The Foretelling
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| "The Foretelling" | |||||||
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| Blackadder episode | |||||||
 The Hideous Crones |
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| Episode no. | Series 1 Episode 1 |
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| Written by | Rowan Atkinson Richard Curtis |
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| Original airdate | 15 June 1983 | ||||||
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| List of Blackadder episodes | |||||||
"The Foretelling" was the first episode of the first series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder (The Black Adder). It introduces Edmund Blackadder, and opens with a narrative dispelling the depiction of King Richard III of England as a scheming murderer. The premise is that Henry Tudor rewrote history to portray himself as the man who killed Richard III, and the show intends to rectify the situation by telling the real story of the king that succeeded Richard III, and the events that led to Henry Tudor's becoming King Henry VII.
[edit] Plot
A feast is held at the castle of King Richard III of England just before the decisive battle with the Lancastrians, led by Henry Tudor. The king (Peter Cook) gives a speech taken verbatim from Shakespeare's play (for which the credits give due notice). Edmund cheers for the King, to the entire court's baffled silence; Richard III asks "You're not putting him anywhere near me, are you?", and Edmund's own father, Richard, Duke of York, does not recognize him.
Edmund turns to speak to his friend Lord Percy Percy, Duke of Northumberland. The two are soon joined by an ex-dung heap employee called Baldrick, who with a bit of flattery manages to win enough favour with Edmund to be chosen as his squire for the morning battle.
Predictably, the next day, both Edmund and Baldrick oversleep. Once woken by Edmund's mother, Gertrude of Flanders, they rush to the battlefield, Edmund by horse and Baldrick by mule. Edmund is initially eager to fight but, observing the combatants from afar, he comes to the realisation that fighting could lead to death. He decided at that moment to remain a spectator. Noticing, however, an attempt to steal his horse, Edmund draws his sword and decapitates the stranger — who turns out to be none other than the king.
With Baldrick's help, Edmund hides the body in a cottage but forgot the head, which Percy brings, claiming it to be his triumph until realizing whose head it was. Before they can escape, a nobleman (Henry Tudor), begs to be sheltered in exchange for his land and money, which Percy accepts. Returning to the castle, Edmund's brother Harry stumbles across Richard III's body, bringing it back as proof of his death. Fortunately everyone assumes Henry Tudor to be the murderer, and Edmund gets away with his crime. That night the victorious army swears to the Title of their new King Richard IV of England; Harry and Edmund are promoted to Royal Princes.
Edmund resolves to become more assertive, giving himself the title "The Black Vegetable". Baldrick instead suggests "The Black Adder", which Edmund adopts, although few people are aware of his nom de guerre.
Later, Edmund finds himself haunted by the ghost of his great-uncle (in a manner clearly similar to Macbeth's haunting by Banquo's ghost). Realizing Percy brought the wounded Henry Tudor back to the castle Edmund, not knowing who he is, questions his wealth, which Henry immediately denies so as to avoid suspicion. During the celebratory banquet in honor of the new king, Edmund is horrified at realizing he was sheltering their enemy when a portrait of Henry Tudor is presented for ridicule. Furthermore, when Edmund slips out the secret to his mother that he killed King Richard III, Henry Tudor escapes with this knowledge to use in future to exaggerate the history of his predecessor. Eventually, the ghost of Richard III chases Edmund into a foggy meadow, where he meets three witches (Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia), who predict that this "Ruler of men, Ravisher of women, Slayer of kings" shall one day become King. Edmund thus proclaims "History, here I come!". But, when he leaves the meadow, the witches remark among themselves that they had expected Henry Tudor to look different, and less Jewish.
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