Blackadder: The Cavalier Years Blackadder: The Cavalier Years Blackadder: The Cavalier Years is a 15-minute one-off edition of "Blackadder" set during the English Civil War, shown as part of the first Comic Relief Red Nose Day on BBC1, broadcast on Friday 5 February 1988. The show featured all series regulars except Tim McInnerny and Hugh Laurie with Warren Clarke as a guest star. The episode begins in November 1648. King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland has already lost the Civil War. Only two men remain loyal to him: Sir Edmund Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson), the sole descendant of the Blackadder dynasty at the
Clan Blackadder a territorial name derived from the lands of Blackadder in Berwickshire. The lands, in turn, are named after the Blackadder Water, a river which is part of the River Tweed system, and which runs through the Scottish Borders. The name "Blackadder" is derived from the Old English "awedur" which means "running water" or "stream". George Fraser Black states that in 1426, Blakadir de Eodem (of that Ilk) held the lands in the earldom of March. Early bearers of the surname are Adam "of Blacathathir" in 1477, Robert "Blackader" in the 15th century, and Charles "Blakater" in 1486. A junior branch