I never got the impression that Martin was treated and worshipped like a god, but rather, honored like a saint in the world of Redwall. The Redwallers believe that Martin’s spirit resides in the tapestry, and in almost every book, he communicates to the heroes through the tapestry or in dreams. Inhabitants of the abbey regard Martin and his depiction on the tapestry with great respect, much like how Orthodox Christians venerate a saint and his or her portrayal in an icon. The tapestry is Redwall Abbey’s greatest treasure.

What might be less obvious to some, however, is that the core image that ties all the books together, the tapestry of Redwall’s greatest champion, Martin the Warrior, draws from the distinctly Orthodox Christian idea of icons. There’s a dash of Orthodox Christianity in particular.Īnyone familiar with the Redwall books knows that the language and imagery used is distinctly Christian-the presence of characters titled Abbots, Abbesses, Brothers, Sisters, Friars, novices, and of course Redwall Abbey itself. The Redwall books are more than flavored with Christianity. Now that I’m older (and hopefully wiser), as I look back fondly at my memories of reading Redwall, I made a connection that I hadn’t realized before. Later, I thought, “I want to write stories like this.” I credit the start of my journey into writing my own fiction entirely to Redwall, and many times I wish I had the chance to tell Brian Jacques how much his books meant to me as a reader and a writer. In a time when I, the weirdo and the nerd, had trouble fitting in with my peers, reading Redwall was my solace and escape. This was the first time that I was blown away by the power of words, the power to completely suck you in and make you care for characters and a world entirely thought up in someone else’s head. Reading the Redwall series as a middle school kid transported me to a world where the heroes and villains were talking animals, and the heroes regularly embarked on grand adventures and triumphed over evil. There’s always a special place in my heart for those stories, written by a sailor in Liverpool, of warrior mice and berserker badger lords.

Redwall book series