 The series is set during the Elizabethan era ( 1558 – 1603 ) . The principal character , Edmund , Lord Blackadder ( Rowan Atkinson ) , is the great @-@ grandson of the original Black Adder , and is now a member of the London aristocracy . Unlike his forefather , he is both dashing and intelligent , although he is still scheming and cynical in his outlook . The series follows his attempts to win the favour of the childish Queen Elizabeth I ( Miranda Richardson ) . As before he is aided , and often hindered , by two less @-@ than @-@ intelligent sidekicks , his servant Baldrick ( Tony Robinson ) , and Lord Percy Percy ( Tim McInnerny ) , heir to the Duchy of Northumberland , with whom Blackadder has a grudging friendship . 
