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Redwall Wiki | Brian Jacques and Redwall Information

Martha Braebuck was a young haremaid who was confined to a wheelchair; this was possibly due to the trauma of her grandmother's death (she died of exhaustion upon arriving at Redwall Abbey, and she was carrying the then-an-infant Martha on her back at the time). She was the sister of Horty, and was known to be very wise and sensible, a complete opposite of her brother. Martha loved to read, especially old volumes from The Gatehouse. While reading a book of Loamhedge Abbey, she discovered a potential cure in a riddle for her condition.

She received a vision of Martin the Warrior, telling her that he was not much of a reader himself and also provided important information regarding a quest to Loamhedge.

Horty, Bragoon, Springald, Fenna, and Sarobando journeyed to Loamhedge Abbey to find a cure for her; Martha promised Brag and Saro she would dance for them when she was healed. During Raga Bol's attack on the Abbey, Martha unexpectedly leaped out of her wheelchair to save Abbot Carrul from a searat who had climbed through an Abbey window. From then on the hare could walk, weakly at first, but she grew stronger.

Ultimately, the "cure" ended up being a poem penned by Bragoon and Sarobando, and exhorted the use of willpower to overcome confinement to a wheelchair, as nothing was actually found during the Loamhedge trek. Bragoon and Sarobando wrote the poem to avoid disappointing Martha when they found nothing useful in an old tomb at Loamhedge Abbey.

It was alleged that every season she danced and sang on the Abbey wall, keeping her promise to Bragoon and Saro, who had perished during the journey.

Trivia[]

  • The dedication page of Loamhedge states that she was named for Martha Buckley, a friend of Brian Jacques.
  • "Brae" is Scots dialect for the crest of a hill. Buck is the proper term for a male hare or rabbit. Ergo, her family's surname means "Hare from the hilltop".
  • Martha's condition is a real one - the proper name is Conversion Disorder or Psychosomatic Paralysis. In real life, therapy is usually needed, but some cases do resolve unexpectedly, as hers did, because the prognosis is so varied and individualistic.
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