Mythology
In the welsh Mabinogion, the alder is the sacred tree of the giant king Bran, the Blessed,
(also known as Bendigeidfran), whose name means crow or raven. In the second
Branch of the Mabinogion, Bran gives his Cauldron of Rebirth to the Irish in
connection with the marriage of his sister Branwen to the Irish king Matholwch,
but problems ensue. Bran invades Ireland, wading the sea (he is too big for any
boat) and lying across the river Linon so his armies can walk across him.
However, he is fatally wounded and the cauldron is destroyed. Before dying, Bran
instructs his seven remaining comrades to cut off his head, and take it to Gwyn
Fryn (the white hill) near London to face south. Bran's head then talks,
sings and keeps them in blissful company for seven years, until the spell is accidentally
broken. The head of king Bran is then buried near the tower of London, and the
ravens are still there where, according to legend, they still hold a magical
protection for Britain.
Another
connection between singing and alder is Orpheus, whose name is possibly short
for orephruoeis 'growing on the river bank'.
Other names of alder, else, elsa, elise, or the scandinavian els, elze (service tree), hint at the sepulchral nature of the island of Alyscamps on the Rhone, or the elusive Elysian Fields, and the story of Niamh (of the Golden Hair) who kept Ossin (Ossian) below the waves in the Land of Youth for many years, has similar overtones of the connection between water, tree and blissful forgetfulness.
This theme is also illustrated in the medieval german legend called the Wulfdietrich Saga, where an alder woman appears seductively to foolish wanderers and teaches them a lesson by turning herself into a hairy, bark-like creature if they embrace her. Called Rough Else, she is a wild-looking woman of the woods, covered in hair, who, in another part of the story puts a spell on the hero eventually making him mad. He runs through the woods, living on herbs for six months, after which she takes him on a ship over the sea to another land where she is queen. Bathing herself in a magical well that washes away her rough skin, she becomes transformed into the beautiful Sigeminne (victory of love). Part of a german oral tradition, recorded by minstrels since 1221, this theme of madness and initiation in the wildwoods resonates often in other celtic tales. Suibhne, Sweeney, who is turned into the mad owl in the Irish poem epic (and must survive on watercress) for many years, or the hunted Diarmid and Grainne, as well as Deirdre (of the Sorrows) who with the three sons of Uisneach, must hide in the alder swamps of Argyll during their flight from king Conchobar.
Alder sap turns red when it comes into contact with air, suggesting blood, which consequently gives the tree a certain mystique. Living in wet marshy areas, alder is often treated as an imaginative creature of the mist and twilight in a world in which people never feel entirely comfortable. The Avernii were a gaulish tribe of the alder, hinting at the rather hidden connection between alder and Avalon (from ubhal or apple) - an underground thread through many stories. A wooden goddess made of alder, dated between 728 and 524 BC, was found in a peat bog at Ballachulish, where it was sunk in a bog or lake, possibly as offering.
Added notes: Manannan MacLyr (MacLir) ‘king of waters’ and sea journeys (gave his name to Isle of Man).