder but something terrible happened while in the trenches (enemy attack, surviving going over the top etc.) leaving him with a twitch and trauma, [[PostInjuryDeskJob causing him to become a pencil-pusher for Melchett due to him being incapable of fighting]]. [[spoiler:Of course, this doesn't save him in the end though...]]
** Perhaps he once saved Melchett's life as Blackadder did for Haig. Of course, he knows that this won't save him from action, hence his attempts to get transferred to the Women's Auxiliary Balloon Corps.
** It does look like he's got a couple of medals under his belt. Unlike in the U.S. Military, medals and ribbons aren't handed out for every little thing, that's pretty plausible.
** I'd second that. Darling has a Military Cross on him, which is awarded for 'acts of exemplary gallantry'. That puts an interesting question mark on George's Military Cross and Croix de Guerre, but Darling being a former frontline commander makes sense to me.
*** The medals don't prove anything. Staff officers would receive medals with more regularity than front line troops (I recommend reading Tommy by Richard Holmes as he covers this). George's MC was probably won fairly. Foreign medals were issued amongst the Entente forces on a quota basis and units were able to put forward troops without citation. It's not inconceivable that Darling was a combatant at some point but Tim [=McInnerny=] has stated that his twitch was caused by a life time of having the piss taken out of him because of his surname.
*** Are there any wound stripes on Darling's uniform? If so, then that's a sign that he did serve on the front line, and a good reason why he would be transferred to Melchett's staff.

[[WMG: The S3 episodes are aired out of order and Ink and Incapability is the real finale.]]

[[WMG: The Blackadder lineage is actually descended from the original Baldrick.]]
In "The Queen of Spain's Beard", it is established that Blackadder is a virgin, and the episode in which he dies follows not long after. However, Baldrick sleeps with the Spanish Infanta while pretending to be Blackadder. If she had a child as a result of this encounter, it would be presumed to be Edmund's. Also note that the later Blackadders display much of the cunning that was missing from the original, and found in the original Baldrick.
* He did have sex with an old hag sometime after "The Queen of Spain's Beard". That explains all the future Baldricks.
* I'm pretty sure that in the ending credits song of "Head" in Series 2, there was a line "His great grandfather was a king. Although for only thirty seconds."
* "The Queen of Spain's Beard" is set in 1492, Edmund dies in 1498 -- plenty of time to find a wench with whom to propagate (Rowan Atkinson's choice of words, in an interview promoting the second series in 1986).
** Building on that, bare in mind that Edmund gets married in The Queen of Spain's Beard. Princess Leia's 8 in this, which would make her 14 by the time Edmund dies. Unless she's a very late bloomer, that's old enough to have conceived a child, which wouldn't have been considered taboo in those days.
*** A legitimate child of Edmund would have been heir to the throne. The Tudors mercilessly killed all the remaining members of the immediate Yorkist royal family except Edward IV's daughters, who were neutralised by Henry VII marrying the eldest. Edmund's child would have to have been cunning enough to evade Henry VII's clutches.

[[WMG: Alternatively, the original Blackadder's son was raised by Baldrick.]]
Essentially the same as the above theory, except that Blackadder did manage to father a child (presumably with the Spanish Infanta, given that the Blackadders remained part of the nobility until at least Blackadder II) and this child was just influenced and taught (possibly even raised) by the original Baldrick. This would also apparently have been to the detriment of his own children.

[[WMG: ''All'' the characters are interrelated.]]
As well as characters being descended from others played by the same person, they're interrelated. It does take place over a few hundred years (nearly a thousand if you include Blaccadicus and Baldricus in the Roman era). So character traits in different, non-equivalent characters are just recessive genes coming out - Prince Edmund takes after the Baldrick side of his family, and his Baldrick vice versa. Captain Darling is descended from Percy, but also has some Melchett ancestors making him naturally hostile to any Blackadders (He might also have some Blackadder in him, given he's the only other one with any brains or cunning). The real Prince Regent, and Lt. George in ''Goes Forth'', are descended from Prince Ludwig, but also distantly related to Lord Percy, which is why he's also not too bright and ends up attached to a Blackadder.

[[WMG: The Blackadder lineage is Scottish.]]
Consider that ''Blackadder: Back & Forth'' shows us a Blackadder as a Roman centurion stationed at Hadrian's Wall. Presumably he is not killed by the Scots attacking the wall, but is taken prisoner and enslaved. Centuries later his descendant the Duke of Argyll has an affair with Queen Gertrude who ends up having Prince Edmund and introducing the line to England. Obviously part of the family (the [=MacAdders=]) stuck on in Scotland until at least the Regency...
* Not at all a wild guess; there's an actual [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan_Blackadder Clan Blackadder]] in Scotland, a lowland/border clan, who has not had a recognized chief in generations, but still.
* He is the Duke of ''Edinburgh'' after all.

[[WMG: The Blackadders after the original series are not descended from Prince Edmund but from his half brother.]]
See Blackadder=Scottish. Only, as has been pointed out, Edmund can't have had children. Plus, he is a total ninny. However the Scotsman who is his half brother seems pretty clued in. He might have another brother who assumes the Blackadder name as a political move. Thus the Duke of Argyle would look like Edmund (and the Scotsman we see takes after his mum.)
* The balladeer from the second series notes that Lord Blackadder's great-grandfather was a king for thirty seconds, which is about the amount of time he survives after the entire court is poisoned at the end of "The Black Seal."
** However, and while this is pure conjecture as my knowledge of English history is flimsy at best, wouldn't a child of that clan receive an education and position of believed to be a direct descendant of Blackadder I? While they probably didn't give a toss about any illegitimate Scots, the Tudor house was a union of the Yorks and Lancashires, after all. They had to care about a descendant of one of those houses. So, in order to give him a better life, and possibly get rid of this wastrel, his clan passed him of as the legitimate heir, etc. etc.. Genealogy at the time was open to suggestion, and the balladeer was probably working from informed knowledge, which would also perhaps explain the many, many anachronisms and historical inaccuracies: the balladeer is at a Ren Faire and making it all up as he goes along. III and IV are, possibly, the result of Wangst after he was booed off stage.

[[WMG: Baldrick and Percy were trying to murder Prince Edmund.]]
Why did they lay on an extra seventh goblet in 'The Black Seal'? They obviously didn't know that Edmund was a captive of the Black Seal.

[[WMG: The Baldricks hail from Nottingham.]]
Baldrick is descended from the [[Series/MaidMarianAndHerMerryMen Sheriff of Nottingham]]. This explains not only the family resemblance in both appearance and klutziness, but also the fact that the series ends with [[spoiler: him building a time machine that they use to kill Robin Hood; of course, his plan backfires and Maid Marian ends up Queen of England,]] but the fact that the plan backfires just makes it ''more'' plausible.

[[WMG: Blackadder ties into Series/RedDwarf.]]
The revolutionary general Edmund and Baldrick were captured by was a ancestor of Arnold Rimmer (they're both played by Chris Barrie) and the tales of him palling around with Napoleon contributed to both his hero worship of Napoleon and his feelings of inferiority. Also Lister is part of a branch of the Baldrick family that exhibits the general filthiness but initial intelligence of the clan.


[[WMG: Mr. Bean is part of the Blackadder Family.]]
Despite lacking the intelligence of other Blackadders he still can be a very crafty individual. This is supported by the fact that in an episode of the animated series of Mr. Bean a portrait of Blackadder II hangs in Buckingham Palace.
* Heh, a friend of mine referred to Mr. Bean as "Blackadder's retarded cousin."
* I thought Mr. Bean was an alien/supernatural being?
** Probably because of his godlike entrance in the opening credits.
* Mr. Bean is indeed a member of the Blackadder lineage but the whole truth is a little more horrifying. His father was a Blackadder and his mother was a Baldrick. He retained most of his Father's looks with a few of his Mother's more dorky genes thrown in. He retained much of his paternal ancestor's intellect and cunning but again it was muted by his mother's genes. He also picked up his mother's ancestors social awkwardness and their tendencies to make somewhat complex yet poorly conceived "cunning plans" This is why this version of Blackadder has no Baldrick, he is both. And Darling's descendant drives a blue car with three wheels.

[[WMG: [[Series/TheThinBlueLine Inspector Fowler]] is a member of the Blackadder family]]
Okay, so he is wet, but he is also reasonably crafty at times and has the Blackadder wit. Inspector Grim is descended from the Darling line -- just see his attitude to his superiors.
* Likewise [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x2FQvZHrVs Brigadier Blaster-Sump]] (DAMN YOU!) descends from the Clan Melchett.

[[WMG: Edmund and Baldrick are constantly being reincarnated.]]
Each season tells key incidents in each of their lives, as if told from a past life regression. Thus we see their souls continue their development from season to season, with Baldick becoming progressively dumber and Blackadder becoming progressively more cynical after each misfortune which befalls him.

[[WMG: Gregory Series/{{House}} is a descendant of Prince George.]]
Fact: Before ascending to the throne, Prince George...well, he couldn't keep it in his pants. Only a few bastards were acknowledged, but there could have easily some not-acknowledged bastards out there, and they or a descendant of theirs could have emigrated to America. Eventually, one of the persons born to that illegitimate line was Gregory House, who happens to [[IdenticalGrandson greatly resemble his ancestor, Prince George]]. The only reason no one picks up on this is because of Edmund taking George's place as Prince Regent.
** Either that, or he is Lieutenant George's ancestor. Part of the family moved to America some time after WWI and Gregory somehow inherited all the family's brain cells...

[[WMG: Prince Edmund unknowingly fathered a child after the events of the first episode]]
This is just a matter of numbers, and thinking about how Lord Edmund Blackadder's grandfather could have been born. If Blackadder II is set in the 1560s when Lord Blackadder is about thirty, and taking into account the apparent age of his uncle Lord Nathaniel Whiteadder, it seems apparent that his grandfather would probably have had to have been born in the 1480s.

So, here's the theory: upon hearing the three witches [[spoiler:who have mistaken him for Henry Tudor]] proclaim that he will one day be king, Prince Edmund rides away triumphantly and decides to celebrate: he gets incredibly drunk and has sex with a woman -- possibly a prostitute, or a peasant, or a peasant prostitute -- and only identifies himself by his new ''nom de guerre'' "The Black Adder". Nine months later this woman gives birth to a boy, and she gives him the surname "Blackadder".

Twelve or thirteen years later when the royal family is wiped out and Henry Tudor re-emerges to take the throne, she realises that her son is the bastard son of the late Prince Edmund -- perhaps she even meets the original Baldrick, who tells her about working for The Black Adder, and pieces it together from there. In order to keep the new claimant quiet, Henry VII gives the boy a lordship and has him raised in the court, and thus he becomes the first Lord Blackadder. He ends up marrying and having several children (at least three sons: Lord Edmund's father, Uncle Osric and Lord Whiteadder), and later grandchildren (including, of course, Lord Edmund).
** Alternatively, Henry VII grants the boy lordship as a way of indirectly repaying the Black Adder for saving his life at the Battle of Bosworth Fields. Granted he did so unknowingly for selfish reasons, but to Henry Tudor it might have seemed a step up from the rest of his family. This would also mean that Baldrick was right and Tudor would reward them, albeit not in a way they would live to see- he's allowing Blackadder's name to live on while wiping everything else of Richard IV's reign from the records.


[[WMG: Queen Elizabeth had at least two illegitimate children with Lord Edmund]]
This explains why the Blackadder line continues after Edmund dies unmarried- he's already fathered a child, and presumably sent him away to be raised by other people. We know he had to have been Blackadder III's ancestor since Ebenezer Blackadder saw them both as his ancestor.

The other child (possibly female) eventually led to Lady Elizabeth in Blackadder Back and Forth, who fits the crown perfectly. Elizabeth kept both children secret to preserve her supposed virginity. Queenie certainly doesn't seem the type to care about (or even remember) her offspring...

[[WMG: The Blackadder and Flashheart lines eventually mixed, the results being (in the far future...)]]
...Literature/CiaphasCain, a man with Captain Blackadder's views of war and Flashheart's flair for capturing the hearts of the soldiers.

[[WMG: The real moral of Blackadders Christmas Carol...]]
...was neither "spiritual rewards are the best" nor "bad guys have all the fun". The moral was in fact one of being sensible- don't let people walk all over you, but also don't act rude to everyone for no reason. This would have produced the best reward at the end, though both Blackadder and the Spirit missed it.
* The funny thing is that Ebenezer Blackadder is convinced to do a FaceHeelTurn due to seeing selective scenes of his ancestors very much out of context. He never learned what gruesome ends they endured. In all likelihood his descendant ''will'' take over the universe ([[MemeticMutation of COURSE!]]) but not too long after end up losing it all and dying horribly like all those before him. If only the Spirit had been less naive about what he showed the man and how he was obviously responding to it, another tragedy (or maybe a line of them!) could have been averted.

[[WMG: Cardinal Wolsey and Henry VIII are a Blackadder and a George.]]
Wolsey is the Blackadder preventing Henry (George) from causing mayhem, causing the country to go bankrupt, or getting them killed (for example Henry's constant want to invade France, and the few times he actually DID invade France).
* Very nearly canon actually. According to ''[[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blackadder-Whole-Dynasty-John-Lloyd/dp/0140280359 Blackadder: The Whole Damn Dynasty]]'' Lord Blackadder's father actually ''was'' a Wolsey-like Cardinal Blackadder who among other things persuaded the increasingly senile and short sighted Henry VIII to marry Baldrick in a skirt (or 'Catherine Parr' as history ended up calling 'her').

[[WMG: The end of Blackadder the Third used to be different]]
Blackadder was killed in the duel and the Blackadder line continued through an illegitimate son, hence Captain Blackadder's reduced fortunes. The ending we saw was the revised timeline created by the Back and Forth Blackadder, who saw to it that his ancestor survived and became king, setting the scene for his own place on the throne. Edmund-pretending-to-be-the-prince eventually sent for said illegitimate son, not trusting anyone but a Blackadder as his heir and passing the boy off as his son from the rose bush. Blackadder Goes Forth still happened as we saw, but Captain Blackadder got more respect for being related to the king.

[[WMG: Most of the main characters are immortal.]]
Or at least extremely long-lived. Not only are Blackadder and Baldrick always present, but also George (and other Hugh Laurie characters), Percy/Darling, Melchett, Queen Elizabeth, and probably a couple others. They aren't [[IdenticalGrandson Identical Grandchildren]] but ''are'' the same people. They just can't remember more than a few decades at a time with perhaps more vague memories of the distant past so they think they are the same as the rest of us. So Blackadder's reference to his father in II is really referring either to himself just decades prior, or to his real father but not remembering that he really lived hundreds or thousands of years in the past.

[[WMG: Blackadder's guests in "Back and Forth" used the time machine later that evening.]]
They could have travelled back in time and become what we know as their ancestors.

[[WMG: The time travelling Blackadder got his Elizabethan ancestor to marry the Queen]]
This explains why he became King Blackadder the Third- the first one still failed, the second one technically became a Prince, and the Regency and World War One incarnations became King.
* He brought her more Polos.
* Afraid not. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_I Edmund I]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Ii Edmund II aka Edmund Ironside]] were real kings of England. Unless, of course, Blackadder managed to remove them from history.
* The two Anglo-Saxon Edmunds aren't counted in the English regnal numbering, which started fresh from 1066. Otherwise Edwards I to VIII would be called Edwards IV to XI. Edmund is a popular name in the Blackadder family, so it's not surprising there were two Edmunds in the Royal House of Blackadder before the 1999 one -- it's just surprising there weren't more!
** Maybe they had a long line of female inheritors and Edmund III was the first male born in the family in a long time.
** It's also possible that, Blackadder by this point being an obvious tyrant, he didn't have the regnal numbering changed to suit his own ego.

[[WMG: The Duke of Wellington knew he was shooting the real Prince George]]
* The Duke was suspicious from the off that "Prince George" (Blackadder) seemed to be a reasonable and intelligent man, while "Blackadder" (the real Prince George) was clearly an incompetent dolt, despite having heard that the opposite was true. However, since he lacked any real proof that anything was going on and the "Prince" made a good suggestion when he suggested attacking Napoleon at Trafalgar, he decided not to say anything. After the actual Prince blew the lid on the whole thing however, the Duke realised just how disastrous it would be for such an idiotic fop to be Britain's future king, and that a man of Blackadder's intelligence and seeming bravery in fighting the duel on his master's behalf would be a far more worthy monarch. He therefore took the opportunity to eliminate the actual Prince and set up Blackadder as the incumbent Prince Regent and the future King George IV.

[[WMG: After assuming George's identity, Blackadder ended up BecomingTheMask.]]
After assuming the role of the Prince of Wales, Blackadder began to indulge in everything he couldn't get as a lowly butler- fine wines, good food, opium, sexy girls, etc. Since he now had everything he wanted in his grasp, he became less and less inclined to use his cunning and wound up being the BrilliantButLazy AdiposeRex that history remembers King "George" IV as.
[[WMG: Darling is descended from Percy and knows this.]]
He's making Lord Blackadder's descendant pay for every humiliation suffered by Lord Percy.
[[WMG: Blackadder isn't a Jerkass at all; the second one is friends with Baldrick.]]

[[WMG:The Third Blackadder was especially cruel to Baldrick because he blamed the Baldricks for his family's fall from grace]]
At some point between the second and third series, the Blackadder dynasty lost its noble status and had to go to work as domestic servants, although Blackadder III is aware of his family's former status. This fall was due to a Baldrick agreeing to become Charles I's executioner and then persuading his Blackadder that there was money in it, so that the previously Royalist Blackadder performed the execution himself. Come the Restoration, the Blackadders were attainted as regicides. But for Baldrick's intervention, they would probably have been rewarded for their loyalty with promotion to a higher noble status.
[[WMG: Nursie views Elizabeth like a daughter.]]
The way she interacts with her-telling child stories like fond old memories, giving her cutie terms of estrangements, not to mention Nursie knew Elizabeth from babyhood and watched her grow up, taking care of her as a nurse, I'm not quite sure if Elizabeth also viewed Nursie as a mom. But I do think she in the very least keeps her close to her heart-she sits next to her, never threatened to execute her(despite Elizabeth not even viewing execution as being a bad thing) and she was furious when she thought Blackadder killed her and wanted to execute him, mind you like I said Elizabeth views executions as a fun thing-most of the time it's a "I want to execute you~" or in the very least a minor thing, but this time she was honest to God mad.
** Given that Elizabeth's real mother was beheaded and that she then had a succession of four stepmothers, it's probably not surprising that she came to see her childhood nurse as a mother figure and wanted her alive more than anyone else.
** In real life Elizabeth was very close to her governess Kat Ashley, was distressed when Ashley was imprisoned, and absolutely devastated when Ashley died. Make of that what you will.

[[WMG: [[Manga/BlackButler The Phantomhive family]] is in some way related to the Blackadder clan.]]
His LethalCook is even named Baldroy; this can't be a coincidence. Both families are even in cahoots with royalty.

[[WMG: Simon Partridge is Ludwig]]
* They are played by the same actor. Ludwig may have been in England as he was making plans for "Chains", and had integrated himself into court.

[[WMG: At some point before "Goodbyee", Private S. Baldrick had the chance to shoot a German messenger, but let him get away.]]
[[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler I think you know who he turned out to be...]]

[[WMG: The descendants of Lord Flashheart and Baron Von Richthofen ended up being "friends"]]
* The Baron's kids moved to London at some point, coincidentally the same part of town where the Flashhearts lived. [[Series/{{Bottom}} Hammersmith]], to be precise. One of the latter married a Baldrick, culminating in the cowardly, stupid Richard Richard -- who's friends with one Edward Elizabeth Hitler.
** Another two descendants of the Baron and Flashheart end up attending [[Series/TheYoungOnes Scumbag College]] together.

They are both played by Rik Mayall, after all. Most likely, after Philip of Burgundy was killed, a female relation took pity on poor Gerald (who'd only been locked up due to his being another of Philip's rivals) and nursed him back to health and a modicum of sanity ... and then married him in order to keep the family line going. The combination of Burgundy's swashbuckling nature and Gerald's looks and stamina (what else could you call the ability to cackle for months at a time?) gave rise to the Flashheart bloodline.
* Over the years, members of this family married into other families in the Blackadder 'verse. Genetically, this has resulted in quite a few people who look like Gerald but act like other characters...

[[WMG: Percy II's lineage ended with him because...]]

* They are both played by Rik Mayall, after all. Most likely, after Philip of Burgundy was killed, a female relation took pity on poor Gerald in his cell and nursed him back to health and a modicum of sanity ... then married him in order to keep the family line going. The combination of Burgundy's swashbuckling nature and Gerald's stamina (what else could you call the ability to cackle for months at a time?) gave rise to the Flashheart bloodline.

* [[AllThereInTheManual More or less confirmed]] by ''Blackadder: The Whole Damn Dynasty'' which, as well as the scripts of the four series, has "Baldrick's Family Tree" in which everyone is called Baldrick.

[[WMG: Lord Flashheart and Baron Von Richthofens' descendants ended up being "friends"]]
* The Barons kids moved to London at some point, the same area as Lord flashearts' with one of Flashearts taking a shine to a baldrick, culminating in the cowardly, stupid Richard Richard and Edward Elizabeth Hitler of Series/{{Bottom}} fame.
** Another two descendants of the Baron and Flasheart end up attending [[Series/TheYoungOnes Scumbag College]] together.

[[WMG: Lord Chiswick ('FRESH HORSES!!') is actually Prince Edward, Richard IV's brother.]]

* Prior to the outbreak of the war they both enjoyed cushy jobs as junior officers. However, war broke out and the two were forced to compete for the "honour" of commanding a front line infantry company. Both Blackadder and Darling sought to double cross each other in order to avoid getting an infantry assignment and became enemies as a result. Blackadder's plan to seem incompetent actually impressed Melchett, who then sought to "humiliate" Darling by making him his aide. Furious that Darling had managed to get out of serving on the front line by becoming a staff officer, Blackadder came to ''really'' hate him. When Darling gets sent back to the front line in the final episode, they (sort-of) reconcile in the face of their impending deaths.

** On the other hand, Darling's medal ribbons include the Queen's South Africa Medal, which suggests that he's a Boer War veteran. He could've left the Army at some point after the Boer War and become a reservist, and as such was recalled to the Army in 1914.
* It's also implied in ''[[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blackadder-Whole-Dynasty-John-Lloyd/dp/0140280359 Blackadder: The Whole Damn Dynasty]]'' that Blackadder was originally an NCO was was promoted from the ranks. So there could be all sorts of class-related issues going on in his dealings with Darling.

This is an old fan theory. Edward is only seen briefly in one scene as a child, and is otherwise never mentioned again. Chiswick is a title, not his actual name. Chiswick has shaggy hair and beard, as Richard does. Chiswick is also often seen with Richard, and seems very loyal to him.

[[WMG: Lord Flashheart's ancestor Is Mad Gerald.]]
* They are both played by Rik Mayall, after all. Most likely, after Philip of Burgundy was killed, a female relation took pity on poor Gerald in his cell and nursed him back to health and a modicum of sanity...then married him in order to keep the family line going. The combination of Burgundy's swashbuckling nature and Gerald's stamina (what else could you call the ability to cackle for months at a time?) gave rise to the Flashheart bloodline.

** On the other hand, Darling's medal ribbons include the Queen's South Africa Medal, which suggests that he's a Boer War veteran.

In series 2, Blackadder lives in total fear of Melchett winning Queenies favour permanently and getting him put to death; furthermore, he can't seem to shake off Percy. This means he acts horrible TO Melchett and Percy, but notice when he talks to other people -- for example, Mr and Mrs Ploppy in the jail. Despite their inherent disgustingness, he is perfectly polite to them, because they don't irritate him.