The Archbishop
Encyclopedia
"The Archbishop" is the third episode in of the first series of the BBC
sitcom Blackadder
(The Black Adder
).
, credited as Russell Enoch), the greatest landowner in the kingdom, leaves his lands to the Catholic Church, prompting King Richard to have Godfrey, the Archbishop of Canterbury
, murdered, the third in a year to suffer such a fate. (While the murders are absurdly obvious, the royal court-save for Edmund- believes the Archbishops' deaths to be "tragic accidents".) Edmund
then overhears court gossip that Harry
will be appointed Archbishop; and is overjoyed, confident that his brother will be murdered and leave him next in line for the throne.
The following day, however, King Richard announces that Edmund will be the new Archbishop. Fearing for his life, Edmund tries to grovel his way out of the job, but Richard refuses, declaring that he has always despised Edmund and that "when I've finally found a use for you, don't try to get out of it," before threatening to do to him "what God did unto the Sodomites
" should he fail.
After Richard and Harry catch him trying to escape, Edmund becomes Archbishop (taking on Baldrick
as a monk and Percy
as Bishop of Ramsgate). When news arrives that the wealthy Lord Graveney is on his deathbed, Edmund rushes to his castle to convince him to leave his lands to the Crown. However, the Bishop of London
is already there, attempting to convince Graveney to sign a will favouring the Church. Graveney tells Edmund that he fears damnation for his many sins, including killing his father so he could have an affair with his mother. Edmund persuades him that Hell
is "not as bad as it's cracked up to be", and would be far more enjoyable for someone who enjoyed murder, pillage and adultery; excited by the idea of eternal sin, Graveney deeds his lands to the Crown just before dying, and Edmund finally obtains a measure of respect from his father.
That night, Richard and Queen Gertrude
drink a toast to Edmund, and Richard says he is grateful that he will never again have to say "who will rid me of this turbulent priest?" The last sentence is overheard by two knight
s who take it literally as instructions to murder the current Archbishop of Canterbury. The two assassins surprise Edmund, Baldrick and Percy — who are in the middle of discussing ways to sell papal pardons, curses and phoney relics — and attempt to kill them. The trio escape by disguising themselves as nun
s, for which they are caught by the Mother Superior. Edmund is promptly excommunicated
, and walks away into a bright, holy light — revealed to be the glow from the fire he set in the nunnery.
In the epilogue, the Mother Superior laments the corruption of the world, and informs another nun that she won't be needing the unicorn
that evening.
, best remembered as Doctor Who companion Ian Chesterton
, was a last minute replacement for actor Wilfrid Brambell
in the role of the Duke of Winchester. Brambell walked off set after becoming impatient with delays in shooting the scene. Russell was credited as Russell Enoch.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
sitcom Blackadder
Blackadder
Blackadder is the name that encompassed four series of a BBC1 historical sitcom, along with several one-off instalments. All television programme episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as anti-hero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robinson as Blackadder's dogsbody, Baldrick...
(The Black Adder
The Black Adder
The Black Adder is the first series of the BBC situation comedy Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, directed by Martin Shardlow and produced by John Lloyd...
).
Plot
In November 1487, the dying Duke of Winchester (William RussellWilliam Russell (actor)
William Russell is an English actor, mainly known for his television work. He was born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear.-Doctor Who:...
, credited as Russell Enoch), the greatest landowner in the kingdom, leaves his lands to the Catholic Church, prompting King Richard to have Godfrey, the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, murdered, the third in a year to suffer such a fate. (While the murders are absurdly obvious, the royal court-save for Edmund- believes the Archbishops' deaths to be "tragic accidents".) Edmund
Prince Edmund (Blackadder)
Prince Edmund Plantagenet, Duke of Edinburgh is a fictional character in the first series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder.-Character overview:...
then overhears court gossip that Harry
Harry, Prince of Wales (Blackadder)
Prince Henry "Harry" Plantagenet, Earl of March was a fictional character played by Robert East in the popular BBC sitcom Blackadder ....
will be appointed Archbishop; and is overjoyed, confident that his brother will be murdered and leave him next in line for the throne.
The following day, however, King Richard announces that Edmund will be the new Archbishop. Fearing for his life, Edmund tries to grovel his way out of the job, but Richard refuses, declaring that he has always despised Edmund and that "when I've finally found a use for you, don't try to get out of it," before threatening to do to him "what God did unto the Sodomites
Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah were cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis and later expounded upon throughout the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and Deuterocanonical sources....
" should he fail.
After Richard and Harry catch him trying to escape, Edmund becomes Archbishop (taking on Baldrick
Baldrick
Baldrick is the name of several fictional characters featured in the long-running BBC historic comedy television series Blackadder. Each one serves as Edmund Blackadder's servant and sidekick and acts as a foil to the lead character...
as a monk and Percy
Lord Percy Percy
Lord Percy Percy is the name given to a pair of related fictional characters, played by Tim McInnerny, in the first two series of the popular British sitcom Blackadder. The Lord Percy of Blackadder II is the descendant of that seen in The Black Adder...
as Bishop of Ramsgate). When news arrives that the wealthy Lord Graveney is on his deathbed, Edmund rushes to his castle to convince him to leave his lands to the Crown. However, the Bishop of London
Bishop of London
The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...
is already there, attempting to convince Graveney to sign a will favouring the Church. Graveney tells Edmund that he fears damnation for his many sins, including killing his father so he could have an affair with his mother. Edmund persuades him that Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
is "not as bad as it's cracked up to be", and would be far more enjoyable for someone who enjoyed murder, pillage and adultery; excited by the idea of eternal sin, Graveney deeds his lands to the Crown just before dying, and Edmund finally obtains a measure of respect from his father.
That night, Richard and Queen Gertrude
Gertrude of Flanders
Gertrude of Flanders is a fictional character in the popular BBC sitcom Blackadder . She was played by Elspet Gray.In the series, she is the Queen of Flanders in her own right and the wife of King Richard of England and Scotland and mother of Princes Harry and Edmund.In attitude, Gertrude mainly...
drink a toast to Edmund, and Richard says he is grateful that he will never again have to say "who will rid me of this turbulent priest?" The last sentence is overheard by two knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
s who take it literally as instructions to murder the current Archbishop of Canterbury. The two assassins surprise Edmund, Baldrick and Percy — who are in the middle of discussing ways to sell papal pardons, curses and phoney relics — and attempt to kill them. The trio escape by disguising themselves as nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
s, for which they are caught by the Mother Superior. Edmund is promptly excommunicated
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
, and walks away into a bright, holy light — revealed to be the glow from the fire he set in the nunnery.
In the epilogue, the Mother Superior laments the corruption of the world, and informs another nun that she won't be needing the unicorn
Unicorn
The unicorn is a legendary animal from European folklore that resembles a white horse with a large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead, and sometimes a goat's beard...
that evening.
Production
William RussellWilliam Russell (actor)
William Russell is an English actor, mainly known for his television work. He was born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear.-Doctor Who:...
, best remembered as Doctor Who companion Ian Chesterton
Ian Chesterton
Ian Chesterton is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and a companion of the First Doctor. He was played in the series by William Russell, and was one of the members of the programme's very first regular cast, appearing in the bulk of the first two...
, was a last minute replacement for actor Wilfrid Brambell
Wilfrid Brambell
Henry Wilfrid Brambell was an Irish film and television actor best known for his role in the British television series Steptoe and Son. He also performed alongside The Beatles in their film A Hard Day's Night, playing Paul McCartney's fictional grandfather.- Early life :Brambell was born in Dublin...
in the role of the Duke of Winchester. Brambell walked off set after becoming impatient with delays in shooting the scene. Russell was credited as Russell Enoch.
Historical inaccuracies
- Harry and Edmund discuss the "accidental deaths" of several recent archbishops of CanterburyCanterburyCanterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
. Apart from Thomas BecketThomas BecketThomas Becket was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion...
's famous 1170 murder, most archbishops (even between 1485 and 1499) led prosperous lives.
- The two knights who come to kill Edmund are wearing the mantles of the Knights TemplarKnights TemplarThe Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
. The Templars were disbanded in 1312, 175 years before 1487 (The year in which the episode is set). As well as this, they refer to themselves as "freshly returned from The Crusades". The Crusades ended in 1291, almost two centuries before the episode.
- As Edmund reads a curse that Baldrick provided him with, he says "May you be turned orange in hue!" However, the first recorded use of orange as a colour name in English was in 1512, in the court of King Henry VIII, 25 years after this episode takes place.
- Baldrick makes reference to a "chocolateChocolateChocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
chastity beltChastity beltA chastity belt is a locking item of clothing designed to prevent sexual intercourse. They may be used to protect the wearer from rape or temptation. Some devices have been designed with additional features to prevent masturbation...
". The episode is set in 1487, 5 years before ColumbusChristopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
' journey to the Americas, and chocolate was unknown in EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
until 1519. Solid chocolate was not produced until the 18th century: until then, it was only known as a liquid.
- The Bishop of London was named ThomasThomas KempeThomas Kempe was a medieval Bishop of London.Kempe was the nephew of John Kemp, Archbishop of Canterbury.Kempe was provided to London on 21 August 1448 and consecrated on 8 February 1450. He died on 28 March 1489. He had previously held the office of Archdeacon of Richmond from 1442 to 1448.-...
in 1487 not William and the peer of Winchester was not a Duke but an Earl who died in 1492, the flemish born Lewis de BrugesLewis de BrugesLewis de Bruges, lord of Gruuthuse, prince of Steenhuijs , also called Loys, Louis de/of Gruuthuse or Lodewijk van Gruuthuuse, was a Flemish, courtier, bibliophile, soldier and nobleman...
.
Cast
Important characters are in bold.- Rowan AtkinsonRowan AtkinsonRowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
as Prince Edmund, Duke of Edinburgh "The Black Adder"Edmund BlackadderEdmund Blackadder is the single name given to a collection of fictional characters who appear in the BBC mock-historical comedy series Blackadder, each played by Rowan Atkinson. Although each series is set within a different period of British history, each character is part of the same familial... - Tony RobinsonTony RobinsonTony Robinson is an English actor, comedian, author, broadcaster and political campaigner. He is best known for playing Baldrick in the BBC television series Blackadder, and for hosting Channel 4 programmes such as Time Team and The Worst Jobs in History. Robinson is a member of the Labour Party...
as Baldrick, Bachelor of the Parish of Chigwell - Tim McInnernyTim McInnernyTim McInnerny is an English actor. He is known for his role as Percy in Blackadder and Blackadder II, and as Captain Darling in Blackadder Goes Forth...
as Percy, Duke of NorthumbelandLord Percy PercyLord Percy Percy is the name given to a pair of related fictional characters, played by Tim McInnerny, in the first two series of the popular British sitcom Blackadder. The Lord Percy of Blackadder II is the descendant of that seen in The Black Adder... - Brian BlessedBrian BlessedBrian Blessed is an English actor, known for his sonorous voice and "hearty, king-sized portrayals".-Early life:The son of William Blessed, a socialist miner, and Hilda Wall, Blessed was born in the town of Goldthorpe, West Riding of Yorkshire, England...
as King Richard IVKing Richard IV of EnglandKing Richard IV of England / XII of Scotland / I of Flanders is a fictional character in the BBC comedy series Blackadder , played by Brian Blessed... - Elspet GrayElspet GrayElspeth Jean Gray, Baroness Rix is a Scottish actress, known for her work on British television in the 1970s and '80s...
as Queen Gertrude of FlandersGertrude of FlandersGertrude of Flanders is a fictional character in the popular BBC sitcom Blackadder . She was played by Elspet Gray.In the series, she is the Queen of Flanders in her own right and the wife of King Richard of England and Scotland and mother of Princes Harry and Edmund.In attitude, Gertrude mainly... - Robert EastRobert East (actor)Robert Gwyn East East is an accomplished theatre and tv actor. He also wrote Incident at Tulse Hill, first produced at the Hampstead Theatre in December 1981 under the direction of Harold Pinter....
as Harry, Prince of WalesHarry, Prince of Wales (Blackadder)Prince Henry "Harry" Plantagenet, Earl of March was a fictional character played by Robert East in the popular BBC sitcom Blackadder .... - Paul McDowell as Herbert, Archbishop of Canterbury
- Arthur HewlettArthur HewlettArthur Hewlett was a British actor.He is best remembered for his roles on television, including Quatermass and the Pit, Police Surgeon, The Avengers, The Saint, No Hiding Place, The Baron, The Troubleshooters, Menace, Follyfoot, The Changes, Blake's 7, Doctor Who Arthur Hewlett (12 March 1907...
as Godfrey, Archbishop of Canterbury - Arthur HewlettArthur HewlettArthur Hewlett was a British actor.He is best remembered for his roles on television, including Quatermass and the Pit, Police Surgeon, The Avengers, The Saint, No Hiding Place, The Baron, The Troubleshooters, Menace, Follyfoot, The Changes, Blake's 7, Doctor Who Arthur Hewlett (12 March 1907...
as William, Bishop of London - Joyce GrantJoyce GrantJoyce Grant was a UK-based South African actress.-South Africa:Born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, she was encouraged by her father to come to London to study acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama....
as Mother Superior - Carolyn Colquohoun as Sister Sara
- Russell EnochWilliam Russell (actor)William Russell is an English actor, mainly known for his television work. He was born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear.-Doctor Who:...
as the Duke of Winchester - Bert ParnabyBert ParnabyBert Parnaby was a British actor who was notable for a string of TV and Film roles from the 1960s through the 1980s. His TV roles included performances in Blackadder, By the Sword Divided, Juliet Bravo, Inspector Morse and Last of the Summer Wine. In 1988, he appeared as Father Christmas in the BBC...
as Cain, a Peasant - Roy EvansRoy Evans (actor)Roy Evans is an actor who has appeared in British Television from 1960s onwards appearing in a wide range of productions including Doctor Who , Blake's 7 and Porterhouse Blue .-External links:...
as Abel, a Peasant - David Runn as the Messenger
- Bill WallisBill WallisBill Wallis is a British character actor and comedian who has appeared in numerous radio and television roles, as well as in the theatre....
as Sir Justin de Boinod - David Delve as Sir George de Bouef
- Leslie SandsLeslie SandsLeslie Sands was a British actor and writer of TV and film. Born in Bradford, Yorkshire, Sands usually specialized in dour types in authority, often policemen....
as Lord Graveney