Making historical dramas is difficult. We need to give the creators some creative license, mostly so that they can amuse us.If instead they did a pedantic type of CCTV into the past, it would be incredibly tedious. Some inconsistencies, on the other hand, are so ridiculous that we can't help but point and chuckle at them. The following are some of the most egregious errors in the history of dramas that we binge-watched on Netflix in 1823.
The Borgias
The Borgias is a series about a Spanish family who attempted to seize control of Renaissance-era Italy. It contains numerous inaccuracies, the most egregious of which is that they put political philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli as the personal adviser to the Medici family. It's not that he never had such a job position, however he was a rather powerful enemy of the Medicis, who imprisoned him. Some academics consider Machiavelli's most renowned work, The Prince, to be a revolutionary essay against the Medicis. What we are trying to point out is that whoever wrote him in did not do the research!
Leonardo
So, according to the TV series Leonardo, da Vinci had a close friendship with Machiavelli during their teenage years. However, there is one little flaw: Machiavelli had not yet been born in 1467, when the show’s story was set. It was impossible that Leonardo da Vinci and Machiavelli were buddies as youths, owing to their 17-year age difference.
Outlander
Outlander is a hit show based on Diana Gabaldon's time-traveling series of novels of the same name, and chronicles the experiences of a WWII nurse who is sent back to 1743 Scotland, where she meets a gorgeous Highland clan member and becomes embroiled in the Jacobite risings. Not to worry, we are not about to start ranting about how little the time travel part is explained. Our issue is more historical in nature: the show revolves around a scenario in which Claire and Geillis Duncan are accused of witchcraft. However, "witchcraft" was abolished as a punishable crime by Parliament in 1735 (most likely due to witches not being real). It was indeed criminal to accuse anyone of witchcraft under the Witchcraft Act, which severely destroys the narrative line.
The Tudors
The Tudors is a period drama about the lives and love affairs of King Henry VIII as a young man. Henry VIII was portrayed by Irish heartthrob Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. While Henry VIII was rumored to be quite attractive as a young man, in our timeline, he did not marry Anne Boleyn until he reached his forties. But, he appears to be in his late twenties on the show. However, in season four, he ages rapidly. Let's just say that having him represented by the undeniably thin and beautiful Jonathan Rhys Meyers is not only historically wrong, but comical.
Victoria
Putting aside the fact that Jenna Coleman is not a carbon copy of Queen Victoria whatsoever and instead focuses on her friends' teeth! Sugar was widely available in Victorian Britain, but what about dentists? Not at all. As a result, the health of the mouth of Victorians was incredibly poor. Any series claiming to be an accurate portrayal of Victorian Britain should be full of decaying brown chompers, or at the very least be rated 18 because every single mouth portrayed on the show would be graphic in nature.
