This page is a resource of Frequently Asked Questions that fans tend to have about Redwall. In most cases, these questions were answered by Brian Jacques in some manner during his lifetime. Some questions may be rephrased in different ways to ensure readers find the responses they're looking for.
How big are the animals in Redwall?[]
The size of the animals in Redwall is dependent entirely on your imagination. The Redwall TV Series is a good reference, though.
"The creatures in my stories are as big or small as your imagination wants them to be" - from Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 1
"Everything in the Redwall world is as large or as small as your imagination would like it to be." - from Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 4
Also worth considering is the following Redwall character size reference by illustrator Sean Rubin:
Is Redwall Abbey human sized?[]
The size of Redwall Abbey is whatever size you imagine it to be as you read the novels. Brian Jacques left this up to each individual reader. However, a good visual aid may be the Redwall TV Series.
"Everything in the Redwall world is as large or as small as your imagination would like it to be." - from Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 4
Where does milk come from in Redwall?[]
In Redwall, milk, cheese, and dairy comes from the sap of plants.
"Greensap milk is my solution. The sap of many plants can be used to make vegetarian versions of milk, cream, butter and cheese." And what is greensap milk? "If you squeeze a green plant you can extract sap. Thus, greensap milk." - from Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 3.
Greensap milk appears as a key ingredient throughout the Redwall series.
- In The Great Redwall Feast, greensap milk is used in Friar Hugo's recipe for the Abbot's Cake: "Bring me fruit, greensap milk. This cake'll be as big as a tower!"
- In Martin the Warrior, Friar Cockleburr uses greensap milk in his kitchen: "Pass those chopped nuts and greensap milk, please." - from Martin the Warrior, Ch. 1
- In Salamandastron, Friar Bellows uses greensap milk in his Great Hall cake: "Almond paste, greensap milk and young crystallized maple leaves. That seems to be the lot ... Rub the arrowroot and the pollen flour together, dribbling the greensap milk in slowly like thus." - from Salamandastron, Ch. 5
- In Salamandastron, greensap milk appears at a feast in celebration of Dumble and Wild King MacPhearsome: "And between them were heaped platters of bilberry, redcurrant and apple tarts, with bowls of greensap milk and richer buttercup cream." Ch. 36
- In Salamandastron, Barfle enjoyed greensap milk: "Greensap milk I'd like, with hot oatmeal and a whole blackcurrant pie, all to myself." - from Salamandastron, Ch. 37
- In Salamandastron, a feast featured a dessert with greensap: "A Redwall jubilee trifle of pears, damsons, greensap cream and hazelnut truffle was on the north end." - from Salamandastron, Ch. 43
- In Outcast of Redwall, Lully and Skarlath make cheese with greensap milk: "He had helped make the oval-shaped cheese, right from the greensap milk stage, pounding tirelessly at the fat, white grass stems and special tubers, which only true woodlanders knew of." - from Outcast of Redwall, Ch. 6
- In Outcast of Redwall, Sunflash the Mace enjoyed greensap milk in his porridge and oatcakes: "A lot more oats to thicken it up, less salt, more greensap milk than water, a good portion of honeycomb, maybe some dried fruit, apple rings, hazelnuts." - from Outcast of Redwall, Ch. 22
- In The Bellmaker, greensap milk is served as a beverage during a Redwall Abbey feast: "Turnovers, trifles, breads, fondants, salads, pasties, and cheeses alternated with beakers of greensap milk, mint tea, rosehip cup and elderberry wine." - from The Bellmaker, Ch. 4
- In Marlfox, Gubbio finishes his hazelnut and elderberry pudding with greensap milk: "Brushing the pastry with a mixture of greensap milk and honey, the mole twitched his button nose with pride." - from Marlfox, Ch. 18
- In Taggerung, Jurkin and Tagg drink greensap milk: "Great Aunt Lollery served the delicious pancakes, pouring everyone a beaker of greensap milk ... Robald shook his head as he watched the pair scoffing pancakes and swigging greensap milk like brothers." - from Taggerung, Ch. 22
- In Loamhedge, Horty sings a song about beverages that mentions greensap milk: "I'd never bilk at greensap milk." - from Loamhedge, Ch. 26
What is meadow cream?[]
"Meadow cream is cream flavoured with the honey and sweet herbs of the meadow, or any alternative you want to try." - from Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 2.
What were Brian Jacques' thoughts on video games? Would he approve of The Lost Legends of Redwall?[]
Brian Jacques was originally against the concept of a Redwall video game, however he later evolved.
In Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 1, Brian Jacques stated "I really dislike such things!" in regards to an inquiry about video games. At that time, the mid-1990s, the Redwall CD was a potential project, and in the same Q&A session, he said that "there will be no 'Game' element" to it. (It was later shelved.) In Ask Brian, Volume 4, he replied "No" in response to another question about the creation of a Redwall video game.
In a November 1995 interview with Locus, Jacques said "I've refused all the electronic games companies who wanted to adapt my work. I'd sooner burn all my books and go to brush the streets for my living than do that. And also these role-play books where you invent your own end. All these smart little kids invent their own end to my stories? No way! CD-ROM people are talking about doing an Encyclopedia of Redwall."
In 1999's Biography Today: Profiles of People of Interest to Young Readers. Author Series, Volume 5, Jacques said "If years from now, when all the pretty dust-jackets have fallen off, all the CD-ROMs and videos are full of dust, and some kid stumbles across a dog-eared copy of one of my books and enjoys it well, that's how I'd like to be remembered."
In a January 10, 2000, interview with Morning Call, Jacques observed that a top executive from a video game company attempted to sell him on a Redwall role-playing game, noting it was the "next level" for the books. "Don't you care?" the executive asked him. "I don't give a dog's bum. You ain't going to do that with my books," Jacques replied.
However, many years later he changed his mind, and "was fully part of the original contract deal" and "on-board before he passed" for The Lost Legends of Redwall. The game series was made in collaboration with the Jacques estate, Redwall Abbey Company Ltd, and Penguin Random House UK.
Worth noting, Brian Jacques initially also opposed a "Redwall" cookbook and a "Redwall" comic.
Is there religion in Redwall?[]
No, there is not religion in Redwall, Redwall is not religious.
"I try not to have any religious connotations at all, therefore no comparisons are intended. I have creatures die and to my mind they go on but who knows where? Dark forest is meant to be mysterious rather than menacing." - from Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 1.
"There is no religion in my stories and no hidden meanings. What you see is what you get. The Abbey is just a place of peace and comradeship, where creatures choose to live together." - from Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 2.
"This is a question that I have answered many times. ABSOLUTELY NOT!" - from Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 2.
"I chose an abbey because it is a place of peace and tranquility, where ordinarily the cares of a busy and frantic world do not intrude." - from Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 2.
"I have no wedding ceremonies because to do so would indicate a religious bias which I try always to avoid." - from Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 3.
"When I first imagined Redwall, I didn't think of it as having a religious nature but I did think of it as having a moral one. There is a very fine distinction I suppose between a religious nature and a moral nature, but a very real one. I wanted to have a 'structure' against which the battle of good and evil could be played out. Nothing is more 'good' in the popular perception than an abbey — a place of quiet, peace, serenity, and study, each member contributing to the whole. A threatened abbey seemed to me to be more serious, more dramatic than any other institution because an abbey exists only for the betterment of its individual members — just as a society does, or should. And because of this, the evil of the abbey's enemies seemed to be even more evil ... so it served my narrative purposes ... During my youth Liverpool was one of the great seaports of the world and Herr Hitler bombed us daily and nightly for a very long time, taking lives and causing huge destruction. It was a threat I keenly felt. So I guess I thought of my real world as a threatened community and the evil-doers were the Luftwaffe. Redwall Abbey became the tapestry against which the fight of good against evil could be played out. It is a literary device in which the abbey is actually a metaphor for an entire society." - from National Catholic Register (March 10, 2002)
Is Redwall religious?[]
No, Redwall is not religious. There is not religion in Redwall.
"I try not to have any religious connotations at all, therefore no comparisons are intended. I have creatures die and to my mind they go on but who knows where? Dark forest is meant to be mysterious rather than menacing." - from Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 1.
"There is no religion in my stories and no hidden meanings. What you see is what you get. The Abbey is just a place of peace and comradeship, where creatures choose to live together." - from Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 2.
"This is a question that I have answered many times. ABSOLUTELY NOT!" - from Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 2.
"I chose an abbey because it is a place of peace and tranquility, where ordinarily the cares of a busy and frantic world do not intrude." - from Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 2.
"I have no wedding ceremonies because to do so would indicate a religious bias which I try always to avoid." - from Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 3.
"When I first imagined Redwall, I didn't think of it as having a religious nature but I did think of it as having a moral one. There is a very fine distinction I suppose between a religious nature and a moral nature, but a very real one. I wanted to have a 'structure' against which the battle of good and evil could be played out. Nothing is more 'good' in the popular perception than an abbey — a place of quiet, peace, serenity, and study, each member contributing to the whole. A threatened abbey seemed to me to be more serious, more dramatic than any other institution because an abbey exists only for the betterment of its individual members — just as a society does, or should. And because of this, the evil of the abbey's enemies seemed to be even more evil ... so it served my narrative purposes ... During my youth Liverpool was one of the great seaports of the world and Herr Hitler bombed us daily and nightly for a very long time, taking lives and causing huge destruction. It was a threat I keenly felt. So I guess I thought of my real world as a threatened community and the evil-doers were the Luftwaffe. Redwall Abbey became the tapestry against which the fight of good against evil could be played out. It is a literary device in which the abbey is actually a metaphor for an entire society." - from National Catholic Register (March 10, 2002)
Are there humans in Redwall?[]
No, there are no humans in Redwall.
"There are no humans, my first book Redwall did mention the horse and cart but no humans are ever in the stories and I don't intend that they should ever be." - from Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 1.
"Redwall was my first novel, I didn't expect it to be published! After Redwall I decided not to include reference to humans again." - from Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 4.
"Humans will never be a part of the Redwall world (except as readers of course - and we are all friends aren't we?)" - from Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 4.
Why is Redwall so different than the other books, with a horse?[]
Redwall was never intended to be published. The concept evolved after Redwall's overnight success story.
"There are no humans, my first book Redwall did mention the horse and cart but no humans are ever in the stories and I don't intend that they should ever be." - from Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 1.
"Redwall was my first novel, I didn't expect it to be published! After Redwall I decided not to include reference to humans again." - from Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 4.
Can there be grey characters in Redwall? Was Veil a grey character?[]
Yes, there are grey characters in Redwall. There are occasionally characters who blur the line between good and evil - reformed vermin and cruel woodlanders. However, Brian Jacques generally kept the goodies good and the baddies bad.
"The goodies are good and the baddies are BAD, no grey areas." - from Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 1.
(in reference to the above) "Good will always shine through in the end." - from Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 4
"As to Veil and his final motives, I deliberately left that for the reader to decide. I have had many opinions and the jury is still out." - from Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 2. In Tribes of Redwall Mice, it is stated that Bryony comes to learn that "inborn evil is irreclaimable."
"I have no empty heroes. My goodies are good, and my baddies are bad. There are no schizophrenic goodies or sympathetic baddies. And children like it that way; it's not confusing. And they want the goodies to defeat the bads." - from Knoxville News-Sentinel (January 29, 1999)
"When I was a boy, morality was taught in school and in church but I think that is no longer true to the extent that it used to be. I try to create very clear moral signposts of what is right and what is wrong. The children who read my books are generally at an age where they need to have things spelled out in 'black and white,' without ambiguity. I often tell my readers that my baddies are bad and my goodies are good. I won't have sympathetic baddies and schizophrenic goodies in my books ... C.S. Lewis also wrote 'moral fables.' A great example is his The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. At the core of these books is always the epic and eternal battle of good versus evil. And good always wins. Always! Not just in books but in real life. If good didn't always win we would all be marching around with swastikas tattooed on our foreheads, wouldn't we?" - from National Catholic Register (March 10, 2002)
What is the difference between good and bad characters?[]
"The bad creatures are those which are traditionally bad in European folk lore and have come to be regarded as sly or mean or evil. The good creatures are mostly small and defenseless, with the exception of the badgers." - from Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 1.
"If the 'baddy' uses violence, it's to show you how evil he is, and if the 'goody' resorts to violence it's to show you that, although he doesn't like violence, he will defend his friends and his home." - from Biography Today: Profiles of People of Interest to Young Readers. Author Series, Volume 5
"[Animals] are more identifiable to young readers, more sympathetic too. A dirty rat, a sly fox, a slippery snake, an heroic mouse, a homely mouse, a friendly badger ... these are all prevalent in the folk tales of Europe and they suit the medieval setting well. The young reader is the young hero and the evil is savage, reptilian, and wild. There are no grey areas and it is clear who is good and who is evil." - from Redwall Readers Club literature
"[Animals] are more identifiable to young readers, more sympathetic too. A dirty rat, a sly fox, a slippery snake, a heroic mouse, a homely mole, a friendly badger ... these were prevalent in old European folklore, and they suit medieval settings as well. The young reader is the young mouse, otter, hedgehog, etc.; evil is reptilian or savage and wild. It has very few 'gray areas.' - from Horror magazine, October 13, 1994.
"I say to children all the time: You've heard somebody call somebody else a dirty rat, and you've heard these sayings 'slippery as a snake' or 'sly as a fox.' Well, you're identifying baddies. And the actual heroes and heroines in my books, the little mice, are the children. They are the ones who've got to resolve things by their own bootstraps. The lessons are there, to make their way along by courage and determination, and not by magic. So I think the animals are a lot more identifiable to children." - from Locus magazine, November 1995
"If you think of a rat, you can call somebody a 'dirty rat.' Right away, you've identified the baddie. Weasels, stoats, ferrets are vermin. And that sounds bad. And the good guys are you." - from Blue Peter episode, 2003.
"Mice are my heroes because, like children, mice are little and have to learn to be courageous and use their wits." - from Redwall.org
"[Animals] are much nicer than humans and more readily identifiable to children." - from Chicago Tribune, April 2, 1996
Why is Brian Jacques so detailed with his descriptions of Redwall food and feasts?[]
Brian Jacques grew up during World War II in Liverpool, England, where there was a food shortage. He experienced rationing.
"I was born in 1939 and was a small child during WW2. Liverpool was very heavily bombed and my brother and I along with my mother were evacuated for a time out into a country district. We had shortages of almost every type of food. This meant that apart from Red Cross parcels sent to families who lost a father abroad, I never tasted chocolate or candies until I was almost seven years old!! I also never tasted any fruit but an apple. I had heard of bananas and thought that they were something that someone made up for a story!" - from Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 3.
"I just think of what I would like to eat and embellish it. It comes from having a very frugal childhood." - from Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 2.
"When I was a young fellow, food was short because of World War II. Everything was on ration, and lots of things folk liked were just unobtainable. So, there I was, reading through my mother's old cookery books, my mouth watering at the coloured illustrations of delicious recipes. And the books I’d read in the library... It really annoyed me when I'd come to a passage where somebody ate a marvellous feast. There never seemed to be any description of it. Afterward the hero would ride off on his white stallion, thanking the King for the wonderful dinner. Wait! What did it taste like? What did it look like? How was it made? Did he really enjoy it?" - from The Redwall Cookbook
"It used to drive me completely bonkers when I would read in some story or book 'and the King gave a great feast for all his people.' And I would think 'Hang on now! What did the King serve? Was there enough for everybody? What did they eat? What did they drink? And just what is "mead" anyway? Were there tons of pastries for everyone? Was there music and singing? Did they all have a great time?' So when I wrote my stories, I made sure that I described, in minute detail, the feasts at Redwall Abbey." - from Authors by Request: An Inside Look at Your Favorite Writers (2002)
How do you pronounce Brian Jacques?[]
Brian Jacques is pronounced as if it rhymes with "cakes." Hear Brian Jacques pronounce his name:
Is there a complete set of Redwall books available to purchase?[]
No, you cannot purchase the Redwall series as a complete 22-book set. Around 2010, Penguin re-released the entire series in paperback with similar-looking covers. They are not sold as a set, but if you are looking to have all of your editions to match, individually acquiring these is your best bet.
Is there a teacher's guide for Redwall?[]
Yes, Penguin created a free PDF, A Classroom Guide to the Redwall Series, for educators and teachers. You can locate other teaching resources at this link.
Why is Redwall an Abbey?[]
Redwall is an Abbey because it is a neutral, peaceful location.
"I chose an Abbey because it is a place of peace and tranquility, where ordinarily the cares of a busy and frantic world do not intrude." - from Redwall.org's Ask Brian, Volume 2.
"I always delicately point out that while Redwall is an abbey, normally a religious institution, in my books Redwall Abbey is actually a secular institution whose leader, the Abbot or Abbess, is a figure of experience and wisdom, sort of the heart and historical repository of a community and very much a kind and loving father or mother to all the people in his or her care. Only a very few of the inhabitants of Redwall are monks. Most residents of the community are secular and have all of the human foibles and strengths that all of us have. It is how these strengths and weaknesses are tolerated and used which make Redwall a strong and loving community. So Redwall is populated with the absent-minded uncle, or the brash, overt neighbor, or the quiet introverted friend. All have their place in Redwall and all contribute to the success and survival of the community in their own way, just as real families tolerate the cousin who is obnoxious, the aunt who tipples a little too much, the grandfather who roars but is really meek as a lamb. Implied in all of this is forgiveness and acceptance. We forgive our family members their weaknesses and accept them because they are members of our family. The same is true in Redwall." - from National Catholic Register (March 10, 2002)
Which Redwall vermin horde was the biggest?[]
The largest vermin horde in the Redwall series was the Corpsemakers, led by Ferahgo the Assassin. Find more details on horde membership on their respective articles. The following consists of the larger hordes:
Horde | Approximate Size | Leader | Book |
---|---|---|---|
Corpsemakers | 4,000 | Ferahgo the Assassin | Salamandastron |
Blue Hordes | 2,500 | Ungatt Trunn | Lord Brocktree |
Rapscallions | 1,000 | Damug Warfang | The Long Patrol |
Sea Raiders | 1,000 | Vizka Longtooth | Eulalia! |
Cluny's Horde | 500-600 | Cluny the Scourge | Redwall |