Badger Lord's Mates

[ShamanSquirrel]

Upon reading the books, we know that Badger Lords often have a son or daughter.  But in order to produce offspring, of course they must have had mates.  Why weren't the wives/mates of Badger Lords ever mentioned?  Lord Brocktree must have had one, and so did Boar, and Sunflash, and so on...

The only badger couple I remember reading about was the parents of Urthstripe  who were killed by Ferahgo the Assassin.  And Orlando the Axe had a mate but he was a widower.

[Vilu Daskar]

I think Brian probably didn't want to worry about having to make the Badger Lord a family beast as well as a warrior so he had them marry in between books.

[The Skarzs]

We know what happened to Gorath the Flame's parents, for one instance. It's possibly that some died giving birth (as was prone to happen in early years) like Brocktree's wife; Boar was rather old, when you think about it, him being Bella's father, so his wife may have passed away from old age; I don't believe Sunflash had a wife, though we know who both his parents were.

In the end, I think it comes down to the author's discretion of how much he wants to tell. Many writers are tempted to write everything, from the ancient backstory of extended family, to the gritty details of jobs. Sometimes, giving hints and leaving speculation to the readers is good enough, especially when what is important in a story does not deal with the past or future.

[Lady Ashenwyte]

Russano had a wife and two children. I think he omitted the mates to keep it simpler. (Although it would be interesting if the mates played an active part in the story)

[LordTBT]

Upon reading the books, we know that Badger Lords often have a son or daughter.  But in order to produce offspring, of course they must have had mates.  Why weren't the wives/mates of Badger Lords ever mentioned?  Lord Brocktree must have had one, and so did Boar, and Sunflash, and so on...

The only badger couple I remember reading about was the parents of Urthstripe  who were killed by Ferahgo the Assassin.  And Orlando the Axe had a mate but he was a widower.

The false presumption here, that many readers tend to make, is that every "coupling" results in marriage. No reason to think that so many of these characters get married.

Most animals have many mates.

Also, if you're looking for other badger couples in the books, Russano the Wise + Lady Rosalaun; Bella and Barkstripe; Hightor and Lady Merola.

[ShamanSquirrel]

I had forgotten about Bella and Barkstripe. I'm reading the books in chronological order, and I haven't yet gotten to The Long Patrol, so the other 2 badger couples I have yet to read about.

[Starla1431]

There was a minor badger family in the prologue of one of the books. Can't remember which one.

[The Skarzs]

Russano the Wise and his wife, the Lady Rosalun (or some such spelling.) They had two children.

[Wylder Treejumper]

Upon reading the books, we know that Badger Lords often have a son or daughter.  But in order to produce offspring, of course they must have had mates.  Why weren't the wives/mates of Badger Lords ever mentioned?  Lord Brocktree must have had one, and so did Boar, and Sunflash, and so on...

The only badger couple I remember reading about was the parents of Urthstripe  who were killed by Ferahgo the Assassin.  And Orlando the Axe had a mate but he was a widower.

The false presumption here, that many readers tend to make, is that every "coupling" results in marriage. No reason to think that so many of these characters get married.

Most animals have many mates.

I would say the general assumption is that these animals follow human cultural norms. Monogamy seems to be a pretty steady aspect of Redwall.