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List of Redwall species
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In the Redwall series of books by Brian Jacques, many species of animals are featured as protagonists and antagonists. With a few exceptions, such as a beaver that appeared in the first book, Redwall, all the animals in the books are native to Jacques' home nation of Britain. Good creatures Badgers 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, who is commonly male, although there have been numerous female Badger Ladies and Badger Mothers of Redwall Abbey. Badgers are clearly the aristocracy among the animals and are treated as such. Most Badger Lords are extremely skilled at crafting armor and weapons. Badgers are quite large compared to the other creatures, as well as very strong physically, 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, being unable to feel pain until after the Bloodwrath leaves them. Constance the Badger played a prominent role in Redwall. She was one of the main defenders, killing two of Cluny's main followers. She was also aggressive, and reacted violently to the slightest provocation. Those seeking to insult a badger sometimes call him or her a "stripe-dog" even though they are technically more closely related to weasels than dogs, since they belong to the mustelid family. Some badgers in Redwall are Lord Stonepaw, Lord Brocktree, Boar the Fighter, Bella of Brockhall, Constance,Cregga Rose Eyes and Sunflash the Mace. Bats Bats are often called "flying mice" or "mice with wings." Featured in Mossflower and Outcast of Redwall. They usually repeat the last word of their sentence, possibly due to the fact they grew up in caves and echoes were common. Hares Hares are generally good-natured and talkative creatures and are known for their ability to eat large quantities of food in a single sitting. They are also some of the best trained warriors among the good creatures and all of them seem to be natural warriors. Many of them live at Salamandastron and form an elite fighting force called the Long Patrol, fighting in the service of the Badger Lord of Salamandastron. Most of Jacques' hare characters are portrayed with a very distinctive upper class British sporting gentleman's speech and mannerisms. Some have suggested that their gallant speech and actions are intended to evoke British World War II RAF airmen, the "knights" of the sky. Some hares, especially those of the North Mountains, have broad Scottish accents. The first hare to appear in the series was the comical Basil Stag Hare—he took the name stag out of his wish to be one. He had a seemingly insatiable appetite, and eventually played an active role in defending Redwall Abbey. The term "Long-Ears" for hares is disparaging or pejorative, and they resent being so called; they also resent being confused with rabbits. Hedgehogs Hedgehogs are the least defined of the good creatures in the Redwall series. Some are strong fighters, often using their spines to their advantage, whereas others are herbalists and artisans. Hedgehogs seem to be a mostly tribal species in the series; characters outside of the abbey are almost exclusively members of some type of tribe, with groups such as the Dillypins, Dunehogs, Waterhogs, and Stumps. Redwall's cellarkeeper is generally a hedgehog, with the title of Cellarhog. The only Hedgehog character in Redwall was the cellar-keeper Ambrose Spike, who, like Basil, had a voracious appetite. Mice Mice are very often the main characters of the books, especially earlier in the series. Though small, they can be strong warriors, including the most famous warriors in the novels. Characters include: Martin: the hero warrior whose spirit resides in Redwall and gives help in time of great danger. Matthias: the main character in the first book of the series. He claimed accordance with Martin the Warrior and followed in his footsteps. Though young, he succeeded in outsmarting many rats, escaping the kingdom of the Sparra where he was being held prisoner, retrieving the sword of Martin the Warrior by killing the serpent Asmodeus, and finally killing Cluny the Scourge. He married a mouse named Cornflower and had a son called Mattimeo. Abbot Mortimer: the Abbot in the first book. He became less important as the book went on. His death was the last major event in the book—he was killed by the poison in the barb attached to Cluny the Scourge's tail. Brother Methuselah: he and Matthias worked together to discover the location of Martin the Warrior's tomb and where the sword should be. He was killed by the fox Chickenhound as he escaped with a bag of loot. Brother Alf: a champion fisherman. He and Matthias caught the grayling which was the main part of the feast at the start of Redwall. He took Mortimer's place as Abbot and was then known as Mordalfus, which he disliked. Friar Hugo: Redwall Abbey's cook. He witnessed the murder of Methuselah and was killed by Slagar the Cruel. Cornflower: she had a special friendship with Matthias from the start—on his deathbed, Abbot Mortimer ordered them to marry. Mattimeo: the son of Matthias and Cornflower, he is kidnapped by Slagar the Cruel in the book that bears his name. Martin II: the son of Mattimeo, he helps Longfletch in her quest for vengeance. Moles 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). They also dislike being on boats or being in water. 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 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. Moles are led by a leader dubbed "Foremole", for obvious reasons. A few moles have become cellarkeepers, although hedgehogs are more common. Jacques writes dialogue by mole characters in a very distinctive, barely intelligible, extremely rural dialect (based on those of the West Country, particularly Somerset and Bristol, which can sometimes only be understood if read aloud) which is commonly referred to as "quaint molespeech". A gang of moles, led by the Foremole, played a fairly important role in Redwall. They helped with defense, and also helped Matthias and Methuselah on their mission to retrieve Martin's sword. Moles also are instrumental in the destruction of Kotir in Mossflower when they dig the channel from Mossflower river to the cellar of Kotir. There is one known mole warrior, Axtel Sturnpaw in The Sable Quean. Their description of appearance is usually described as having "button noses" and a "velvety" fur. The strength of their "digging claws" is commonly cited. Otters 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. They are sometimes given slang-names such as Waterdogs or Streamhounds even though they are technically more closely related to animals like weasels and polecats, since they belong to the mustelid family. Otters at or near Redwall are led by the Skipper of Otters, who is typically male, while otters living at Green Isle are ruled by the High Rhulain (always female). Jacques tends to characterize them with a dialect typical of working class British mariners. Winifred the Otter was the only Otter to appear in Redwall—she was one of the defenders. Otters are known to live near Salamandastron and in Mossflower woods. Rabbits Rabbits make very few appearances in the Redwall books, but when they appear, they are good characters, albeit usually quite meek. They are rather quirky, and not nearly as common as hares. They also have appeared to be cowardly in the book Martin the Warrior. Seals Seals are known as "Seafolk". They generally appear to be good, helpful, and friendly creatures. Their language consist of clapping their flippers and barking. Some otters can speak this language. Shrews Shrews are the smallest of the woodlanders, but are fierce warriors, typically fighting with small rapiers. The shrews live in a mobile armed force structure. Originally simply calling themselves Guerrilla Shrews, their armed force evolved to become the Guosim (Guerrilla Union Of Shrews In Mossflower). Other tribes/platoons of shrews are known, such as the Guosssom (Guerrilla Union Of South Stream Shrews Of Mossflower) in Salamandastron, and Guoraf (Guerilla Union Of Roving And Fighting ) in Loamhedge. 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. Though Jacques did not necessarily imply it, the shrew union was presented as an Eastern European socialist or communist community by behavior and accented speech in the Redwall TV series. Shrews tend to be very argumentative. In Redwall they maintained a neutral outlook, but later they evolved to become close allies of the Abbey dwellers. This began when Matthias enlisted their help to defeat Asmodeus. One shrew, Guosim, was bitten by Asmodeus and died, but Log-a-Log survived. Matthias also freed the shrews from the threat of being eaten by the pompous owl Captain Snow. Squirrels Squirrels are adept climbers and are noted for their speed and dexterity. They are typically expert archers, and are adept at using the heavy foliage in Mossflower Wood to their advantage in combat, shooting and swinging away unseen before their enemies can retaliate. Jacques gives some squirrel characters slight country dialects. In Martin the Warrior, a tribe of squirrels called the Gawtrybe is encountered. Unlike more common squirrels, the Gawtrybe are primitive, savage, and immature. They refer to anything involving fighting or killing as a "game", and enjoy teasing and taunting travellers into their "games". It has also been seen in Mossflower,Rakkety Tam and The Bellmaker that there is a form of monarchy among the squirrels. However, it seems to have died out before many of the later books. A family of squirrels appeared in Redwall. The mother, Jess, was a master strategist and a good climber. She outwitted Cluny the Scourge, tricking him into take a fake tapestry, and rescued Matthias from the kingdom of the Sparra. Later, she and her mute son, Silent Sam, who finally spoke at the very end of Redwall, came up with a plan to sabotage Cluny's "battering ram" scheme to get inside Redwall. Her husband appeared briefly in the book, but played no active part in the defense of Redwall. Squirrels have quite a lot in common with Tolkien's elves. Sparrows Sparrows are initially depicted in Redwall as being malevolent, yet later become allies of the Redwallers. Sparrows are warlike creatures. These are featured in Redwall and Mattimeo. They are led by a King or a Queen. Sparrows live in the upper rooftops of Redwall. Jacques' "Sparra" dialect is a somewhat broken, very rapid form of English, full of shrill vowels and trills meant to evoke the chirping of real-life sparrows and other birds. Matthias was held captive in the court of the tyrannical, King Bull Sparra, in "Redwall". He befriended a young Sparra named Warbeak and her mother Dunwing, Bull Sparra's sister, who later helped him to escape. King Bull Sparra attempted to bring Matthias back to his court and both ended up in the abbey pond—Matthias survived, but the King drowned. Warbeak, surprisingly, became the new monarch—the youngest ever. Voles Although they can be good or evil, voles are mostly good creatures that normally appear as one in a novel; they are crafty and not necessarily trustworthy creatures, but are loyal to their cause, whether it be good or evil. A family of voles played a minor role in Redwall—Abram Vole, his wife, and his son Colin were captured by the rats and later rescued by Matthias. Neutral creatures There are some creatures, besides the common invertebrates and fish, take neutral positions in the series. Rabbits are featured in a few books as peaceful, non-interventional characters. Hoofed animals are mentioned in only, with a horse actually featured in the beginning. It should be noted that the horse was treated similarly to how humans would treat it. Birds can be good, bad, or neutral, and there are many different types featured throughout the series, such as the defensive yet neutral swan (Mossflower and The Legend of Luke). Various insects also appear throughout the series, but they are only portrayed as intelligent when, in , one character briefly discusses the language used when speaking to the bees. Birds Birds appear often in the series as villains. The common villainous birds are rooks, magpies, and crows, with crows often taking a higher position than the others. In Mattimeo, there were three magpies that acted as General Ironbeak's scavengers. In Doomwyte, choughs are introduced to the series as a common henchbeast, like rooks. Ravens are by far the most high-ranking villainous birds in the series. Examples include General Ironbeak (Mattimeo) and Korvus Skurr, leader of the Ravenwytes (Doomwyte). Sparrows are also briefly considered to be villains until their differences with the Redwallers are worked out. There are, however, some exceptions to birds being villains. In Lord Brocktree there is a heron provides priceless help in the struggle to defeat Ungatt Trunn.There is also a owl in Martin The Warrior which helps defeat Badrang. In Salamandastron, a clan of falcons and a golden eagle are friendly. There are also some neutral birds as well, such as the swans in Mossflower. Bad creatures (Vermin) Ermine Ermine appear in two books, Rakkety Tam, as followers of a wolverine, Gulo the Savage, and in The Bellmaker, in which they follow their leader, the Foxwolf Urgan Nagru. In the former they are treated as regular hordebeasts, while in the latter there are only two, starved females who appear to have either become crazy or been born extremely feral. They were used as ferocious four-legged hunters. Ferrets Ferrets are shifty, bad tempered creatures. They tend to show competency with greater frequency than weasels and stoats. Two different ferrets reformed shortly before their deaths, Romsca the corsair in Pearls of Lutra and Veil Sixclaw, in Outcast of Redwall. Killconey was the only prominent ferret in Redwall- he was in charge of digging a tunnel into Redwall.Swartt Sixclaw and his son Veil, and wife Bluefen were ferrets. Foxes Foxes are sly, cunning creatures, and seldom have loyalty to anyone besides themselves. Early on in the Redwall series foxes were considered separate from vermin, and even closer to being neutral than evil. It was not until Salamandastron that foxes started appearing in the ranks of hordes. Even then they tended to rank highly. Foxes mostly work as herbalists and seers rather than fighters. Both genders tend to be naturally intelligent and treacherous. The most prominent fox in the series was Slagar the Cruel (first known as Chickenhound). Chickenhound was the son of Sela, a who worked as a healer, but double-crossed all her patients. She attempted to double-cross Cluny, was found out, and killed. Chickenhound survived the beating inflicted on him and his mother by Rats, and was brought to Redwall Abbey. He stole from the Abbey and killed Brother Methuselah. Hiding from his pursuers, he was bitten by the snake Asmodeus. By some miracle, he survived, but his face was left hideously deformed, and the venom warped his mind. He was determined to wreak revenge on Redwall for driving him to Asmodeus. 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 held positions of power over others. In almost all cases pine martens are one step below from a wildcat leader, except for Ublaz Mad-Eyes. In all the books pine martens were animals who were always clean and well-dressed. Ashleg was one of the few vermin to partially reform, however, he did not repent, but simply snuck away to lead a simpler life. Rats Rats are the main foot soldiers in the Redwall series. They also have the most variation within the species of any species in Redwall. Generic rats generally make up the main body of vermin hordes on land. Hate and fear are their main reasons for fighting as they rarely have 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). Searats are fearless and ruthless, the pirates of the seas surrounding Mossflower. They are most notable in Mariel of Redwall. There is a huge variation in regards to the general competency of searats, from the highly intelligent Cluny the Scourge, the main Redwall villain, to the insane Gabool the Wild and the opportunistic Ripfang. Most lower ranking searats are simply brutal thugs. Alone of all animals, they are ready and willing to make use of fire in their battles. Cluny went to ridiculous lengths to capture Redwall, injuring himself seriously on one occasion. Miraculously, he survived a fall from a very high elm tree, and when recovered, orchestrated several other schemes to take the Abbey. Though the schemes all failed, he eventually entered the Abbey, but was crushed to death by the abbey bell. Two of the only vermin to redeem themselves without dying were both searats: Blaggut in The Bellmaker, and Grubbage in Triss. Many variations of rats, such as the gray northern rats in The Bellmaker, great rats in The Long Patrol, and water rats have appeared, but while the species and appearance may differ, the behavior remains virtually the same. The Redwall rats have much in common with Tolkien's orcs. Reptiles & Amphibians Lizards are featured in various books, usually as evildoers. Rather than affiliating themselves with a vermin horde, they generally operate as thieves and bandits. A tribe of lizards from Martin the Warrior were unable to speak, but practiced cannibalism. Monitor lizards only appear in The Pearls of Lutra. The Monitors were native to the tropical island of Sampetra, and were the shock troops of Ublaz Mad-Eyes. They were fully sentient, and their leader Lask Frildur was at least somewhat educated. Larger than vermin, the Monitors were feared even by their own allies. 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 Mossflower, where they fed captured prisoners to an eel that they kept in a pit because it ate too many of their people. Martin and his companions eventually set it free with the help of the Guosim. They also appeared in Mariel of Redwall, and Outcast of Redwall. They are one of the few species of herptile to use sophisticated weapons such as tridents and bows and arrows. Snakes are giants in Redwall who attack the woodlanders. Adders are by far the most commonly recurring. Only adders, such as Asmodeus Poisonteeth, Zassaliss, Herasacss, Sesstra from Triss and the smoothsnake Sicariss and Baliss, the blind adder in Doomwyte have the power to hypnotize. There are, however, mimics, such as Deathcoil, the grass snake who disguised himself as an adder. Sable Sable have only been featured The Sable Quean. There are only three sable in the book; Zwilt the Shade, Armuk Rinn the Conqueror and Vilaya the Sable Quean. Armuk Rinn was only mentioned briefly as having been killed by a hare long before the start of the story. Zwilt and Vilaya are more prominent characters, however, being the two main antagonists of the book. They are described as tall and lean, but possessing surprising speed, agility and strength. They are both ruthless commanders and cunning tacticians. They are greatly feared by their minions, commanding obedience through a combination of cruelty and psychological intimidation. Stoats Stoats 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. Stoats tend to be even more brutal than other hordebeasts. Weasels Weasels tend to be somewhat more numerous than stoats and ferrets, and their personalities run the gamut from stubborn and foolish, to deadly fighters such as Ferahgo the Assassin, the main villain of Salamandastron and malicious tricksters, such as Ferahgo's son Klitch. A primitive tribe of weasels that called themselves the Flitchaye appeared in the Legend of Luke, Mariel of Redwall andThe Sable Quean. Although they were unaffiliated with the horde, they were as malicious as any other group of weasels, using a sleeping gas to knock out travelers before robbing them. Wildcats Wildcats are, aside from wolverines, the most powerful of the villainous species in the Redwall series. Wildcats featured heavily in the book Mossflower, and wildcats also appear in Lord Brocktree and High Rhulain. Wildcats are not villainous as a whole - Verdauga Greeneyes was described as being a "harsh, but just" ruler, and his son Gingivere was fully good, even risking his life to save two young hedgehogs. However, his sister Tsarmina, the main villain of Mossflower, was cruel, insane, and a powerful fighter. In Redwall, a wildcat named Squire Julian Gingervere, possible descendant of Gingervere and his wife Sandingomm, helps Matthias defeat Asmodeus Poisonteeth the adder. He is a vegetarian. Wolverines Wolverines are only featured in Rakkety Tam. One, Askor, dies at the beginning; the other, Gulo the Savage, Askor's brother, is the antagonist in the book. Wolverines are depicted as huge, strong, ferocious, and cannibalistic beasts that do not take orders from anyone but themselves. They seem to prefer other cannibalistic creatures as hordebeasts, rather than the traditional rats, ferrets, weasels, stoats, or even foxes. Gulo the Savage had a horde of ermine and white foxes, both cannibalistic, though much more temperamental than their wolverine leader. Single Species Beaver The Solitary Beaver is the only beaver in the Redwall series, and he was only barely mentioned in Redwall. He stopped Cluny from climbing up the wall in the first battle. He also helped Constance make the giant crossbow that was meant to kill Cluny the Scourge. The beaver is described as being as well-built as Constance, which suggests they could be around the same physical size. According to Brian Jacques, beavers do not appear in subsequent Redwall novels to reflect the fact that beavers are not native to Great Britain. Beetle Grubwhacker was a male beetle who lived with Log-a-Log Big Club in a small cave along the shore of the Great South Stream in Mossflower. Big Club treated him like his pet, giving Grubwhacker food to feed his family. Dolphin Several bottlenose dolphins are featured in the Legend of Luke. They help Vurg and Beau, after Vilu Daskar sank their ship, Sayna, by pushing their boat along. No other dolphins are mentioned in the book or any other redwall book. Hamster Mokug was a hamster in the book Triss. He was King Sarengo's personal servant, favoured because of his golden fur colour. Horse The only horse was in Redwall, which was used to pull Cluny the Scourge's cart. Plesiosaur The only plesiosaur was in High Rhulain. It was used to kill disobedient otter slaves. It was known as "Slothunog of the Deeplough". It was killed by Major Cuthbert Frunk W. Bloodpaw who also died while fighting it off. Reptilian sea monster The reptilian sea monster is only mentioned in the book Salamandastron, where it lives in a wide lake, kills several Guosomm shrews, and is called the "Deepcoiler." It is slain when the sword of Martin stabs through the roof of its mouth and penetrates its brain. Scorpion The only scorpion in the redwall series was in Mariel of Redwall, where it was held captive and starved by Gabool the Wild. The scorpion was supposed to be used to kill Greypatch. Sea Lion The sea lion appears in Legend of Luke and helps Vurg in pursuit of the red ship. Stag Stags and deer in general are mentioned in Redwall when Basil Stage Hare expresses his wish to be one after a unspecified encounter with one before the book. Tortoise The tortoise appears only in Rakkety Tam, where it serves two roles: as the pet of the volewife, Didjety Lightpaw, and as the symbol of power in the land of ice, the Walking Stone. The tortoise, later named Rockbottom, originally belonged to Dramz the wolverine king. After his murder, the tortoise is stolen and hidden beneath a tall sycamore tree overgrown and choked by ivy by Askor, where he is later said to be found by the volethief, Yoofus Lightpaw, while he is fishing. Rockbottom is a part of the dual purpose of Gulo the Savage's conquest, with the slaying and eating of Askor as the other. After Gulo is killed, Rockbottom returned to being Didjety's pet. His kind, like the wolverines, has never before been seen in Mossflower country. Wolf The only wolf noticed in Redwall was Urgan who was a resident of the Land of Ice and Snow who froze to death. Half a season later, his frozen body was discovered by Urgan Nagru, who took his pelt and wore it over his own fur. Nagru also stole Urgan's name, twisting it backwards. Nagru falsely claimed to have killed Urgan, calling himself "The Foxwolf" after the wolf's pelt that he wore. See Also
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