Head (Blackadder) Head (Blackadder) "Head" is the second episode of the BBC period comedy "Blackadder II", the second series of "Blackadder", which was set in Elizabethan England from 1558 to 1603. Blackadder is attempting to teach Baldrick the basic concepts of addition when he is appointed Lord High Executioner and Minister for Religious Genocide (because the previous incumbent signed his name on the wrong dotted line and so accidentally ordered his own execution). To give himself the middle of the week off, he makes a simple change by moving up the date of execution for Lord Farrow (from Wednesday to Monday). However,
Edmund Blackadder who shot Harold II at The Battle of Hastings. Blackadder is a genuine surname, its usage in the UK currently documented back to the 15th century, which may explain the choice of the name, with the first series being set in this time period. The name is thought to be mostly Scottish in origin, which is not contradicted in the series, as the first Blackadder begins as the Duke of Edinburgh. In the third series it is revealed that a branch of the Blackadder family is a significant clan in Scotland, although they have become known by the name MacAdder.