Martin the Warrior (Character)

Martin the Warrior is an anthropomorphic mouse in the fictional Redwall series by Brian Jacques. He is an important character in many books, known as the savior of Mossflower Woods, and after his death becomes the guiding spirit to many of Redwall's heroes and patron saint of Redwall Abbey. Martin's sword, made from a fallen star, is said to give its user great power. The name Martin the Warrior also applies to the father of Luke and the grandson of Matthias.

History of Martin the Warrior

Martin was born on the northwestern seacoast. He was a member of his father's (Luke the Warrior)'s, tribe, and the future wielder of his father's sword. One winter day, Luke's wife and several others are killed by pirates, led by an evil stoat named Vilu Daskar. Luke swears vengeance on Daskar. He leaves his cave with several warriors from his tribe and takes a ship out to sea, and he leaves little Martin with his sword.

Soon after, Martin is attacked and captured by a stoat named Badrang the Tyrant while out with his grandmother Windred and carries them back to his fortress as slaves. A female mouse named Laterose, or Rose, and a mole named Grumm, from Noonvale work to help her brother, Brome, and several other slaves escape, and Martin attempt to gain an army of "goodbeasts" to help them fight against Badrang. They succeed; Martin slays Badrang, but Badrang also kills Rose, who Martin had hoped to marry. Grieved by Rose's death, Martin bids farewell to his friends from Badrang's fortress and goes south.

Eventually he reaches Mossflower Woods, which is under the control of a wildcat named Verdauga Greeneyes. Martin is captured and brought to Verdauga's castle, Kotir.

Verdauga and his son, Gingivere, have some compassion on Martin, but Verdauga's daughter, Tsarmina, has none. She breaks the blade of Luke's sword and has Martin put in the castle dungeon. The next morning, Martin discovers that Tsarmina has usurped the throne of Kotir by having her father poisoned. She then blames the crime on Gingivere to keep him from taking the throne and has him imprisoned.

Not long after, one of the creatures of Mossflower, a mouse thief named Gonff, is imprisoned with Martin for stealing food from Kotir. With the help of the woodlanders, Gonff and Martin escape and set off on a mission to free Mossflower from Tsarmina's claws. Gonff, Martin, and Dinny, a mole, set off for Salamandastron, a large, extinct volcano on the southeastern coast. There they hope to find Boar the Fighter, a large badger warrior who they hope will defeat Tsarmina and free Mossflower from her tyranny.

After a long, hard journey, they reach Salamandastron and are greeted by three of Boar's hares. The hares lead them into the mountain, where Boar himself receives them. While they are staying there, Boar refashions the blade of Martin's sword from the metal of a "star that fell from the sky" (probably a meteorite). Boar also reads a disturbing prophecy written on the wall of a secret cave, saying that he will be killed that very night, which is exactly what happens.

A pirate rat, Ripfang, invades the shores of Salamandastron and a battle occurs between the searats and the creatures of the mountain. Boar kills the head pirate and is killed in the process. Martin, Gonff, and Dinny escape on the pirate ship "Bloodwake", which they rename "Wuddshipp". Martin discovers that one of the galley slaves, Timballisto, is an old friend from his days at Luke's cave. The ship returns to Mossflower by river and the three companions are greeted warmly. Bella, Boar the Fighter's daughter, takes the news of her father's death heavily.

The woodlanders, with the aid of their new friends, discover that Kotir is actually in a dry lake-bed, and they attempt to flood it. The first try fails, but then Martin decides to sink "Wuddship" in order to block the river, creating a dam on the River Moss. It works, and Kotir is sunk in the resulting flood. Tsarmina, however, escapes on a dinner table and battles Martin on the banks of the new river. She is wounded badly and drowns in her attempt to escape from Martin. However, Martin is badly injured too, so much that he falls into a coma. Fortunately, Abbess Germaine, a local healer of Mossflower, is able to cure Martin, although the injuries almost completely wipe out his memory. This includes his memories of Rose, which are forgotten, allowing him to live happily , as Rose would have wanted, for he now believes his own story of living by the sword in his childhood home until he grew old enough to journey.

With Kotir out of the way, the woodlanders, with the aid of Martin and his old friends, begin to build the famous Redwall Abbey. When the Abbey is almost finished, a young female hedgehog named Trimp arrives at Redwall. As she tells her story to the Redwallers, Martin's memory begins to come back, and he recognizes some of the creatures she is talking about. This memory recall inflicts Martin with depression.

The Redwallers notice Martin's unusual behavior, and they decide to send him on a long journey to his homeland, the cave of the once-was tribe of Luke the Warrior. He will be accompanied by the same woodlanders that traveled with him to Salamandastron, as well as Trimp and some new characters they meet on their way.

After a long, difficult yet pleasantly surprising journey, Martin uncovers what he has been searching for: the story of his father, Luke.

After the journey, Martin hangs up his sword and becomes a creature of peace. When he dies (most likely of old age, although the true cause is never revealed), he appears in dreams and visions of troubled Redwallers to provide advice. This is most often when he chooses the new Abbey Champion, who wields the Sword of Martin.

The voice of Martin is provided in the TV series by Ben Campbell is seasons 1 and 2, and in season 3 by Amos Crawley. In the series of full-cast audiobooks he has been voiced by Greg Longridge (in "The Taggerung" and "High Rhulain"), by Paul Braithwaite (in "Salamandastron") and by Brian Jacques' son Marc in all the others.

Genealogy of Martin the First

Genealogy of Martin the Second

History of Martin the Second

:"See Martin the Second".

Trivia

*The death of Rose is a popular topic for fanfiction writers.