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Context Recap / BlackadderS1E1TheForetelling

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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_2022_07_27_065001.png]]
2 [[caption-width-right:350:"...Or, as I shall be known from now on, '''the Black...''' Vegetable."]]
3->''History has known many great liars. [[UsefulNotes/NikolausCopernicus Copernicus]], Goebbels, St. Ralph the Liar. But there have been none quite so vile as the [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfTudor Tudor King Henry VII]]. It was he who rewrote history to portray his predecessor, [[UsefulNotes/RichardIII 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!''
4
5The story of the Black Adder begins with the Battle of Bosworth Field in the year 1485. King Richard III, actually a kind man who lavished love on his two nephews, fights alongside one of them, Richard, Duke of York and the Duke's son Harry.
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7And then there's the Duke's ''other'' son, Edmund — who, after obtaining the aid of the street smart peasant Baldrick and the dimwitted Lord Percy Percy, turns up late to the battle after oversleeping and then decides to abstain anyway after getting a look at the carnage. He then kills a man who appears to be stealing his horse, only to find it was actually the victorious King Richard.
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9As he, Baldrick, and Percy try to dispose of the body, they come across the defeated Henry Tudor who claims that all is lost, but they don't recognize him. Edmund returns to the castle and accidentally blabs about King Richard's death, but fortunately for him everyone assumes that Henry Tudor was his assailant.
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11As the Duke is crowned King Richard IV, Edmund (now a Prince) is displeased to learn that Percy has brought Henry Tudor, 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 that the Black Adder would be a better choice, and he soon picks out an all-black outfit to fit his new image.
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13At dinner that night, a portrait of Henry Tudor 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 rides into a wood and encounters three strange old women who declare that one day he will be King. He heads back to the castle, gleefully anticipating his destiny ... while back in the wood, the women realize that Henry Tudor, the man they'd meant to tell their prophecy to, was actually the man who passed them just before Edmund.
14
15!!Tropes
16* AlternateHistory: Richard III was actually a good and kind man who won the battle of Bosworth Field but died in the process, with his nephew (in RealLife, a nine year-old boy at the time of his death in 1483, but here a man old enough to have two adult children by 1485) becoming King Richard IV. After ''he'' died thirteen years later, Henry Tudor seized power and rewrote history to claim that ''he'd'' won at Bosworth Field.
17* AmbiguousSyntax: Richard IV asks Edmund, "Fight you with us on the morrow?" He hastily replies that he'll be fighting with the enemy. Cue awkward pause.
18* ArentYouGoingToRavishMe: 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 her husband returning she wearily asks him if he's going to ravish her, to which he replies "In a moment dear, in a moment. The woman's insatiable..."
19* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: Once the ghost of Richard III realizes no one else can see him and he therefore can't expose Edmund as his killer, he departs to the afterlife, with a few annoyed parting words. He later returns, briefly, to cause the fog which leads to the witches confusing Edmund with Henry Tudor.
20* AttackAttackRetreatRetreat: When Prince Edmund thinks the castle is under attack:
21-->'''Edmund:''' Run for the hills! Run for the hills!\
22'''Baldrick:''' My lord, they're coming from the hills.\
23'''Edmund:''' Run away from the hills! Run away from the hills! If you see the hills, run the other way!
24* AtrociousAlias: Edmund's original choice of "The Black Vegetable".
25* BestialityIsDepraved: Implied. Edmund's attempt to hide the fact that both Henry Tudor and the ghost of Richard III are in his bedroom -- not knowing that he's the only person who can see the latter -- results in a (somewhat) unfortunate misunderstanding with the Queen.
26-->'''Queen:''' Have you got someone in there with you?\
27'''Edmund:''' Erm, not as such...\
28'''Queen:''' Is it a woman?\
29'''Edmund:''' No!\
30'''Queen:''' Is it a man?\
31'''Edmund:''' Err... ''[glances at King Richard's ghost's head flying around the room]'' err, yes, yes it is.\
32'''Queen:''' You hesitated, Edmund. It's not a sheep, is it?
33* BrickJoke:
34** St. Ralph the Liar is mentioned as one of the greatest liars in history who are still outdone by Henry VII. Later in the same episode, it turns out that the Battle of Bosworth Field takes place on Ralph the Liar's Day.
35** Before the battle, Edmund murmurs that if Richard's side loses, he (as an aristocrat) will be mutilated, with his private parts likely ending up hanging from a tree "somewhere in Rutland" [[note]] England's smallest county, which actually borders Leicestershire, the county in which the Battle of Bosworth Field was fought[[/note]]. As part of Richard III's pre-battle speech, he tells his troops that if they kill any Lancastrian aristocrats, they should "consign their parts most private to a Rutland tree!"
36* CannonFodder: When the King and Richard, Duke of York are talking about Edmund:
37-->'''King:''' You're, err, not putting him anywhere near me, are you?
38-->'''Richard:''' No, no, no. He'll be somewhere amongst the rabble.
39-->'''King:''' Oh! Arrow fodder!
40-->'''Richard:''' Precisely.
41* ComicallyMissingThePoint: On the eve of the Battle of Bosworth Hill:
42-->'''(the future) Richard IV:''' [[NoIndoorVoice EDNA! FIGHT YOU WITH US ON THE MORROW?]]\
43'''Edmund:''' Oh, goodness me, no. No, I'll be fighting with the enemy!\
44''[awkward silence]''\
45'''Richard III:''' You're, err, not putting him anywhere near me, are you?
46* DeadpanSnarker: Richard III. Especially when he sums up how the battle went for him.
47--> '''Richard III:''' Someone cut my head off at one point, but apart from that it all went rather well.
48* DeadStarWalking: Creator/PeterCook as Richard III.
49* EarlyBirdCameo: The [[Recap/BlackadderS2E4Money Bishop of Bath and Wells]] is mentioned ... but there's no indication of this one being a baby-eater.
50* EvilCostumeSwitch: Edmund adopts his [[EvilWearsBlack trademark black outfit]] once he decides to become the Black Adder.
51* FamousFamousFictional: "History has known many great liars. Copernicus, Goebbels, St. Ralph the Liar..."
52* FooledByTheSound: Played for laughs. Henry Tudor [[ItMakesSenseInContext imitates the sound of a sheep]] to stop the Queen looking behind Edmund's bed curtains.
53--> '''Queen:''' It's not a sheep in there with you, is it?\
54'''Edmund:''' Of course not!\
55'''Queen:''' Well then, let me in.\
56''(When she does enter the room, and is about to look behind the bed curtains, Henry Tudor who is hidden behind them baa-baas like a sheep.)''\
57'''Queen:''' Oh Edmund. It's the ''lying'' I find so hurtful.
58* {{Foreshadowing}}: Richard III worries that Edmund, who he clearly realises is an idiot, will be somewhere near him at the battle. He's reassured that this won't be the case. Guess who kills Richard in the battle?
59* FrustratingLie: Played with. Queen Gertrude comes to Edmund's room while he's hiding the wounded [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfTudor Henry Tudor]] and realizes there's someone else in the room with him--or possibly some''thing'': "Is it a woman?" "No." "Is it a man?" "No." [[BestialityIsDepraved "It's not a sheep, is it?"]] Near the end of the conversation, Henry trolls Edmund by bleating like a sheep from the bed, and Gertrude complains about him lying to her.
60-->''"Oh, Edmund. It's the ''lying'' I find so hurtful." [leaves]''
61* HeroWithBadPublicity: Sort of. The opening prologue states that after becoming king, Henry VII rewrote history to portray Richard III as being a tyrant who murdered his nephews, Edward V and the young boy who would become Richard IV, when in fact he loved his family (except for Edmund). Having said that, the series doesn't reveal what ''did'' happen to Edward V. Richard IV might know more than he says...
62* ImStandingRightHere: Edmund is the only person who can see Richard's ghost. As a result, when Richard III sits between Richard IV and Harry at the post-battle banquet, the two talk across him as if he weren't there (which, as far as they are concerned, he isn't).
63* MilesGloriosus: After the battle, Edmund claims to have killed nearly all of the Lancastrian nobles. Including some who'd been killed by other people, like his brother. Fortunately, Harry's too much of a ditz to spot the incongruity.
64* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Edmund killing King Richard, and Percy rescuing Henry Tudor.
65* OffWithHisHead: King Richard got mistaken as a Lancastrian wanting to steal Edmund's horse. HilarityEnsues.
66* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: The Battle of Bosworth Field. All we "see" is Edmund watching all the killing with mounting unease before sneaking away; next thing, Richard III casually reveals that he's won the battle.
67* OhCrap: In the post-credits sequence, the three witches realise that they mistook Edmund for Henry Tudor, and have thus told the wrong man that he will one day be King of England[[note]]technically, Edmund ''does'' get to become King, but only for about thirty seconds before he drinks the poisoned wine that's just killed everyone else[[/note]].
68* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Richard III ''actually wins'' the Battle of Bosworth Field. Then Edmund gets involved...
69* SchizoTech: Unfortunately, the workings of the alarm sundial have presumably been lost to history. Or Tudor bastards.
70* SecretHistory: This episode justifies the series' AlternateHistory--that Richard III didn't kill his nephews, won at Bosworth Field, then was accidentally killed by his grandnephew Edmund and succeeded by the historical Richard of Shrewsbury--with the OpeningNarration that Henry Tudor rewrote the history books to erase Richard IV's entire reign and ruin his rival's reputation. He presumably took the throne during the TimeSkip between the finale and ''Series/BlackadderII''.
71* ShapedLikeItself:
72-->'''Edmund:''' Then I shall call you Baldrick, Baldrick.
73-->'''Baldrick:''' Then I shall call you my lord, my lord.
74* ShoutOutToShakespeare: So often that the Bard is mentioned in the end credits as having provided "additional dialogue". Speeches from ''Theatre/RichardIII'' and ''Theatre/HenryV'' are parodied, Percy gets an AlasPoorYorick moment with Richard III's head, Harry says [[GoodnightSweetPrince "good night, sweet king"]], the three witches from ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'' show up ... you get the idea.
75* SpellMyNameWithAThe: Edmund wants to be called The Black Vegetable. Baldrick persuades him The Black Adder sounds better.
76* TheStinger: The three witches who told Edmund he would be king realise that he ''wasn’t'' Henry Tudor.
77* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: Edmund, when asked by his father about Richard III's death.
78-->'''Edmund:''' Well...I wouldn't know, really...I was nowhere near him at the time...I just heard from someone that he'd, uh...uh...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 there was a cottage...it was the river...but then I wouldn't know, of course, because I wasn't there...but, apparently, some fool cut his head off!...or, at least, killed him in some way...perhaps...took an ear off, or something...yes, in fact, I think he was only wounded...uh...or was that somebody else?...yes, I think it was...why, he wasn't even wounded!...why, did someone say he was dead?
79* TitleDrop: {{Parodied}} when Edmund decides to take the name of The Black ... Vegetable! Fortunately Baldrick suggests a better title for the series [=/=] his Lord.
80* WeHaveReserves: Richard III is very accepting of the term and the use of ''arrow fodder'' during the battle of Bosworth Field. Keep in mind that he says that about his great-nephew, whom he has just met and that is his EstablishingCharacterMoment!
81* WhamLine: Just as Lord Percy is carrying the (unbeknownst to him) head of King Richard as spoils of war and believing it to be the head of another nobleman from which he can claim manhood.
82-->'''Blackadder''': And which nobleman, pray...?
83* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: While the episode reveals that Richard III did in fact not murder his nephews Edward V and Richard, Duke of York, it doesn't reveal what ''did'' happen to Edward. Historically, Edward was ruled to be an illegitimate son, thereby making him ineligible to become King, but that would have also prevented Richard from being crowned as well -- though in fairness, this version of Richard would probably have just killed anyone who objected to his being in the line of succession.
84* WrittenByTheWinners: What Henry VII is said to have done to Richard IV's 13-year reign once he (eventually) gains the throne.

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