| “ | Fifteen years in France teaches a man to hate. Fifteen years of wearing perfume! Fifteen years of eating frogs! Fifteen years of saying "pardonne"! And all because of you! | „ |
| ~ Philip of Burgundy cursing Prince Edmund |
Philip of Burgundy, AKA The Hawk, is an antagonist in the BBC sitcom The Black Adder (which would later become the series known as Blackadder), serving as the main antagonist of the season finale "The Black Seal". He is Edmund Blackadder's childhood arch-enemy who is known for being the most evil man in the world.
He was portrayed by the late Patrick Allen.
Biography[]
Philip of Burgundy, known at that time as "The Thrush", was a childhood rival of Edmund Blackadder. Twisted by unbridled ambition and tortured by insatiable greed, he murdered his entire family and was eventually banished to France under unclear circumstances due to Edmund. Hating living in France and having to wear perfume and eat frogs and snails, Burgundy spent the next 15 years plotting his revenge.
Upon returning to England 15 years after his exile, Burgundy disguises himself as a morris dancer and approaches Edmund, whose father King Richard IV has just demoted him to Warden of the Royal Privies. He chooses to accompany Edmund as he assembles the Black Seal, a group consisting of himself and the six evilest men in England, to depose King Richard. He stands by and watches as Edmund recruits Sir Wilfred Death, Three-Fingered Pete, Guy de Glastonbury, Sean the Irish Bastard, Friar Bellows and Jack Large to his enterprise and makes plans with them to storm the royal estates, capture and kill the royal family and take the throne.
After the plan is made, Burgundy asks Edmund if anyone can stop him. Once Edmund explains about his rivalry with Philip of Burgundy, Burgundy removes his disguise and reveals himself to Edmund, who fails to recognize him until he removes his false eyebrows. He knocks Edmund out with his mace and takes him back to his castle, where he locks him in a cell and leaves him to be slowly eaten alive by snails over a period of 15 years in revenge for his exile. He then rides out to kill the king and take the throne for himself.
Edmund spends a year in the cell until his cellmate Mad Gerald gives him a key made from his teeth, which he uses to escape. He then sends word to the Black Seal, who intercept Burgundy and prepare to kill him at Edmund's command. However, when Burgundy suggests that he would be a more fitting leader Edmund makes the mistake of describing him as a twisted, ruthless, mindless killer who murdered his own family and will destroy the kingdom, convincing the Black Seal that Burgundy should be their leader after all. They promptly turn on Edmund and force him into an "amusing" torture device of Burgundy's that stabs him up the anus, slices off his ears, crushes his skull, chops off his hands, grinds up his genitals and tickles him under the arms, which is the amusing part. They then depart to kill the rest of the royal family. On the way, the Black Seal encounter Edmund's associates Baldrick and Lord Percy disguised as serving wenches, who offer them wine. They accept and Burgundy declares that good will thrive "over their dead bodies". They then all immediately die, as the wine was poisoned.
In spite of Burgundy's death, Edmund is still mutilated by the torture device. As he dies from his injuries, King Richard declares that his name will last as long as their dynasty just before the entire royal family dies from drinking the poisoned wine. This allows Henry VII to take power and write King Richard's reign out of history, an indirect consequence of Burgundy's coup attempt.
Trivia[]
- Patrick Allen was the narrator of The Black Adder and TUGS.
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 Villains
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