Redwall

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The Redwall cycle of the author Brian Jacques is a series of fantasy novels for children and young people. So far, 22 volumes have been published in English, of which only the first 9 are available in German translation. Volumes 1–6 were published in paperback by Omnibus Verlag, and volumes 7–9 were bound by the same publisher. In addition, volumes 1–6 have been published in bound form by Thienemann Verlag .

The novels are set in Redwall Abbey, which is only inhabited by anthropomorphic (humanized) animals. However, as their beloved Redwall Abbey continues to be threatened by villains and enemies, the residents must use all their strength and cunning to withstand the threats. The author explicitly only uses animals that are found on the English island, as he stated in the "Ask Brian" category of the Redwall homepage. He always occupied the roles of villains with animals, which traditionally have a bad reputation or predators - rats , weasels , stoats , ferrets , foxes , polecats , wild cats , pine martens , toads , lizards , lizards , crows , gulls , ravens and magpies threaten the peace-loving creatures he recruits from the ranks of the more cute and cute animals - mice , badgers , hedgehogs , squirrels , otters , shrews , bats , sparrows , moles and hares . In addition, there are a few animals that cannot be assigned to any side, and a few instinct-controlled figures, some of which you don't even know whether they are capable of speaking. They include the golden eagle argulor or the pike storm fin from Mossflower . The languages ​​spoken in the Redwall volumes are as diverse as the animals: Otters call everyone they speak to "mate", rabbits emphasize their statements with a trailing "what", toads and pygmy shrews compress several words ( "Machatot") and moles speak a strange peasant dialect ("Des duat koi Supp seia, Frolleinche").

Plot of the different volumes

List of individual volumes

in this:

  • 1. Book: The Wall
  • 2. Book: The Search
  • 3rd book: The warrior

in this:

  • 1. Book: Kotir, the castle of horror,
  • 2. Book: On the mountain Salamandastron

in this:

  • 1. Book: Slagar the Cruel,
  • 2nd book: General Eisenschnabel,
  • 3rd book: Lord Malkariss

in this:

  • 1. Book: The Secret of the Mouse Maiden,
  • 2nd book: The sound of the bell

in this:

  • 1. Book: Of adventurers and runaways,
  • 2. Book: Of warriors you monsters,
  • 3rd book: Of fates and homecomers

in this:

  • 1. Book: The prisoner and the tyrant,
  • 2. Book: The jugglers and the valley seekers,
  • 3rd book: The battle for Marshank

in this

  • 1st book: The dream,
  • 2. Book: The Pearl Queen,
  • 3rd book: Südgrünau

in this:

  • 1. Book: A wonderful friendship,
  • 2nd book: a breach of trust,
  • 3rd book: The warrior's calculation

in this:

  • Book 1: Six Tears for an Abbot,
  • Book 2: The warriors move west,
  • 3rd book: When tears flow

Volume 1: Redwall - The Storming of the Abbey

Set in the green expanses of Moss Flower Forest is like a red jewel , the Abbey of Redwall. A big festival is celebrated, at which everyone is part of the party: The benevolent badger mother Konstanze, the mice abbot Mortimer, the ancient mouse scholar Methuselah, the young mouse and novice Matthias, the pre-mole and the church mouse family that live in the nearby area St. Ninian's Church is alive. But when Konstanze and Matthias bring the church mice home, they experience a nasty surprise. Cluny the Scourge, an evil ratich, is on the advance with his villainous horde and wants to take the abbey. But the Redwallers defend themselves under the leadership of Konstanze, Matthias and Basilius. In order to drive away the besiegers, Matthias tries to find the sword of the patron saint of the abbey, Martin the warrior. An adventurous search that leads him to sparrows and a giant snake begins.

Volume 2: Mossflower - In the Clutches of the Wildcat

The second volume is about the tyrannical rule of the wild cat Verdauga Grünauge and his children Gingivere and Zarina. Zarina ingeniously switches off both her father and her brother and now tyrannizes the forest dwellers alone, much worse than her father did. But they do not want to accept it so easily and send Martin the warrior (who later became the patron saint of Redwall Abbey), the mouse thief Gonff and the mole Klein Dinny to the Salamandastron mountain to get the badger boar of the fighters as reinforcement. On the way there, the three adventurers encounter bats, toads, a crab and, last but not least, a ship full of vicious sea rats.

Volume 3: Mattimeo - The Fox's Revenge

The third volume continues the plot of the first volume. Matthias' son, Mattimeo, the unicorn boy Sam, the bank vole Cynthia and the church mouse twins Tim and Tess are kidnapped by the slave trader fox Slagar. They meet the dachshund Auma and later the hedgehog Jubel. Of course, the Redwallers want their little ones back. They send Matthias, Sam's mother Jessica and the hare Basilius Hirsch Hase to get them back. They meet Orlando, Auma's father, Jabez, Jubels father, the young otter Lauser and the shrews of the Guasim (guerrilla union of all shrews in Mossflower). The Redwallers who stayed at home also have a lot to do. The raven General Eisenschnabel and his subordinates make life difficult for them.

Volume 4: The Secret of the Bell

The sea rat king Gabuhl der Wilde takes Josef the bell founder and his daughter Mariel prisoner because of a mysterious bell. But Mariel manages to escape to Redwall. There she makes loyal friends (including the young, combative mouse Dandin) who go out with her to free Josef. Meanwhile the abbey is threatened by Gabuhl's former comrade, Graufleck ...

Volume 5: Salamandastron: The hunt for treasure

The Wiesel Ferahgo threatens the mountain fortress Salamandastron together with his son Klitsch and a large army. The badger lord of the Strong, the ruler of the mountain, knows how to defend himself with his fighting rabbits, but the pack of evil weasels cannot be defeated. Shortly before the onslaught, Mara, Ädstreifens foster daughter, fled the mountain with her rabbit friend Piggel and is looking for help. Meanwhile, two deserters from Ferahgo's army steal Martin the warrior's sword from Redwall Abbey. On top of that, they bring the notorious black trench fever to the peace-loving abbey, which can only be cured by ice flowers from the northern mountains ...

Volume 6: Martin the Warrior

The story is about Martin the Warrior, founder of Redwall Abbey, who appears to the heroes in their dreams. In this book, Martin the warrior is captured by the ermine tyrant Badrang. He becomes a slave and has to work in Marschank, Badrang's fortress. When Martin was captured, Badrang had snatched the legendary sword from Lukas, Martin's father, from Martin. Martin swears revenge. He organizes an uprising and the badly treated slaves fight for their freedom. However, this freedom is bought at a high price.

Volume 7: In the Clutches of the Tyrant

Mariel and her friend Dandin are missing. In the dream, Josef appears to the bell founder, Mariel's father, Martin the warrior. Josef sets out to look for his daughter. Mariel is in the clutches of the fox wolf tyrant Nagru urru Urgan. After a dangerous journey, Josef and his companions arrive to begin a fight for freedom with the residents of Südgrünau, who are subjugated by the tyrant.

Volume 8: The Battle of the Companions

For many years the ferret leader Nero has been holding the badger lord Sonnenblitz captive. But then, with the help of the falcon Skarlath, Sunbolt manages to escape and in the fight he smashes Nero's six-clawed claw. One thing is certain for him and Skarlath: Nero's revenge, which will follow it everywhere. As a flash of the sun to the ancestral home of his ancestors on the Breg Salamandastron, Nero pulls himself on his heels. His entourage also passes close to Redwall and the abbey almost falls victim to the greed of the sinister fellows. The Redwallers know how to help each other, but then their good nature almost becomes their undoing. In the meantime, Sonnenblitz and his companions are preparing for the decisive battle against Nero on Mount Salamandastron.

Volume 9: The Emperor's Hostages

The insane emperor Lichterloh Feurio, also called Wahnauge, has Abbot Durral kidnapped for a few pearls, the so-called tears of all oceans. He rules over an island that is inhabited by all kinds of corsairs and terrible monitor lizards. Martin, son of Mattimeo, sets out with Trutz Langbein and others to save Durral, while the Redwaller strive to solve a difficult puzzle that leads to the hiding place of the pearls.

Characters

Ambrosius sting

Ambrosius Stachel is a hedgehog and (in Volume 3) the cellar master of the abbey. In volume 1 he warns the forest dwellers about Cluny, where he is injured. It also appears in volume 3. He is mentioned in Volume 9, but has long been dead.

Basil deer hare

He is a voracious rabbit, but not to be underestimated in combat. With his self-important demeanor, he can get pretty annoying. He was once part of a group of hares that roam the Mossflower woods as rangers. One day he meets Matthias by chance and promises to stand by him and the Redwallers in the fight against Cluny the tyrants. Over time, he becomes Matthias' best friend and an important defender of Redwall. Basil appears in volumes 1 and 3.

Cluny the tyrant

He's a mean, one-eyed rat. There is a poisonous sting on its tail that it can put on or take off as needed. In volume 1 he commands the storm on Redwall, but is finally killed by the falling Joseph's Bell.

The Kirchenmaus family

The Kirchenmaus family, consisting of Hans Kirchenmaus, Frau Kirchenmaus and the twins Tim and Tess Kirchenmaus, appear in volumes 1 and 3 and play a not insignificant role there. At the end of Volume 1, Hans Kirchenmaus succeeds the slain abbeyronist Methuselah. In Volume 3 the twins Tim and Tess are kidnapped by the fox Slagar together with Mattimeo, Sam Eichhorn and Cynthia Rötelmaus. At the end of this band, Tess even becomes Mattimeo's wife.

The Eichhorn family

It consists of Mr. Eichhorn, Jessica Eichhorn and the young Sam Eichhorn. This family also plays an important role in volumes 1 and 3. In the middle of Volume 1, Sam, who is known there as "the silent Sam" because he never speaks, shows Matthias, who is lost, on his way home to Redwall. In Volume 3 Sam is kidnapped by Slagar and therefore his mother Jessica is of course also part of the Redwaller squad who are chasing Slagar.

Various abbots and abbesses

All known abbots and abbesses of Redwall are listed in chronological order:

  • Abbess Germania: She is the founder of Redwall Abbey. It appears in volume 2.
  • Abbess Miriam: She is the abbess from Volume 8.
  • Abbess Zaunrübe: She is appointed the new Abbess in Volume 8. She is the descendant of Gonff, the mouse thief and companion of Martin.
  • Abbot Bernhard: The Abbot from Volume 4. His successor is Abbot Saxtus.
  • Abbot Saxtus: He is appointed at the end of Volume 4, is mentioned in Volume 5 and appears in the introduction to Volume 7.
  • Abbess Valeria: The successor of Abbot Saxtus. She guards the Redwall Abbey in Volume 5.
  • Abbot Cedric: predecessor of Abbot Mortimer. He is mentioned in Volume 1 of Methuselah.
  • Abbot Mortimer: The abbot from the first volume in the series.
  • Abbot Mordalfus: He is the successor to Abbot Mortimer and was previously known as Brother Alf. He appears in volume 1, at the end of which he becomes abbot and then appears again in volume 3, in which he is abbot.
  • Abbot Durral: Durral is the abbot from Volume 9. At the end of Volume 9, he appoints Stacheline as Abbess.
  • Abbess Stacheline: At the end of Volume 9, she becomes the Abbess. She is the first known abbess who is not a mouse (but a hedgehog).

Cornflower

Kornblume is the wife of Matthias and the mother of Mattimeo. In Volume 3, General Eisenschnabel takes her hostage together with Baby Rollo Rötelmaus and Frau Kirchenmaus.

Martin the warrior

He is the hero of volumes 2 and 6 and the protector of Redwall. He is depicted (among other things) on the large tapestry that the abbey residents made. The son of Luke the Warrior, he grew up expecting one day to become a great warrior himself. After the death of his parents, he is captured and enslaved by the ermine tyrant Badrang. After years of slave labor in Badrang's Marshank Fortress, he was thrown into the prison pit for disobedience, where he met the squirrel Felldoh and the little mouse Brome. With the help of Brome's older sister Rose and her companion, the old mole Grumm, Martin, Felldoh and Brome manage to escape. They want to find allies in Noonvale, the home of Rose and Brome, to fight Badrang and free the remaining slaves. Soon Martin, Rose and Grumm are separated from Felldoh and Brome. Martin and Rose fall in love on the dangerous journey to Noonvale. Eventually they return with a large army and storm Marshank Fortress, where Rose is killed by Badrang. Furious, Martin kills his archenemy Badrang in a bitter duel and takes back his father's sword, which Badrang had stolen from him years ago. After the death of his great love Rose, he separates from his friends and moves south, where he is imprisoned in Mossflower by the tyrannical wild cat Tsarmina Grünauge for carrying a weapon and his sword is destroyed by Tsarmina. In prison he made the acquaintance of the mouse thief Gonff, who over time became Martin's best friend. After the two manage to escape, they set up an army of forest dwellers together to end the reign of the wildcat. In a decisive duel, Martin succeeds in killing Tsarmina with his newly forged sword and thus freeing Mossflower. After this decisive victory, he helps Abbess Germania from Loamhedge to build Redwall Abbey, where he spends the rest of his days in peace. After his death he is buried in a tomb under the great hall. Even after his death, Martin's ghost protects the Redwallers in distress. So he later helps Matthias to become the warrior and savior of Redwall.

Matthias

Born in poor conditions, Matthias found refuge in Redwall Abbey as a child after the death of his parents. He is raised by Abbot Mortimer and later a novice . When an army of rats under the command of Cluny the tyrant besieges the abbey, he is encouraged by the spirit of Martin the warrior to find Martin's legendary, missing sword and become the new warrior of Redwall. After a long search, he finds the sword, beheads the serpent Asmodeus who guarded the sword, and finally defeats Cluny and his army. He marries Cornflower, whom he has loved since arriving in Redwall, and they have a son named Mattimeo. After years of peace, Mattimeo and other children from Redwall are kidnapped by the fox Slagar, who wants to sell them as slaves to the mad Lord Malkariss in a distant land. Together with his best friend Basilius, the squirrel Jessica and new friends, he finally manages to free the children, where Slagar is also killed. After returning to Redwall, he and Basilius and the badger lord Orlando, whose daughter Auma was also one of Slagar's hostages, trained a new generation of warriors, including his grandson Martin, the son of Mattimeo and Tess Church Mouse.

Mattimeo

Mattimeo is the young son of Matthias. He appears in Volume 3 named after him. He's quite a rascal at the beginning of the tape, but after being kidnapped by the fox and slave trader Slagar, he changes and begins to act like a real warrior.

Slagar

Slagar resp. Chicken dog is one of the really bad villains. He has his first appearance in volume 1, where he is called the chicken dog and where he is the son of the healer Sela, who is supposed to heal Cluny the rat tyrant because the Redwallers have thrown him from the board that he uses as a bridge between a high tree and the wall had used redwalls. There he thinks he is smarter than his mother, tries to rob the Redwaller, murders the old chronicler and porter Methuselah while on the run and, after hiding in a tree stump, meets the adder man Asmodeus. After narrowly escaping an encounter with the latter, he intends to take revenge on the Redwallers and robs them of some of their children in volume 3, along with a horde of weasels, ermines and other vermin. Eventually Matthias and Orlando push Slagar to a well, where he stumbles backwards and falls into it. Thus Redwall is freed from Slagar.

Rose of Noonvale

Rose of Noonvale; also known as laterose, appears in volume 6 as a companion and lover of Martin the warrior. She is portrayed as a pretty chief daughter with a beautiful voice and good character and is looking for her younger brother Brome, who was kidnapped by Badrang. She is accompanied by the mole Grum. Rose and Grum finally manage to free Martin, Felldoh and Brome from the prison pit in Marshank. Rose, Martin and Grum are separated from Felldoh and Brome by a storm that destroys their boat while they are fleeing. You are on your way to Noonvale, where all sorts of dangers lurk. She accompanies Martin with a large army to Marshank to fight Badrang. During the battle, she is killed by Badrang, who in turn is killed by Martin in a duel.

Badrang the tyrant

He is a vicious ermine tyrant who used to frighten the seas off Marshank as a pirate. After Luke the warrior unsuccessfully went into battle against Badrang, he took Martin; Luke's son; takes off his father's sword and lets him work as a slave. In the final battle for Marshank he is killed by Martin the warrior.

cartoon

After the books, an animated series with 39 episodes was produced in 1999. In Germany, the first two seasons were broadcast for the first time in 2001/02 by the children's channel KI.KA , the third season followed in 2005. The first two seasons were also released on DVD.

Web links