Bloodwrath

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The Bloodwrath is a mental condition characteristic of badgers in the Redwall series of fictional novels by Brian Jacques. However, the condition is not limited exclusively to that species. It causes the afflicted to go berserk with anger and taint their vision red for a short period of time, enabling him or her to cause a fantastic amount of damage during battle and to withstand a great deal of pain and injury. Despite these apparent advantages, the Bloodwrath is usually considered to be a weakness because of the inability to distinguish friend from foe. All major Badger Rulers have been known to be afflicted with the Bloodwrath except for Russano the Wise and Mandoral Highpeak; however, these Badger Lords were not mentioned extensively, and they may have suffered the Bloodwrath at one time or another.

Early in the progression of the series, the Bloodwrath was said to be a very rare condition. When Rawnblade Widestripe was afflicted with it, it was explicitly stated he was the first Badger Lord to suffer from it since Boar the Fighter. However, this was retconned in Outcast of Redwall, when Boar's son Sunflash came down with the Bloodwrath several times during the course of the story. Since Sunflash, the Bloodwrath has been considered simply a mental characteristic of badgers. Notably, Lady Cregga Rose Eyes spent so much time afflicted with the Bloodwrath that her eyes acquired a permanent tint. While is may not be classified as Bloodwrath, when Martin the Warrior acquires his new sword from Boar the Fighter, it states, "Now, suddenly, he felt the warlike blood of his ancestors rising...His hackles rose and the blood gorged in his face, flashing across his eyes.(The tainting vision red previously stated.)"

[edit] Non-badger characters who have shown signs of the Bloodwrath

• Cuthbert Blanedale Frunk
• Felldoh
• Ranguvar Foeseeker
• Martin the Warrior
• Rab Streambattle
• Grath Longfletch
• Dannflor Reguba
• Luke the Warrior
• Matthias
• Deyna(The Taggerung)
• Rockjaw Grang

[edit] Inspiration

The phenomenon of a strong soldier simply going berserk in presence of a foe is, of course, not unknown. Brian Jacques may have based bloodwrath on the case of the Viking Berserkers.