History Recap / BlackadderS1E3TheArchbishop

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Even the debauched, warmongering, homicidal King Richard IV is disgusted by Lord Graveney's confession about having sex many, many times ''with his mother''.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Even the debauched, warmongering, homicidal King Richard IV is disgusted by Lord Graveney's claim about having committed adultery 1000 times ''with his mother''.

* HellOfATime: Edmund tries to convince the dying Lord Graveney that Hell is like this.

* TruthInTelevision: Priests talking heirless nobles into leaving their lands to the Church instead of letting them revert to the Crown was a frequent point of conflict between Church and Crown before the Reformation.

* TurbulentPriest: Edmund is made Archbishop mainly because the King wants a puppet in charge of the Church as opposed to one of these. Sadly, his reference to the TropeNamer is misinterpreted by the drunk knights as a request to murder Edmund, even though that's the opposite of what the King wants.

When the Archbishop of Canterbury dies, Edmund speculates that his (much more liked) brother, Harry, will be the next Archbishop. Due to the fact that each of the other Archbishops has been very tragically and accidentally brutally murdered, this role is very dangerous and will almost certainly eliminating Harry from Edmund's path to the throne.

* AccidentalMurder: They're chalking the latest Archbishop's death like this. Sir Travis Mortimer, the tall handsome fellow with no ears who happens to be the King's hired killer, was rushing forwards the Archbishop in the hopes of being blessed. Unfortunately, Mortimer was wearing a Turkish helmet -- which happens to have a two-foot-long spike on top -- and killed the Archbishop instantly upon collision. If you're wondering how this was an accident at this point, Sir Mortimer had simply forgotten which helmet he was wearing and assumed he was wearing a regular, unspiked one.
* ArtisticLicenseTraditionalChristianity: Actually subverted with Edmund being made Archbishop of Canterbury -- the most senior churchman in England -- despite not having been ordained as a priest, as such things did happen in real life, albeit rarely; Thomas Becket, for example, was only ordained as a priest ''the day before'' his consecration as Archbishop.
** After Edmund becomes the Archbishop of Canterbury, Percy gets made Bishop of Ramsgate. Since Ramsgate is in Kent, the implication is that he's a suffragan (junior) bishop in Edmund's diocese. In actual fact, the suffragan bishop for the Diocese of Canterbury (who actually performs a lot of diocesean duties as the Archbishop has plenty of national and international duties that keep him away from the diocese) is the Bishop of Dover. That said, suffragan bishops did not become a thing in England until after the Reformation.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Even the debauched, warmongering, homicidal King Richard is disgusted by Lord Graveney's claim about having committed adultery 1000 times ''with his mother''.

* HellSeeker: Being a lifelong sinner, Lord Graveney ''really'' likes the idea of going to Hell after hearing Edmund's description of it.

* NaughtyNuns: When he becomes Archbishop of Canterbury, Edmund is surprised to learn from Baldrick that the money-making opportunities include selling the sexual favours of nuns. When he questions who would pay for such a thing, Baldrick casually explains that most of their clientele consists of "foreign businessmen" and "[[LesYay other nuns]]". Later on, Edmund, Baldrick, Percy and the two knights dress up as nuns and fight each other in the convent.

* PedophilePriest: The Archbishop at the beginning of the episode, as Harry mentions that he has a "catamite" (a Medieval term for a young male SexSlave).

* ReassignmentBackfire: Actually averted; Edmund's appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury has the exact result that Richard IV was looking for, namely that he'd be a puppet Archbishop who'd be too terrified of being killed to ever cross him. Presumably Richard doesn't care about him making a bit of money on the side through fake relics and pimping out the nuns. Things only deviate from the plan when two drunken knights misunderstand the King and try to kill Edmund, and the ensuing mayhem gets him excommunicated. Which makes the outcome Richard's own fault, albeit indirectly.

* TheStinger: The Mother Abbott laments the corruption of the world, before assuring Sister Sarah that she "won't be needing the unicorn tonight".

* ArtisticLicenseTraditionalChristianity: Actually subverted with Edmund being made Archbishop of Canterbury -- the most senior churchman in England -- despite not having been ordained as a priest, as such things did (very) occasionally happen in real life; Thomas Becket, for example, was only ordained as a priest ''the day before'' his consecration as Archbishop.

* ArtisticLicenseTraditionalChristianity: Actually subverted with Edmund being made Archbishop of Canterbury -- the most senior churchman in England -- despite not having been ordained as a priest, as such things did happen in real life; Thomas Becket, for example, was only ordained as a priest ''the day before'' his consecration as Archbishop.

Alas, due to a [[PoorCommunicationKills misunderstanding]], two drunken knights who've just got back from the Crusades believe that the King had ordered Edmund's death, and so attempt to kill him. The resulting chase leads Edmund, Percy, Baldrick and the knights them to a nunnery, where they don habits as a disguise and fight before being discovered by the Mother Superior. Edmund lies about the situation so that he may be excommunicated, no longer to be the Archbishop.

* HistoricalInJoke: At one point Baldrick mentions a high-level exemption of sin paper that's signed by "both Popes", a gag seemingly taken UpToEleven at the end when the Mother Superior mentions that Archbishop Edmund's excommunication document has been signed by "all three Popes". During the Western Schism, which lasted from 1378 to 1417, there ''really were'' two Popes (one in Rome, the other in Avignon); towards the end of it, a ''third'' Pope was elected so at one point in history, there were indeed three Popes at the same time! Since this episode is explicitly set in 1487 (by which time there was only one Pope), this also counts as ArtisticLicenceHistory, but only by a few decades.

* ArtisticLicenseReligion: Actually subverted with Edmund being made Archbishop of Canterbury -- the most senior churchman in England -- despite not having been ordained as a priest, as such things did happen in real life; Thomas Becket, for example, was only ordained as a priest ''the day before'' his consecration as Archbishop.

* ArtisticLicenseReligion: Actually subverted with Edmund being made an archbishop despite not having been ordained as a priest, as such things did happen in real life; Thomas Becket, for example, was only ordained as a priest ''the day before'' his consecration as archbishop.
** After Edmund becomes the Archbishop of Canterbury, Percy gets made Bishop of Ramsgate. Since Ramsgate is in Kent, the implication is that he's a suffragan (junior) bishop in Edmund's diocese. In actual fact, the suffragan bishop for the diocese of Canterbury (who actually performs a lot of diocesean duties as the Archbishop has plenty of national and international duties that keep him away from the diocese) is the Bishop of Dover. That said, suffragan bishops did not become a thing in England until after the Reformation.
* AssholeVictim: The Archbishop at the beginning -- see PedophilePriest.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: The Queen, who assumes talk of Edmund's flock means he has actual sheep. Even King Richard seems confused by that one.
* BaitAndSwitch: Percy angrily calls out Baldrick for selling false relics (see the title quote above) while claiming to have a true relic in the form of one of Jesus's fingerbones, which he has spent a fortune on. Percy smugly takes note of Baldrick's astounded expression, to which Baldrick notes he is amazed..."I thought they only came in boxes of ten", promptly revealing said fingerbone was part of another set of false relics he's been peddling, causing Percy to storm off furious at the fact he's been swindled.
* TheCoronerDothProtestTooMuch: Some of those Archbishops' deaths are just [[BlatantLies utter mysteries]], like the tragic impalement of the previous incumbent due to a soldier with a spiked helmet thoughtlessly rushing towards him. Or that other one, who got killed by a falling gargoyle while swimming. Or the one before him who somehow slipped and fell ... onto Norwich Cathedral's highest spire.
* TheDitz: Prince Harry can't figure out what's causing the mysterious deaths of the archbishops, and when his brother becomes the latest one he consults him on topics such as "what if my hand offends me and I have to cut it off, but then have to cut off my other hand as well". It's implied King Richard didn't give ''him'' the position of Archbishop of Canterbury specifically because Harry would've been too dumb (and too pious) to actually control.

* GagPenis: Edmund asks Baldrick and Percy to bring him his "Black Russian" codpiece to wear to a ceremony where he thinks Harry will be announced as the next Archbishop of Canterbury. Edmund shows up with his large, erect codpiece, only to find that he is the new archbishop. Embarrassed, he steals one of the bishop's mitres to try and cover it. The gag is made better by his mother querying why he's wearing "that nonsense" and flicking it, which produces a delightful ''sproiiiing'' noise.

* HighTurnoverRate: The position of Archbishop itself, due to the King ordering to have them murdered when they displease him.

* NaughtyNuns: When he becomes Archbishop of Canterbury, Edmund is surprised to learn from Baldrick that the money-making opportunities include selling the sexual favours of nuns. When he questions who would pay for such a thing, Baldrick casually explains "Well, foreign businessmen, [[LesYay other nuns...]]". Later on, he, Baldrick, Percy and the two knights dress up as nuns and fight each other in the convent.

* OutOfCharacterMoment: Edmund tries to avoid taking his latest job. Richard IV, [[NoIndoorVoice whose usual target volume is "drown out nearby jet engines"]], very calmly and quietly tells Edmund that if he tries to weasel out of this, "I will do to you what God did to the sodomites". [[TranquilFury It's much more effective]].

* SinisterMinister: Every representative of the clergy seen is sinister and greedier than sin at the very least (although not sinister, Edmund is quick to get Baldrick to find out about the money-making opportunities that come with being an Archbishop). Of course, this only decreases their differences with the nobility and the gentry.
* TheStinger: The Mother Abbott laments the corruption of the world, before assuring Sister Sarah “she won’t be needing the unicorn tonight”.

* TheDitz: Prince Harry, who can't figure out what the link between all these mysterious archbishop deaths is, and who consults Archbishop Edmund on topics such as "what if my hand offends me and I have to cut it off, but then have to cut off my other hand as well". It's implied King Richard didn't give ''him'' the position of Archbishop of Canterbury specifically because Harry would've been too dumb (and too pious) to actually control.

* NunTooHoly: Edmund, Baldrick and Percy all become church officials ... though needless to say their behaviour doesn't change. After getting used to the idea of being Archbishop, Edmund gets Baldrick to look into how he can make money out of it.

* RhetoricalRequestBlunder: Richard IV was telling the story of Henry II ordering the murder of Thomas Becket to his wife to contrast the situation there with how happy he is with the current Archbishop, only for a couple of drunk knights overheard and decided to "help". The two of them [[TableSpace sitting at opposite ends of a very long table]] contributed to the misunderstanding. He initially said "Never again will I have to say 'Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?'", but had to repeat the last bit, which is what the knight heard. Given that he has already had several Archbishops of Canterbury murdered, the knights draw the obvious conclusion.

When the Archbishop of Canterbury dies, Edmund suspects that his (much more liked) brother, Harry, will be the next Archbishop. Due to the fact that each of the other Archbishops has been very tragically and accidentally brutally murdered, this role is very dangerous and will almost certainly eliminating Harry from Edmund's path to the throne.

Unfortunately for Edmund, King Richard didn't want a pious person such as Harry to be Archbishop; in order to maximize his control over the nation, he wants a toady whom he can bend to his will ... and so chooses Edmund. Not long after his consecration, Archbishop Edmund the Unwilling is forced to give the last rites to a rich dying lord who was sinned a great deal, and manages to convince him to leave all of his lands to the King (not the Church) after telling him that Heaven is for people who like "singing, talking to God, watering pot plants", whereas Hell is for people who like "the other sorts of things. Adultery, pillage, torture - those areas". This finally earns him respect from his father.

----