The Redwall universe has given us many, many characters over the years. In most cases, these characters are either good or bad, with no gray areas in between. However, every once in a while, we get a character from a typically “good” species who isn’t a good character, and one from a “bad” species that isn’t bad. These characters will sometimes recieve discussion among fans simply for how they stand out among the generally black-and-white universe of the series.
But while some characters will stand out as explicitly gray, others may be more up for debate. Sometimes it’s not quite clear whether a character leans a certain way on the moral spectrum, or is just neutral. Today I’m going to be discussing a group of crows——a generally villainous species in the series—-who may or may not qualify as vermin. Appearing in book eight, “Outcast of Redwall”, they only play a very small role in the story, and for this reason I think it makes sense to go over all quotes regarding them, to really understand how villainous they are. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the Crow Bretheren.
Analysis[]
Part One[]
We first meet the group at the beginning of Chapter Eight in the book.
"High above the dust clouds of Swartt's army, far out of range of arrow or sling stone, four crows flew like ragged black specks against the sky. Two of the birds broke off and wheeled south, leaving the other two watching the horde of Sixclaw. Soaring on the high thermals and using the breeze, the first two crows were out of the desert regions and into the fertile hill lands by noon. Circling swiftly, they dropped into a copse of pines."
Okay, so in our first section, we’re introduced to a group of birds who don’t appear to be allied with the main vermin horde of the book. On top of staying clear of being in their line of fire, two are apparently spying on the horde, which suggests they really don’t like them. That’s completely understandable, given the leader of said horde is definitely evil.
”Krakulat, Ruler of the Crow Bretheren, sat immobile on a pine stum, his plumage covered in earth, dust, and pine needles. The huge bird was grieving for his mother, and none dared come near him. The two scouts landed a respectful distance away and waited until Krakulat’s wife, Bonebeak, waddled up to them before making her report.”
Here in this second paragraph we immediately get a huge chunk of information about the Crow Bretheren leader. As we’re introduced to Krakulat, we find out immediately that he’s just suffered a personal tragedy and is going through a rough period of grieving. We also learn that other crows are scared of him, which indicates he has unfairly taken out his frustration on them earlier, but it’s not clear whether it was before or after he suffered the loss, so are they just more scared of him than usual, or is this not how he usually is? On a more positive note, we find out he had a mother he loved. We also find out he has a wife, who seems to have been with him prior to the other birds arriving, and there’s no indication so far that he was taking out his feelings on her.
”’Rakkaaa! The vermin are as many as grains of sand blown by the wind, they come this way. Tomorrow when the sun is high we will see them, Lady Bonebeak.’”
Here we see the crows refer to the Swartt horde as “vermin”, which seems an incredibly odd thing for another vermin horde to do. We learn that they plan to “see”, not necessarily attack, the horde, indicating they are not generally a violent bunch. And the fact that they address Bonebeak as “lady” indicates that Krakulat considers her to be on the same level as him, which would seem to indicate a good marriage.
“The fierce female called to her husband, ‘Yaggaaa! Did you hear that? The ones who slew your mother are coming to this place!’”
Bonebeak is immediately described as “fierce”, indicating that she is strong-willed and unafraid of her husband, unlike the other birds appear to be. In addition to this, her immediate reaction to hearing the news is to warn him that they are in danger, indicating she loves him.
”Krakulat’s talons sank into the bark of the pine stump with rage, his bloodshot eyes widening with anticipation as he rasped hoarsely to the trees about him, ‘Harkaa! Tomorrow will be the dying day for many vermin, do you hear me, my Bretheren? Krakulat has spoken!’”
So it’s mentioned he has bloodshot eyes, indicating he’s wept during this period of grief, which tells us he hasn’t merely been in a bitter/angry mood during this time. He also refers to the horde as vermin, which, as I mentioned earlier, is a strange thing for the leader of a supposed vermin horde to do. On the other hand, he is vengeful, wanting to slaughter the entire horde; while there are good characters who go through periods of this (known as the “bloodwrath”), it doesn’t help his particular case. We also get the sense that he feels highly of himself, as he refers to himself in the third person.
“A deafening din arose from the copse as hundreds of savage crows set up a mighty calling. Krakulat shook his feathers until dust and needles flew about him. Blue-black and beautifully iridescent, the mighty bird nodded his frightening beak up and down in a stabbing movement, screaming, ‘Karraaaa! There will be many vermin for our eggchicks to pick over as the sun whitens the bones of those who slew my mother!’”
Okay, so we get the description of the crows being “savage”, but to Ben fair, they’re entirely wild creatures. Krakulat is described as having a frightening beak, but also is positively described in the appearance of his feathers. And while he continues to show his vengeful side, there’s also nothing to suggest he doesn’t care about his flock, with giant final comment suggesting he in particular cares that the hatchlings don’t starve.
So that’s it for Chapter Eight. We don’t see or even hear about the Crow Bretheren again until Chapter Eleven, so let’s move over to that chapter.
Part Two[]
”Krakulat withdrew his Crow Bretheren to a place where the horde of Swartt Sixclaw could not see them. They settled behind low hillocks, waiting for nightfall. The Crow Leader had been off hunting with his Bretheren when the weasels Scarback and Marbul had slain his mother with slingstones. Fearfully the old ones reported the murder to Krakulat on his return, and the savage crow’s rage and grief had been awesome, moreso when his scouts reported back to him on the dreadful end his mother’s body had met. Krakulat decided to take his vengeance without regard to life and limb, and once his initial rage had subsided, he planned the time and place his Bretheren would strike.”
This is where things get confusing. This entire paragraph reads like an introduction to the entire situation. What made the actual introduction I went through earlier so well done was that it was mostly shown instead of told——something even movies and shows don’t always do. But here, that gets made redundant by an expository paragraph. I’m genuinely curious, did Mr. Jacques write this first before revising it into the section shown in Chapter 8? If so, he should have realized this section was a little redundant and just removed the majority of it. I mean, sure, it’s interesting to see Mr. Jacques use the word “awesome”, which in American slang, means something else entirely. But it doesn’t really establish much we don’t already know.
There is one new bit, however, that stands out here, and that’s the fact that Krakulat allows the elderly crows to stay behind when the Bretheren go out hunting. This could be at least some indication that, despite what he might be like now, Krakulat has in the past been a been a caring, rational leader. Anyways, I’ve spent two paragraphs analyzing one, so let’s get back to it. We take a break from the Crow Bretheren for a few pages, until we find the horde of Swartt Sixclaw sleeping.
“That was when Krakulat made his move...
Scarback and Marbul were sleeping out in the open, outside the warlord’s tent. They did not feel the thin twine made from animal sinews until it began tightening upon their necks, and by then it was too late. Four crows dug their talons into the earth as they strained and pulled in opposite directions on the strangling loops. Meanwhile, Krakulat stirred the embers of a fire at the edge of the camp into leaping flames. Silently, Krakulat’s wife, Bonebeak, dipped her wing in signal to the army of waiting crows, and the Crow Bretheren went to work.”
So here’s where Krakulat and his Bretheren start to show their dark side. The twine made from animal sinews is the first thing to really bring into question the Bretheren’s neutrality. Perhaps the animals the twine was made from were simply made from other vermin who antagonized the crows? I don’t know, all I know is it sounds pretty gruesome.
”Each of them winged silently over the fire, carrying in their talons a long string. At the end of each string dangled a mass of dried moss and grasses dripping with pine resin. As the Crow Bretheren passed over the flames, the fireballs ignited. Speeding like dark phantoms, they flew upward, dropping their blazing burdens into the tents of Swarrt’s horde. As soon as this was done, they circled high out of range of the flames, waiting.”
So now we really see how dangerous the Crow Bretheren can be. There’s no question about that. The question it does pose, however, is are all of these crows are truly malicious, or are they just going along with a leader who might not be in his right mind at the moment? Let’s keep reading and maybe we’ll find out.
“Three ferrets dashes screaming from a burning tent. Krakulat and his crows slew them as they tried to escape the flames. Now others could be seen against the patches of firelight that had sprung up, illuminating the landscape below. The Crow Bretheren took no prisoners; the vengeance of Krakulat was swift and unmerciful.”
Okay, so I think we’ve established by now that Krakulat is seriously going overboard in his quest for vengeance. Part of the problem is we don’t know how he felt about “earthcrawlers” before they killed his mother. Is this some sort of prejudice that had been building up inside him? Is he completely insane? Or is he simply always a psychopath towards earthcrawlers? And then there’s the question about the rest of the Bretheren I mentioned earlier. Hopefully we’ll get some answers soon.
“Nightshade pointed at four dark shapes attacking a squealing rat in the firelight. ‘Crows! They’re all over the place...Yaaaagh!’
A crow fastened it’s talons in the vixen’s back; Swartt clubbed it flat with his nailed paw.”
Not too much to mention here, just that the crows continue to show no mercy and are attacking those that escape the fire.
”A withering hail of stones and arrows whizzed into the night sky, followed by another and yet another. Krakulat saw the destruction the missiles wreaked on his Bretheren and wheeled upward out of range, cawing, ‘Kraawkaa! Follow me! We will show them the Bretheren have no fear. Higher, my warriors, higher!’”
Alright, so here we see the tables begin to turn for the crows. Krakulat sees what’s happening, but rather than show he cares about his Bretheren and try to get them to safety, he insists on continuing to scare the horde. Assuming he ever was caring leader, it’s pretty clear he isn’t at this point.
”Swartt’s quick thinking ended the encounter. Krakulat sent his crows zooming down like thunderbolts, and, unable to stop themselves in time, the last thing most of them heard was Swartt yelling, ‘Spears an’ pikes up!’
The Crow Bretheren’s ranks were so drastically thinned by this sudden action that they were forced to take flight.”
So, because Krakulat was so consumed with vengeance, he neglected to think of the safety of the rest of the Bretheren, and many of them died. So yes, at this point, at least, I would definitely say that Krakulat is a villain. It doesn’t answer the question of whether he was ever good, or if the rest of the Bretheren are villains. But at least for now we have an answer about Krakulat during his part in the story.
Part Three[]
So we transition to the next day, where soldiers of Swartt’s horde are bringing reports.
”A weasel called Grayjaw came running up, breathless. “sir, we’ve seen the crows. They’re in that grove of pines over yonder. Give the word and we’ll attack!’
Swartt shook his head as of in despair. ‘Listen to her. “Give the word and we’ll attack.” Blockhead! They’ve probably got an ambush set up for us if we go near those pines.’
So, even after his desire for vengeance led to the death of many members of his Bretheren, Krakulat still cares more about seeking vengeance than the safety of his Bretheren. While it’s true that Swartt’s horde did kill them, Krakulat also isn’t owning up to being a terrible leader.
So Swartt announces to the horde that they’re leaving, but not before Nightshade gives him an idea.
”The horde broke camp at midmorning. As they turned to march south and west, Swartt nodded to a line of archers standing round a fire. ‘Give ‘em back what they gave us. Fire!’
Burning arrows sped into the pine grove. It was a natural firetrap, with thick layers of dead pine needles providing a floor and old pines leaking resin, supporting half-fallen trees, dry as tinder and highly flammable. Swartt had lost more than three score hordebeasts to the crows, but it did not make much of a dent in his horde, many of whom mourned the loss of their tents more than that of their dead comrades in arms. Black smoke belched skyward as the Crow Bretheren tumbled out like a pile of old dark rags to take refuge on the streambanks.”
As we see here, Krakulat’s obsession with vengeance continues to come at the expense of the safety of his Bretheren. It’s not clear yet if anyone was killed here, but the point is, Krakulat is continually putting the crows at risk of being killed. There’s really no question now as to whether he’s a villain.
”Krakulat watched the pine grove burn, saying, ‘Kchaaka! We will follow them and kill them one by one. Come!’”
Nothing more to add, other than the fact that we have further evidence that Krakulat clearly doesn’t care for the safety of his Bretheren.
”The first the horde knew of it was not long after midday. A horderat marching slowly at the rear we seized by a horde of crows and lifted screaming into the air. The birds flew as high as they could with their wriggling wailing burden, then they dropped him. He left a dent in the landscape; other hordebeasts leapt to one side to avoid being hit by the fallen rat.
After that a whole company of archers was ordered to march at the rear facing backward, their bows ready strung against further attacks. Next the crows picked another rat off the middle right flank, and the archers at the rear could not fire for fear of hitting their comrades. Before sundown a third rat was lifted off, this time from the front left flank of the marching horde...
...Chaos was beginning to break out in the horderanks as the rats, realize that they were the only ones light enough for the crows to lift into the air, started panicking. Pushing and shoving at weasels, stoats and ferrets, the rats tried to occupy the center of the marching masses, where the crows dared not fly down upon them. Hordebeasts fought the rats viciously, claiming the center spot for themselves and their families, some with young ones. The crows, however, did not have it all their own way. Archers and slingbeasts began a relentless barrage of stones and shafts at the dark-winged harassers.
So you might remember how I mentioned that it wasn’t clear whether or not the Bretheren as a whole were malicious or simply acting under Krakulat’s orders. While it’s still unclear whether every one of them is malicious, they don’t seem to have a problem with the evil things Krakulat is having them do; notably here, we see that there are families with children among Swartt’s horde who are fighting for safety, and there’s no indication that the fighters feel any remorse for them. But does this make the entire Bretheren bad? Not really. We know there are nestlings, and by extension mothers, as well as elders who don’t participate in the action. While it’s unclear whether the mothers or elders have ever been like this, but then nestlings clearly aren’t at fault. Perhaps the Bretheren’s lack of empathy towards the families in the horde stems from some sort of prejudice towards “earthcrawlers”? Unfortunately, Mr. Jacques never clarifies if this is actually the case not.
”As night fell Swartt was forced to make camp. A burning ring of fires in the open surrounded the horde, stopping the crows picking off anybeast on the fringes...Krakulat and his Bretheren squatted Out of range of the campfires. Bonebeak gave her husband no peace, as she constantly berated him.
’Rakaaah! Vengeance is a fool’s idea, what good will it do us when we’reall dead? You have slain enough of the landcrawlers to pay for your mother’s life ten times over. Our Bretheren must get on with the business of living, we must find new homes. If you get us all slain, who will be left to say what brave birds we were, what a courageous fo Krakulat was? Kchaah!’”
Alright, so finally get to know Bonebeak, who’s largely been kept out of focus, a little better. And she definitely seems to be a better candidate for a gray character than Krakulat. Unlike her husband, she clearly sees how much damage this vengeance quest is causing, and has in mind what’s best for the Bretheren. On top of standing up to him, she’s also unwilling to back down on grilling him about what he needs to do. She also shows she’s clever when she uses the tactic of playing to Krakulat’s ego to convince him to move the Bretheren. In short, Bonebeak seems like a potential good leader, and the first member of the Bretheren we’ve seen who shows actual signs of being gray.
She followed the crow commander as he waddled angrily between the sleeping Bretheren, trying to shake her off. ‘Agga! Give your feathers a rest, and your nagging beak, too!’ he snapped. ‘I will say when I have had my revenge on the vermin. The Bretheren follow me, my word is law here. Now leave me alone!’”
And once again, we see Krakulat cares more about satisfying his obsession with vengeance than with the safety of the Bretheren. He doesn’t even seem to care about his wife; if anything, he seems more concerned that the Bretheren will follow her instead of him. He also continues to refer to Swartt’s horde as vermin, but whether he sees himself as vermin or not, it’s clear that that is exactly what he’s become, assuming he was ever good.
”The night wore on with both sides fitful and uneasy...the crows were kept awake by the constant tirades of their leader’s wife.”
So we know the other crows at hearing what Bonebeak is saying, but no one seems to be coming in to her defense. Most likely they’re deciding it should be between the two of them. While I’d think that any mothers with nestlings would chime in, it’s quite possible that Krakulat, if only at Bonebeak’s insistence, has them and the elders located somewhere safer. Still, it would be nice if some of the crows who taken part in the combat spoke up here, as it would show us that they’re not all bad.
So Swartt and the horde try to get to the shelter of a ravine that Nightshade has found.
“The horde entered the gorge in darkness, stumbling over the rocky defile at the shallow end of the ravine, still beset by the crows. It was a scene of chaos. Swartt and his captains yelled commands at the the hordebeasts above the cawing din of the birds, vermin fires arrows and slung rocks willy nilly, others jabbed at the night sky with spears.”
Not much to add here, except the narration specifically uses the term “vermin” to identify Swartt’s horde. So maybe Mr. Jacques didn’t intend for the Bretheren in general to be vermin?
”Screams and terrified cawing from the outside saved the vixen having to answer awkward questions. ‘Lord, listen, something strange is happening outside!” she cried. The warlord peered outside, taking care to stay away from the cave entrance. ‘Well, it’ll be dawn soon, then we’ll find out...”
...after a while it went quiet outside...dawn arrived gray and patched with lowering clouds...Swartt poked his head out of the cave to see half a dozen foxes come splashing through the stream shallows...more foxes, maybe fifty, were collecting dead crows and healing them in a pile. The ferret drew his sword and put on a bold face, saying, ‘I’m Swartt Sixclaw, warlord of all this horde. I see you’ve slain some of my soldiers. Why?’
The vixen spun her bolas idly, clacking the big pebbles together rhythmically. ‘Foley ‘n fie! ‘Twas a mishap; did I not rid ye of them crows?’
Looking up, Swartt had to agree. There was no sign of a crow flying anywhere about. He saw a young fox plucking feathers from the carcass of Krakulat to decorate his brush with. ‘Aye, the crows are gone, sure enough,’ he said. ‘What do they call you, friend? Never mind the few of mine you slew, those crows were becomin’ bothersome.’”
So were all the Crow Bretheren who participated in Krakulat’s vengeance quest out? Or did some manage to fly to safety? You’ll notice the narration takes note of Krakulat’s corpse, but not Bonebeak’s. That, and the fact that she was against continuing to antagonize the horde makes me think that she, and possibly others, may have managed to escape, presumably bacon to wherever the mothers, nestlings, and elderly are I assume hiding.
And that’s the last mention of the Crow Bretheren in the book, unless there’s some throwaway line mentioning their part in the story. And with that, it’s time to move on to the concluding section of the essay.
Conclusion[]
So what is our overall conclusion here about the Crow Bretheren? Unfortunately, Mr. Jacques doesn’t give us a ton of information on them; there’s literally ten pages of a 350+ page book that involves them. But what have we gleaned from those ten pages?
Before we look at what we’ve overall learned about the crows Fromm those pages, I feel I should mention that I tried, just for the sake of it, researching the actual definition of “Bretheren”. Perhaps that could tell me a little more about the group as a whole. But it simply mean people (or in this case, crows) belonging to a certain group...when it’s not being used in religious context, of which there is of course none in Mr. Jaques’ Redwall material.
But let’s move on to looking at the overall big picture, now that we’ve been through the entire story of these crows that the book gives us. I think we’ve definitely established that Krakulat, the leader, was pretty horrible throughout his “screen time”. He was so obsessed with vengeance that he became the kind vermin he despised for killing his mother, and led many, if not all, of his Brethren to their demise. The question is, was Krakulat always like this? Did his mother’s death actually send him that much over the edge? Or was he using it as an excuse to justify his bloodlust?
It doesn’t help that we’re never told about what kind of relationship he had with his mother. We also don’t really know much about his relationship with the rest of the Bretheren, including husband wife. We know the Bretheren are scared to come near him when he’s grieving, but is it simply moreso than usual, or are they not used to being scared tof him. We see him declare that husband vengeance quest will result the murderers being gone and the safety of the Bretheren and the nestlings getting food, or simply to make the Bretheren believe his motives aren’t entirely selfish? And we see his wife Bonebeak isn’t afraid of him and keeps trying to get him do the right thing, but is it simply because she cares for the Bretheren, and even before the story was married to him mostly in hopes of convincing him to make things better for the group, or also because he wasn’t always this deranged, and she wants the husband she loves back? We can’t say for sure who Krakulat exactly was before the start of the story, but ultimately his character comes down to what we see in the story itself, and that is a deranged, cruel, selfish, violent, and ultimately evil character.
But what about the rest of the Bretheren? Well, it’s impossible to say for sure. The only one we see stand up to Krakulat about husband actions is Bonebeak. Whether the others are mostly scared of him, or mostly in agreement, is very much in question, but it’s quite likely both, seeing as some are likely fathers with children, as Krakulat’s comment about the nestlings tells us there are families in the group. That’s not even mentioning the mothers or the elderly crows; it’s unlikely that Krakulat is the only one of the fighters who had a parent or elderly family member who lived among the Bretheren. Since there is no mention of elderly or young crows being among the vengeance party, I personally believe they were all located a safe distance away from Swartt’s horde, who the rest of the crows were watching.
As I mentioned earlier, Bonebeak seems like the closest thing we actually see among the Bretheren to a good or at least gray character. She admittedly goes along with Krakulat’s vengeance quest initially, but she also has the best interest for the Bretheren in mind and also points out how overboard (to put it mildly) Krakulat is going I’m seeking vengeance. The fact that there is mention of Krakulat’s corpse but not hers makes me think that she did indeed escape, likely with at least a few others, and thereafter took over as leader of the Brethren.
So overall, while I wouldn’t call Bonebeak and the rest of the Crow Bretheren “good”, I think they have a fair case of being considered gray.
Closing Thoughts[]
This essay sure took a lot of time to write, especially since I’m using my phone to type. But I had a fun time writing it, and feel I have a better understanding of this group and their leadet than I’ve ever had. It also made me really consider for the first time the possibility that some members of the Bretheren, Bonebeak in particular. I doubt I’ll ever write essay here as long as this one. If it was a bit too much to read, I’m sorry about that. (Hopefully breaking it up into separate parts helped.) But if you’ve made it this far I just want to say thanks for taking the time to read it, and feel free to leave any comments if you want to.