Redwall
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Redwall is a series of fantasy novels by Brian Jacques. It is the title of the first book of the series, published in 1986, the name of the Abbey featured in the book, and the name of an animated TV series based on the books, first aired in 1999. The books are primarily aimed at children, but have fans of all ages. There have been eighteen novels and two picture books published as of Autumn 2006.
The book series does not chronicle any one particular timeframe. Rather, it is set in many different periods in the history of the world of Redwall, called Mossflower, and occasionally islands and once another land called Southsward. Some of the books focus on characters who, in other volumes, are historical figures (e.g., Martin the Warrior's father, Luke, in The Legend of Luke). Typically, those books are set before the founding of Redwall Abbey. (Note: There is a timeline in the Redwall series, but it generally places the books in a completely different order than the order in which they were written - there were two phases when the novels were published in chronological order.)
To learn about Redwall's existence on the internet, see the Redwall Online Community.
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[edit] General description
The characters in the books are all animals of some sort, all of whom are capable of speech (except the horse), which Jacques renders as various dialects of English. With a few rare exceptions, such as the monitor lizards from The Pearls of Lutra and the Jerbilrats of Loamhedge, the animals in the Redwall books are all native to Brian Jacques' home nation of Britain.
Despite the fact that Redwall is a fantasy series, it contains no elements of magic. Occasionally, elements of the supernatural or paranormal appear, mainly in two forms. First, the ghost of Martin the Warrior will often appear in dreams or visions to one of the woodland creatures (usually, but not always, an Abbey-dweller) and impart information. The information is always accurate (though often in the form of a riddle that is solved by accident) and is of a nature such that it must have come from the ghost of Martin the Warrior and could not be the result of a creature "solving" a mystery in its sleep and dreaming about Martin the Warrior on its own. Also, some creatures in the books are called "seers" and claim to be able to see the future. While some of these "seers" turn out to be frauds, others such as the fox seers of The Taggerung and Lord Brocktree are quite real and play a key part in the turning of events in these books. Virtually all of the seers, both real and fraudulent, are vermin, who are generally considered more primitive and superstitious than woodlanders and other goodly creatures. However, in the book Tribes of Redwall Mice, both Martin the Warrior and Abbess Germaine can foresee the future. Also present is the sword of Martin the Warrior, which is believed by many creatures to be magical. This sword was forged from a meteorite's metal at Salamadastron by Badger Lord Boar The Fighter.
There are no deities mentioned so far, although a devilish character called "Vulpuz" is mentioned by one seer as the ruler of Hellgates and the ancestor of foxes. It could be that Vulpuz is a demon, or it may be the spirit of a long-dead warrior fox, perhaps the evil equivalent to Martin the Warrior.
Books in the series often contain one or more "monsters", but these are not mythical creatures, rather being some type of ferocious predator. (Occasionally, however, the type of a particular species of monster is never revealed, such as with the Deepcoiler.) Monsters have included snakes (from Redwall and Triss), large carnivorous fish such as pikes (from Marlfox and Mossflower), a loch ness monster type creature (from High Rhulain), and a giant sea serpent (from Salamandastron).
A typical book in the Redwall series details a particular period in the history of Redwall Abbey. In all but a few cases, the book is about the inhabitants of Redwall and the surrounding Mossflower Woods. Usually, there are at least two different stories going on. For example, a typical book may relate the story of a small expedition by a group of woodlanders, as well as the story of a large group of Redwallers at home fending off a vermin horde. Because of the widely spaced storylines (chronologically speaking), very few creatures are mentioned in more than one or two novels, except in a passing historical sense. One notable exception is Martin the Warrior, who appears in all books that take place after Martin the Warrior, even if only in spirit form or no more than as a passing historical mention. Also, Martin's sword appears in all of the books. Though he is not mentioned by name in Lord Brocktree, Martin does appear, referred to in Brocktree's dream as "a young mouse bearing a beautiful sword".
Other recurring elements and characters in the Redwall series include Badger Lords and Badger Mothers, "Dibbuns" (the Redwall name for toddler woodlanders), the Skipper of Otters, Foremoles, helpful birds, mouth-wateringly detailed descriptions of food, and a Logalog (leader of the shrews).
[edit] Characters
[edit] Locations
[edit] Redwall Abbey
Redwall Abbey is the primary home of the good creatures in the books and is located next to the Mossflower Woods. It is a large red sandstone building with tall walls around it to protect its residents. Redwall is led by an abbot or abbess, and has brothers and sisters like a typical abbey, with an occasional Abbey warrior.
However, despite the use of the word abbey, there is no indication that the animals have any actual religion. Though they will occasionally pray at their feasts, it is not to a deity but rather to nature as a whole. There has been mention made of some sort of "afterlife" called the Dark Forest or Hellgates, but it appears to be the final destination for both "good" and "bad" creatures. Martin The Warrior once came perilously close to death and was observed to be "At the gates of Dark Forest" in Mossflower. Rats and other vermin often use the term Hellgates instead.
[edit] Mossflower Wood and Surrounding Country
Located near Redwall Abbey, Mossflower Wood is the home of several vermin bands, many groups of good characters, and a large lake with an island in the center, formerly home of the Marlfox. It also contains many streams and a river, which serve as homes of various groups of Guosim, a Guerilla Union of Shrews in Mossflower. Also, there are marshes and flatlands, which occasionally are used as settings. Also situated here is the Church of St.Ninian's, home to Gonff's family in the early days and the birthplace of Luke the Warrior.
[edit] Salamandastron
Salamandastron is the fortress of the badger lords and hares, and is located in an extinct volcano. Many of the hares who live in the mountain are members of the Long Patrol, a well-trained military organization that is led by a badger lord or lady. The residents of Salamandastron are generally peaceful, but are always prepared for the frequent vermin attacks that occur on their fortress, partially because of their close proximity to the ocean and also largely because of rumors of riches that exist within Salamandastron. Salamandastron is self sufficient with farms and an internal body of water.
[edit] Loamhedge/Kingdom of Malkariss
This was once home to the future founders of Redwall, however, it was abandoned by Abbess Germaine and her companions when a disease struck the region. Many years later, it collapsed underground during an earthquake (mentioned in Mattimeo) and became the Kingdom of Malkariss.
The Kingdom of Malkariss was an underground series of chambers and tunnels. It relied on slave labor, and was governed by Polecats from the Malkariss family. It was destroyed by the victorious raiders and freed slaves in Mattimeo.
Later on, in the book Loamhedge, it is revealed that there were still a few tunnels left after the collapsing, and that some of the vermin survived. One of these is a Wearet named Kharanjul.
[edit] Noonvale
This is a quiet, peaceful town hidden away in the northeastern forest, well-known but with a secret location known only to its members and certain visitors. Martin the Warrior traveled there with Rose, Grumm, and Pallum in Martin the Warrior. Nothing involving Noonvale is mentioned anymore until the book Marlfox, where there is a traveling group of performers known as the Sensational Wandering Noonvale Companions.
[edit] Northern Highlands
Some highlands mentioned in Lord Brocktree (Novel). They were the domain of Highland King Mortspear and his line.
[edit] Northlands
The barbaric land north of Mossflower Wood that was the home of General Ironbeak, Luke the Warrior, his son Martin the Warrior, Timballisto, and others. Its north coasts are constantly under attack by Searats, Corsairs, and Pirates.
[edit] Southsward
This is a realm far to the south of Mossflower. The rulers of Southsward reside in Castle Floret. This setting was featured in the book The Bellmaker as a kingdom under siege by the evil Foxwolf and his horde. Redwall heroes Mariel and Dandin teamed up with the oppressed citizens to destroy the Foxwolf and free Southsward. Mariel's father Joseph remained behind to help rebuild.
[edit] Books of the Redwall Series
There have been eighteen books published so far and Eulalia (the nineteenth book) is scheduled to be released (in both hardback and paperback) on October 18, 2007.
The books were not written in the order that the stories take place in the Redwall universe. Below the books are listed both in publication order and in their chronological order within the fictional world of Redwall:
| Publication | Chronological |
|---|---|
|
Source: Brian Jacques' Official Website
The first three books (in chronological order) take place before the construction of Redwall Abbey, while the fourth and fifth take place during the construction. Many or most of the books that take place before Redwall was constructed are written in the format of a story told by a visitor--for example, Martin the Warrior is told as a story by a descendant of Brome, who was visiting Redwall. These books are organized by the main story, not by the "actual" time period which is almost always after the construction of Redwall.
The Redwall Wiki has a collection of cover art of the Redwall novels.
[edit] Illustrators of Redwall
The Redwall Wiki has full details of all interior and cover artists of the Redwall novels. The current interior artist is David Elliot. He has illustrated five books in the Redwall series (currently working on Eulalia). He also illustrated the Anniversary edition of Mossflower, with full page illustrations.
[edit] Television series
The first season of the Redwall television series, released in 1999, was based upon the novel Redwall. It was later followed by two more seasons, based on the books Mattimeo and Martin the Warrior. Production for the series is assumed to be finished, but if there is a fourth season, it will likely be based on Mossflower.
[edit] Other Redwall-related books
- The Great Redwall Feast (1996) (picture book)
- Redwall Map & Riddler (1998)
- Redwall Friend & Foe (2000)
- A Redwall Winter's Tale (2001) (picture book)
- Tribes of Redwall Badgers (2001)
- Tribes of Redwall Otters (2002)
- Tribes of Redwall Mice (2003)
- Tribes of Redwall Hares (2006)
- Tribes of Redwall Squirrels (2006)
- The Redwall Cookbook (2005)
[edit] International editions
The Redwall series has been translated into Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Swedish and recently Hebrew.
[edit] External links
- The Official Redwall Site
- The Redwall Wiki - A collaborative Redwall information resource
- Current Illustrator's Site - Redwall prints for sale
- Redwall MUCK (Multi-User Character Kingdom) - A text-based roleplay game based on the series, operating with Author's permission. Est. 1995
