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.
Blackadder the Third the Duke of Wellington. The series aired for six episodes broadcast on Thursdays at 9.30 on BBC One. The titles of the episodes are always a noun paired with another, derived from an adjective beginning with the same letters, based on the Jane Austen novel "Sense and Sensibility" ("Pride and Prejudice" is a similar example). On the first broadcast, "Amy and Amiability" was billed in the "Radio Times" under its working title of "Cape and Capability". <onlyinclude></onlyinclude> Although this series reduced the size of the show's cast, the programme featured a number of guest appearances in each episode. Tim McInnerny