Basic Guide to the World of Redwall

[Vizon]

For those of you new to writing in the world of Redwall, I?ve put together a short guide to try to help you out with writing for this contest. Hopefully after reading this you can write like an avid Redwall fan, without even reading the books! Though I?d still recommend reading one, if only for the experience and inspiration (and delicious food descriptions). Please feel free to post additions or questions! Most of this is off the top of my head, so I could yet be missing something important.

In this guide I cover four basics:

1.   The world
2.   The inhabitants
3.   Beliefs/religion
4.   Terminology


1.   THE WORLD OF REDWALL

Basically think medieval Europe, but without all the black death and filth. Animals live in small communities or tribes or in some cases, fortresses. Important locations are ?Mossflower,? which is a forest, Redwall Abbey (a peaceful fortified communal structure overseen by an Abbot or Abbess), Southsward (southmost land, near Salamandastron), and Salamandastron, a mountain fortress with a military. There is the sea, sailed by ships, and roads that creatures travel with wagons and carts (pulled by themselves usually* ? or possibly slaves).

2.   THE INHABITANTS

As you probably know, all characters in the Redwall universe are animals ? animals that walk upright and wear clothes. In the books the animals are sharply divided into two general categories: ?goodbeasts,? and ?vermin,? though this has long been a division fan writers like to ignore. Large animals like bears, pigs, deer, and horses* don?t really exist, and all animals seem to carry some measure of sentience except perhaps insects, worms and fish (goodbeasts will eat these without feeling guilty). Birds often speak pigeon-English (ha ha) and are one of the few types of creatures that do not fall strictly into either ?good? or ?bad? categories. Birds can be very large (herons, owls) and do eat other creatures if they are carnivorous types. Some of the less intelligent birds (woodpigeons usually) are eaten regularly by vermin. Reptiles and amphibians are also rather neutral, as some are portrayed as vicious while others are friendly enough.
Generally, if a mammal is herbivorous or an insectivore it is a ?goodbeast,? and if it is a carnivore/omnivore it is classified as ?vermin.? There are a few exceptions (specifically otters and badgers are always good). Vermin usually move in ?hordes? under warlords and often have slaves (goodbeasts). They can also move in smaller gypsy-like groups that take advantage of travelers.

Examples of common species in Redwall:

Vermin:
Rats (sea rats particularly)
Foxes (cunning, often in positions of leadership)
wildcats (also usually leaders)
Ferrets
Weasels/Stoats

Goodbeasts:
Mice
Squirrels
Hares (usually hares are trained fighters from Salamandastron with voracious appetites)
Badgers (Heavy weights of the Redwall world, usually a badger rules Salamandastron. ?Gifted? with a altered state of mind in battled called ?bloodwrath.?)
Hedgehogs
Moles (thickly-accented diggers)
Otters (Also usually good fighters, being larger)

Other species do exist in the Redwall world, but are less common (lizards, wolves, pine martens, bats, seals, snakes, wolverines?)

Here is a link (previously provided by Airin) of species size comparison by the artist Briarwood:
https://www.weasyl.com/~briarwood/submission/349953/briarwood-redwall-species-lineup-1242478.jpg


3.   BELIEFS/RELIGION
Despite Redwall being an abbey, there is no mention of God. There seem to be lingering forces of good (Redwall looks to its original mouse warrior, Martin, as a sort of spectral guide and protector). Martin the warrior makes appearances as a silent ghost (also in dreams), and helps and guides the creatures of Redwall in times of attack/distress. His sword is important and sacred. Other than Martin there is Vulpuz, who seems to be a type of ?Hades? in that he oversees the underworld. There seems to be a belief in ?Hellgates? and ?the Dark Forest? as places to go after you die.

4.   TERMINOLOGY
There are some terms you should know and use if you?re going to write Redwall fan fiction. There are also accents/forms of speech specific to different species which you can find here: http://redwallwars.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:Logalog_Nombolo/Redwall_Speaking_Guide

Ale** ? common alcoholic drink (dandelion or October ale )

Babe ? baby. Often used in conjunction with species (i.e. mousebabe, molebabe)

Badgerlord ? ruling badger leader

Beast ? rather than ?man? since there are no men or humans.

Cordial** - common alcoholic drink (many flavors such as blackberry, Cowslip, and even ?Mint & Pennycloud?)

Dibbun ? youngster/toddler (often a way to refer to young characters without using a more human term like boy or girl, though ?child? and ?children? is generally accepted.

Eulalia    (Eee-yoo-lay-lee-uh) ? war cry of the Salamandastron hares/badgerlord

Gob ? mouth (as in ?shut yer gob!?)

Grog** ? Alcohol of choice for searats and vermin

Guosim (the Guerilla Union of Shrews in Mossflower) - Organized force of shrews (who pack a lot of punch for their small size) who help defend Mossflower from villains and hordes. More like a tribe than a military.

Hedgepig ? slang for hedgehog

The Long Patrol - Organized military force comprised of hares, trained and directed by the badgerlord of Salamandastron.

Maid/maiden ? used to distinguish females of a species, often in conjuction with the species name (i.e. mousemaid, squirrelmaid)

Pasty** ? common food item, filled with various contents (mushroom pasty, strawberry pasty)

Paw ? hand (footpaw for foot)

Riverdog ? slang for otter

Scone** ? common food item

Season ? used instead of ?year?

Strawberry Fizzy** ? non-alcoholic drink for children/prudes

Stripedog ? slang (usually an insult) for a badger





*In the first book there is a wagon pulled by a horse, but it seems it was a mistake (the author did not intend to write a huge series at first, and thus did not put as much thought into the world). Horses are never encountered in the many books that follow.


**For a more complete list of Redwallian foods look here: http://www.interestfreecurrency.org/Mossflower/foodsandbeverages.asp

[Matra Hammer]

This is a great guide for introducing writers unfamiliar with Redwall. Might link this article for a few of my friends. They're already familiar with fan fics and RPing, so this will help bridge the gap.

The jargon list is especially helpful. Told a patron at the library to shut his gob. His stunned silence let me know the pawsome strength of gob.

Also the food list? Whortleberry Sherry? Jacques, you so crazy with your internal rhyming.

[Vizon]

Thanks, Matra. Do let me know if you think of any additional important Redwall idiosyncrasies I overlooked. Do you think otters liking spicy "shrimp and hotroot soup" is significant enough to add? I don't want to make the guide too complicated/detailed where it's overwhelming...

[Airan]

First off, loads of thanks to you, Vizon, for doing all of this for any non-Redwall readers who want to join in.
Now I'm gonna briefly pop in here myself and add a bit more information and contetheir xt to some of it all.

1.   THE WORLD OF REDWALL

Basically think medieval Europe, but without all the black death and filth. Animals live in small communities or tribes or in some cases, fortresses. Important locations are ?Mossflower,? which is a forest, Redwall Abbey (a peaceful fortified communal structure overseen by an Abbot or Abbess), Southsward (southmost land, near Salamandastron), and Salamandastron, a mountain fortress with a military. There is the sea, sailed by ships, and roads that creatures travel with wagons and carts (pulled by themselves usually* ? or possibly slaves).

Gonna briefly go more into detail about each location, especially those important to this contest.

Mossflower Woods is also the central location of most Redwall books. It is a relatively peaceful area with only the occasional vermin band threatening travelers through it and, as Vizon said, is populated by small communities and tribes of beasts such as the Guosim (the Guerilla Union of Shrews in Mossflower) who follow the River Moss that winds through the forest on their logboats and protect it from any vermin with murderous intent. Oftentimes, the main threats to Mossflower come in the form of pirates and searats moving inland for plunder. And while inland is usually fairly safe, the seas are very dangerous and oftentimes filled with vermin and corsairs.

Salamandastron is a mountain fortress on the coast of Mossflower made out of an extinct volcano, or Fire Mountain as they're called in the Redwall universe. It is inhabited by a ruling Badgerlord and the hare military known as the Long Patrol, and they usually make it their duty to protect the coasts from any form of searat invasion.

Within the context of this contest, the Badgerlord Atlas Stormstripe has just led a successful crusade to end all piracy, finally winning when he killed the Pirate King Captain Blade. This has made the seas quite safe for travelers and merchants, and many of the tribes and communities once living in the forest, have now begun migrating to the coast, erecting ports and ships in the effort to find adventure and opportunity. And while Mossflower has never had a monetary system before, coins are slowly coming to become more and more important and desired as payment.

While, Vizon didn't mention it, Terramort is a small rocky island once featured in the book Mariel of Redwall, and was the first canon place to be mentioned where pirates all seemed to intermingle with one another under the direction of the rat, Gabool the Wild. Because of this, Redwall fanfiction writers often use Terramort as a sort of pirate hub. However, after Atlas's crusade, it is now in shambles and has been practically wiped off the map.

2.   THE INHABITANTS

The only thing I would add here would be to Foxes. While male foxes are often shown in positions of leadership and are often the smartest and cleverest vermin, female foxes are for some reason able to be gifted with the ability to be seers and have omens of the future. Because of this, seers are often heavily sought after by vermin leaders. The only thing with seers, is that if you decide to write one in the competition, you have to be careful not to make them overpowered.

3.   BELIEFS/RELIGION
Despite Redwall being an abbey, there is no mention of God. There seem to be lingering forces of good (Redwall looks to its original mouse warrior, Martin, as a sort of spectral guide and protector). Martin the warrior makes appearances as a silent ghost (also in dreams), and helps and guides the creatures of Redwall in times of attack/distress. His sword is important and sacred. Other than Martin there is Vulpuz, who seems to be a type of ?Hades? in that he oversees the underworld. There seems to be a belief in ?Hellgates? and ?the Dark Forest? as places to go after you die.

Despite the name, The Dark Forest, isn't necessarily a bad place either. From how the books have described it, it's basically the equivalent of heaven, but with what Jacques has said about why he named it that, he merely wanted it to sound mysterious.

Everything else looks pretty much good in my opinion. Just wanted to throw some of that into the context of the contest. Thanks for writing this up again, Vizon.

[Vizon]

Thanks for the clarification and fuller descriptions of important locations, Airan. You've reminded me I need to add the Long Patrol and GUOISM to the list of terminology too (for quick reference). *edits*

[Opal]

Very helpful! Thanks for making this. Just one thing (and I believe I heard this from Mr. Jacques himself): You don't pronounce the 'e' in "Eulalia." Otherwise it's spot on. Also I new a lady named Eula ("yoo-la") growing up, which helped. XP

But I stubbornly refuse to say Salamandastron like Mr. Jacques did. Apparently it's "Sal-uh-mun-DAS-trun." "Sal-uh-MAN-duh-stron" sounds like, y'know, salamanders and strength! Just makes more sense to me. What's a salamunder supposed to be, anyway? :P

I miss that guy. His book signings were always a hoot.

[Eliza Lacrimosa]

It may also be worth pointing out that "Cats" in this context are usually either wildcats or feral cats, not housecats.

[Vizon]

EDITS: Updated cats to "wildcats," added that woodpigeons are regularly eaten by vermin.