List of species in Redwall

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[edit] Characters

[edit] Good creatures

• Mice are very often the main characters of the books, especially early in the series. Though small, they can be strong warriors, including the most famous warriors in the novels, Martin the Warrior and Matthias.
• Otters are water-loving creatures, typically living near rivers, or, in the case of sea otters, near the ocean. They are skilled and aggressive fighters, favoring slings and javelins, and they are good sailors. They are also noted for liking spicy foods, particularly their favorite dish watershrimp and hotroot soup. Otters at or near Redwall are led by the Skipper of Otters, while otters living at Green Isle are ruled by the High Rhulain.
• Squirrels are adept climbers and are noted for their speed and dexterity. They are typically expert archers. In the book Mossflower, the squirrels are led by Lady Amber, an expert archer and tree-climber. However in Martin the Warrior the Gawtrybe are very primitive, savage, and barbaric and use only flint axes and wooden javelins as weapons. They try to kill the main characters but later come to their aid, so not all squirrels are necessarily good.
• Shrews are the smallest of the woodlanders, but are fierce warriors, fighting with small rapiers. Shrews have their own armed force structure called the Guosim (Guerilla Union of Shrews in Mossflower), or Guosssom in the book Salamandastron or Guoraf in Loamhedge. The shrews live outside the walls of Redwall in the forest and are allied to the Abbey, retaining a strict hierarchy and generally appearing as akin to human guerrillas. In most books, the Shrews are led by one shrew who is given the title Log-a-Log, which may or may not be followed by the shrew's first name. Also the shrews often possess a black pebble/stone that they use to keep peace. Only the person holding the stone can talk.
• Hares are generally good-natured and talkative creatures, and are known for their ability to eat large quantities of food in a single sitting, as well as their upper class accents. They are also some of the best trained warriors among the good creatures, and many of them live at Salamandastron. (Rabbits are far less common in the series, though a few do appear. When they do appear, there isn't much difference between the rabbits and the hares. However, the hares seem to take offense if referred to as rabbits.)
• Badgers are the least numerous of the regularly appearing good creatures, with each book typically only having one or two badger characters, usually either the Badger Lord of Salamandastron (almost always male) or the Badger Mother of Redwall Abbey. The badgers are huge compared to the other creatures, and accordingly can defeat much larger numbers in battle, especially when they are overcome by the Bloodwrath, a berserk condition in which they are completely focused on the battle and fight with unrivaled ferocity.
• Moles are digging creatures who prefer to stay close to the ground (as opposed to in the trees or on the ramparts of Redwall Abbey). In battles, they often provide combat engineering support by undermining enemy building foundations or making useful tunnels. They are also noted for their love of deeper'n'ever turnip'n'tater'n'beetroot pie. They speak in a rural accent with rare exceptions. They have no likings or dislikings for any weapon. Moles are usually simple-minded and are known for their "mole logic", which is usually stating the obvious or looking at a problem in a simpleminded way. This logic is surprisingly effective.For the most part, moles are less academically educated but more skilled craftsmen than other animals.
• Hedgehogs are the least defined of the good creatures in the Redwall series. Some are strong fighters, whereas others are herbalists and artisans. Hedgehogs seem to be a mostly tribal race in Redwall, characters outside of the abbey are almost exclusively members of some type of tribe, with groups such as the Dillypins and Dunehogs, or the Migooch tribe. Redwall's brew master is generally a hedgehog.
• Voles are mostly good creatures with the exception of Drwup the bankvole in Martin the Warrior. They are somewhat clannish, cowardly and argumentative. However, they are wise and will support fellow Redwallers in times of war. They look similar to a mouse but have a shorter, wider and more blunt snout and are darker in color.

Other creatures are less commonly featured, such as sparrows, who act as a rudimentary air force; or seals, which are known as seafolk. Often, a single unique animal will come to aid Redwall in its endless battles. Such creatures have included a red kite, a cat, a beaver, a robin, a hamster,and a family of little owls.

Perhaps surprisingly, rabbits have only featured very fleetingly in the series, and when they have, do not appear to have any allegiances at all. It is possible that Jacques is not willing to write rabbits into the books, as they have already been famously fictionalized by Richard Adams in his novel Watership Down.

The first book, Redwall, features a horse pulling Cluny and his rat horde to the abbey in a cart. It is notable that the horse does not appear to have the same sentience as the other animals and is treated by its rat masters exactly as a human would. Pigs, cows and dogs were also mentioned in Redwall, although none appeared in the story itself.

Also in Redwall, the character Methuselah mentions that he once tended a Sparrowhawk with a broken wing. Such birds of prey have ambiguous status in the series, sometimes neutral, sometimes allied to the abbey, and sometimes enemies.

The first book features an unnamed beaver as a good creature, but beavers do not appear at any other point in the series. Bats are also mentioned fleetingly throughout the series as good creatures, and appear in the book Mossflower as the inhabitants of Bat Mountpit, a massive underground tunnel system.

[edit] Bad creatures

Rats, foxes, weasels, ferrets and stoats tend to be the most common vermin enemies, with rats being the most numerous and foxes typically the least common. While they tend to band together (especially under a successful and ruthless leader) to pillage defenseless woodlanders, they generally dislike each other and often consider their own species to be superior to the others. (Foxes particularly tend to consider their own species more cunning than any other, and most individual foxes of course consider themselves the most cunning fox of all. While most other vermin and woodlanders do not agree that foxes are superior, all of them do recognize that foxes tend to be sly, clever, and treacherous.)

Allegiance among vermin tends to break down roughly along species lines, foxes loyal to foxes, rats loyal to rats, and so forth. Weasels, ferrets, and stoats often all tend to ally together, resenting the way rats and foxes usually dominate--rats through numbers, foxes through cunning. However, when strong leadership and the fear of domination by other species is absent, weasels, stoats, and ferrets tend to fight each other along species lines (as in Mattimeo, when a fight breaks out between members of the slaving band, with a stoat killing the sole ferret and the remnants fighting until all the remaining stoats are killed.) Even when solely among their own species, vermin tend to be treacherous and cruel (searats in particular are often noted as warring with each other or fighting duels to rise to the rank of leader; even searats that appear to be friends one moment might try to kill each other the next.)

Typically, a strong leader can raise an army or even a great horde that mixes many different vermin and compel them to more or less put aside their differences through a series of successful military campaigns (whenever possible, of course, these 'campaigns' are the plundering and murder of peaceful and relatively defenseless communities of woodlanders) and ruthless discipline. A vermin warlord typically attains and holds the position through a combination of fighting prowess and cunning. Occasionally, a warlord will rule over an army by holding a royal throne (Tsarmina's father Verdauga established a monarchy in Mossflower, and Tsarmina succeeded him, referring to herself as Queen; in Triss, the ferrets who rule are considered a monarchial family by their Ratguard servants.) In nearly every book, a vermin warlord will have to deal with at least one serious potential rival for their power or an assassination attempt; this includes even those that are considered royalty by their followers (often, family members of the 'royal' family will plot against each other, or they will be forced to make alliances with vermin warlords with their own private armies, and each will scheme against the other even while working together against their woodlander enemies.) Typically, the novel's most prominent vermin warlord will defeat his or her challenger through a display of cunning, ruthless, unethical behavior. Particularly in the early books, hordes are led by rats (due to the fact that they are the most numerous creatures in the horde, or are even the exclusive makeup of the army,) a fox (due to their cunning,) or some creature that was not a weasel, ferret or (With the exception of Badrang) stoat (Tsarmina the wildcat, the pine marten Ublaz Madeyes, etc.) Typically, even in a horde where a rat leads due to numbers or a fox due to cunning, the warlord can defeat any member of his horde that challenges him (the rat warlord Cluny individually attacks the weasel, ferret and stoat new recruits to his horde and sends them running, in order to establish for certain that they realize they cannot beat him in combat and will follow his commands.) In later books, weasels, ferrets and stoats aspire to leadership of their own gangs, tribes, or hordes.

Vermin groupings can be relatively small gangs, usually involved in slaving or petty robbery of travelers. In many of the books, however, the vermin enemies are organized in great hordes, typically almost too numerous to count. Many vermin enslave woodlanders, particularly searats and corsairs, using them as oar slaves. (It is uncommon, but not unheard of, for searats and corsairs to enslave even their fellow searats and corsairs, especially when they find it difficult to capture woodlander slaves.) Vermin attempting to construct a stationary emplacement also typically employ slave labor.

It should be pointed out ,though, that not all vermin are bad. In a few rare cases, there are some vermin that were once part of vermin gangs or hordes, but decided to abandon their evil ways. This results in a feeling of hatred towards this individual from their former comrades, and it also puts them in danger, for vermin that desert their clans are put to death if they happen to be caught, which they usually are in the Redwall series. An example of one these good vermin is Gingivere Greeneyes, from the book Mossflower. He decided to give up his old ways, though he never really was bad, and move deep into the Mossflower woodlands, where he would eventually find a mate, become a farmer, and have numerous offspring. Gingivere would never be captured, and he even befriended the other creatures inhabiting Mossflower Woods.

• Rats are the main foot soldiers in the Redwall series and usually the most 'dispensable' as they make up the majority of most vermin hordes. Most rats have similar character traits, but there is a large difference between searats and the average rats on land.
  • Henchrats: These rats are basically the main body of vermin hordes on land. They are usually bullies, aggressive yet cowardly. They are often guards of an evil warlord's fortress or the foot soldiers of a wandering horde. Hate and fear are their main reasons for fighting as they have no courage or true loyalty. They are also seldom skillful and a large number of them often fall to a single skilled warrior (hero or villain). Some notable groups of henchrats are the Ratguards from Triss and the Blackrobes from Mattimeo.
  • Searats: These rats are both strong and fearless, the pirates of the seas surrounding Mossflower. They are most notable in Mariel of Redwall, and in later books, the searats become part of a larger seafaring group classified as corsairs, which all have similar characteristics of ruthlessness and gluttony. The only rat warlords from the novels are searats, specifically Cluny the Scourge from Redwall, and Damug Warfang from The Long Patrol. The most characteristic searats are Gabool the Wild, the insane searat king from Mariel of Redwall, and his rival, the treacherous Greypatch. Raga Bol from Loamhedge is also an insane Searat.
• Foxes: Foxes are sly and seldom have loyalty to anyone besides themselves. Unlike most vermin, male foxes are the exclusive fighters, as the vixens are seers. There are some exceptions to this idea in Marlfox and Rakkety Tam because the foxes and their mates go into war together. Another exception is Shang Damsontongue, a fighting vixen who dominates a large clan of foxes.
  • Foxes (male): Male foxes are sly and stubborn. They are also infamously proud. These foxes seldom remain in a horde for the duration of a story without rebelling. Some foxes are betrayers and instigators such as Skalrag (Martin the Warrior) and Rasconza (The Pearls of Lutra). The Marlfoxes from Marlfox fight each other off as well as their adversaries, and Chickenhound and his mother betray both Cluny and Redwall in Redwall. In Mattimeo, Slagar the Cruel, who is Chickenhound's adult persona, is the leader of a band of slavers, and likewise, Plugg Firetail is the proud leader of a crew of corsairs in Triss. However, even evil foxes are not all bad. Chickenhound, for example, suffered momentary pangs of guilt after killing Brother Methuselah in Redwall. However, he takes advantage of this distraction to gain a headstart. On his way, he is attacked by Asemodous Poisonteeth, and only narrowly escapes. In the process, he is horribly disfigured, and as an adult, becomes the Slagar we know and hate.
  • Vixens (seers): Vixens are usually seers, responsible for the prediction of future events. Some are phony, such as Sela, the healer from Redwall, while others are unnaturally loyal, such as Nightshade in Outcast of Redwall. It is in Outcast and The Taggerung that vixen seers are the most prominent. Nightshade uses her magic to help Swartt Sixclaw, and Grissoul in the latter calls upon Vulpuz, an evil spirit, to foretell the future of her tribe. Some vixens do not appear as seers, though. The Marlfox vixens lacked the beyond-sight, but made up for it in cruelty. All vixens are deceitful, loyal or not, especially in the case of the vixen in Marlfox, who stated: 'Never trust a Vixen'.However, in both Redwall and Mossflower Fox/Vixen healers feature and are mentioned; Although Sela and Fortunata are selfish and evil, the very fact they can operate as healers without facing widespread suspicion may indicate that it is not unusual for a vixen to take such an important position amongst non-vermin. However this idea appears to have been dropped later in the series.
• Stoats:They are somewhat dim-witted (unless they are chieftains or warlords), and tend to be lazy. They also tend to have big appetites compared to other vermin.
• Ferrets: they are shifty, bad tempered creatures, mainly smarter than stoats. They are often warlords, being ruthless and cruel.
• Weasels: These are stubborn, overconfident vermin, and usually talk too much. As with all weasels ferrets, and stoats, they are usually larger than rats.
• Polecats: Polecats have only appeared in one book, Mattimeo, in the form of Malkariss, the ancient ruler of the blackrobe rats.
• Lizards: Lizards are featured in various books, always as evildoers. Rather than affiliating themselves with a vermin horde, they generally operate as thieves and bandits. Whiptail, from Mossflower, practiced extortion. A tribe of lizards from Martin the Warrior were unable to speak, but practiced cannibalism.
  • Monitor lizards: Only appearing in The Pearls of Lutra, the Monitors were the shock troops of Ublaz Mad-Eyes. Larger than vermin, the Monitors were feared even by their own allies.
• Toads: Toads play a similar role to lizards in the series. Functioning as a primitive tribal society, they are hostile to mammals and not above cannibalism. They appeared notably in Mariel of Redwall.
• Newts: Newts are similar to lizards and toads, and are sometimes referred to as lizards, though this is biologically untrue. However, Firl from Mariel of Redwall was a good creature, helping the main characters to retrieve a valuable item.
• Wild cats: Wildcats are sometimes featured as the villain, such as Tsarmina from Mossflower and Ungatt Trunn from Lord Brocktree, while other times featured as benevolent characters like Squire Julian Gingivere from Redwall and Gingivere Greeneyes from Mossflower. (Interestingly, one must note that most the wildcats seen thus far are related. Gingivere and Tsarmina are brother and sister, it's made fairly clear in Mossflower that Squire Julian is Gingivere Greeneyes's descendant, and dialogue in Lord Brocktree reveals that Ungatt Trunn is Tsarmina and Gingivere's uncle. The two exceptions so far are Riggu Felis, the villain of High Rhulain, and Sandingomm)
  • Feral cats (felis silvestris catus as opposed to felis silvestris grampia) are the foot soldiers of Riggu Felis and are the oppressors of the otter clans of Green Isle. Feral cats are semi-professional and have armour which appears to be illustrated as a pared down version of the armour worn by the footsoldiers and samurai of Feudal Japan. They are among the rare non-British-native species in the series (feral/domestic cats evolved from the African Wildcat rather than the European Wildcat eg. Verdauga, Gingivere).
• Monsters: In many of the books there is usually some unnatural monster which poses a unique challenge to the defenders of Mossflower. These monsters are usually a type of sea monster, snake, bird, fish or some sort of hybrid.
  • Sea monsters & Marine Fish: The Deepcoiler and the shark are monsters which attack the seafaring crews of Salamandastron, The Bellmaker and Triss. The Deepcoiler will attack to catch a shrew or two, and then disappear underwater for a while before attacking again. The shark, on the other hand, merely tows the ship at a dangerous speed and then attempts to eat one of the travelers. Slothunog, featured in High Rhulain is also a sea monster. Otters who rebel against Riggu Felis are thrown to Slothunog, who lives in a lake called Deeplough, which is inside a giant crater.
  • Snakes: Snakes are giants in Redwall who attack the woodlanders. Only Adders, such as Asmodeus, have the power to hypnotize. There are, however, mimics, such as Deathcoil the grass snake who disguised himself as an adder. Asmodeus is the evil monster in Redwall who steals the Sword of Martin and feeds off unfortunate rats, dead or alive, during the war. There is a three-headed serpent in Triss (the result of three snakes caught simultaneously in a ring) who eerily hunts the treasure-seekers; each 'head' is a different snake, ruled by Zassalass, the oldest of the three.
  • Hybrids: Most monsters are hybrids, as they are described with defining features of two types of villains with unique features that distinguish them. Some, like Shadow from Redwall and Farran the Poisoner in Salamandastron, work undercover, while others, like the Wearet, the slavemaster of Malkariss who poses a threat in Mattimeo, work alone.
  • Vulpuz: There is another creature never physically described except as the ancestor of foxes and the ruler of the Hellgates. He is invoked in an incantation by Grissoul the Vixen in The Taggerung to reveal the future to her. It is vague as to the origins of this creature, but it is probably meant to be some evil spirit that the foxes call upon to reveal the future, whether a myth or not.
  • Freshwater Fish: Pike are often featured in the books as powerful predators that pose dangers to the main characters. However, Stormfin from Mossflower helped the main characters goet rid of an enemy (though unintentionally). Eels are sometimes make appearances, like Snakefish, also from Mossflower. Though he was used by toads to eat enemies, he helped the main characters and attacked the toads instead.
• Birds: There are several birds who oppose the woodlanders, sometimes
  

  
  as natural predators, usually as thieves and killers. Rooks, Magpies, and Crows are the main aerial villains. They are greedy and dangerous. Each of these birds attacks Redwall under the command of General Ironbeak, a raven, in Mattimeo. There are also eagles involved in some books, such as the old eagle Argulor, who regularly attacked Tsarmina's troops yet still caused some strife between woodlanders.In Martin the Warrior, The Warden of Marshwood Hill, though not a villain, is definitely a danger to those around him. Iraktaan is a long-legged wading bird that threatens Mariel and her companions as they cross the stream. King Bull Sparra is the mad sparrow king in Redwall who poses a threat to any under his wings. In "The Pearls of Lutra", a colony of jackdaws roosted in St. Ninian's church, and were responsible for the death of Piknim, and created several serious wounds among the Redwallers. Finally, a swan attacks Martin and his friends in The Legend of Luke. Fortunately, there are benevolent birds, such as Queen Warbeak in Redwall and Mattimeo, and Stryk Redkite and Harry the Muse in Mattimeo, among others There is also Captain Snow from Redwall who helps in the uprising against Cluny the Scourge.
• Wolverines: These are huge, savage beasts about the size and build of a badger. They come from the northern lands and are cannibals who eat all their dead. Gulo the Savage leads a contingent of white foxes and ermine stoats in Rakkety Tam and is arguably the most powerful creature to cross the Redwall world, having almost smashed Rakkety Tam's Buckler with his bare fists, and making the sword of Martin look like an over-sized toothpick.
• Pine Martens: Pine Martens only appear in three books (Ashleg in Mossflower, Ublaz Mad-Eyes in The Pearls of Lutra, and Atunra in High Rhulain). Thus far, they have always appeared in positions of power over others.

Bad creatures are collectively known as "vermin". There are some villains which were raised evil and later redeemed themselves, but there is only one book, Outcast of Redwall, where the central theme is the inverse, that is, raised by Redwallers but outcast for evil deeds.