| “ | And Prince Edmund, I believe you have a pussy cat? Its name is Bubbles? Or to give it its full name, Beelzebubbles! | „ |
| ~ The Witchsmeller Pursuivant trying to frame Prince Edmund for witchcraft. |
The Witchsmeller Pursuivant is the titular main antagonist of the Blackadder series one episode "Witchsmeller Pursuivant".
He was portrayed by the late Frank Finlay, who also portrayed Iago in the 1965 film adaptation of Othello, Vincent Amafi in Shaft in Africa, and Jacob Marley in the 1984 film adaptation of A Christmas Carol.
Biography[]
The Witchsmeller Pursuivant is a travelling witch-finder who, when called upon, arrests people he believes to be witches based on ridiculous evidence and, after a show trial, burns them at the stake. He is known throughout England for a case in which he executed the entire population of Taunton for having an affair with a duck.
After King Richard IV is taken ill with the Black Death, the Privy Council concludes that he has been cursed by a witch and vote to call the Witchsmeller Pursuivant, with Prince Edmund being the sole dissenting voice. Blackadder, his servant Baldrick and his friend Lord Percy decide to go into the village and ask Mistress Scott for information on the Witchsmeller. However, upon arriving they find that Mistress Scott and her cat have both been burned to ash. Edmund interrogates the villagers, who accidentally reveal that the Witchsmeller Pursuivant burned her for witchcraft after being invited to the village. Edmund decries the Witchsmeller as a fool and leaves, not realizing that the Witchsmeller was right next to him the whole time.
Later that day, the Witchsmeller arrives at court. He demonstrates his methods by taking an egg labelled "good" and another labelled "bad" and crushes them both, as it is his job to crush the bad. When asked why he crushed both eggs, he says that "sometimes the good turn out to be evil". When Edmund arrives, the Witchsmeller, wanting revenge on Edmund for insulting him, explains his two trial methods: the first is to hit the suspect with an axe and see if they survive, in which case they are a witch. The second is to blindfold them and ask them to choose between a crucifix and a dagger; if they pick the dagger they are a witch. Edmund is persuaded to go through the second trial, and attempts to cheat by lifting up the blindfold. Unfortunately, the Witchsmeller also cheats and switches round the dagger and crucifix, causing Edmund to pick the dagger and be arrested for witchcraft. The Witchsmeller also accuses him of being possessed by the Duck of Taunton because he called him a "quack".
At Edmund's trial, the Witchsmeller takes on the role of prosecutor. He immediately accuses Lord Percy, acting as Edmund's lawyer, of being a witch and has him put on trial as well. He first asks Edmund if he can say the Lord's Prayer, accusing him of confessing guilt when he replies that he could say it backwards. He then brings forth the testimony of a maid who overheard Edmund asking his cat if it wanted milk, using this as evidence that the cat is his familiar. Edmund replies that it was just "bloody milk", which the Witchsmeller deliberately misunderstands as meaning "milk with blood in it". He then goes on to to an occasion when Edmund offered his horse, Black Satin, some carrots, alleging that carrots are the Devil's favourite food based on a fake Bible verse banning eating from "the carrot tree". Baldrick points out that carrots don't grow on trees and is immediately placed on trial on the grounds that he has clear knowledge of the Devil's favourite food.
The Witchsmeller calls Black Satin as a witness, demanding to know if he engaged in sexual acts with Edmund at black masses. When Black Satin fails to answer due to being a horse, the Witchsmeller accuses him of being a servant of Satan and has the trial adjourned while he interrogates him. By the time the trial resumes, the Witchsmeller has tortured Black Satin to death and forged a "signed confession" in which Black Satin supposedly admits that he and Edmund are servants of Satan. He then calls his final witness; a female villager who claims to have had "wild animal" sex with Edmund (who is unsure if he remembers her). She claims to have borne him a son, and the Witchsmeller produces a poodle who he announces as this son. Edmund, Percy and Baldrick are sentenced to death on this evidence and attempt to escape, successfully fleeing to the upper floor before being attacked by King Richard and recaptured.
The next day, the three are dragged out to be burned. Edmund attempts to delay the execution by making a poorly worded confession to the Witchsmeller that he "coveted [his] father's adultery", but the Witchsmeller gets bored and lights the stake. Edmund begins shifting around to try and get into a more comfortable position, in the process dropping a voodoo doll of the Witchsmeller that his mother the queen gave him earlier into the fire. The Witchsmeller then howls in pain and bursts into flames as the doll burns, eventually burning to death as everyone else fails to notice. The fire is extinguished upon the Witchsmeller's death, saving his three would-be victims.
Trivia[]
- Some fans have theorized that the Witchsmeller himself was really a witch, as the credits at the end of the episode "in order of witchiness" list him as the second witchiest character after Edmund and King Richard recovers after his death.
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 Villains
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