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Bran
and the Alder Tree |
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Bran's tree is the alder, one of the sacred trees of Britain. Bran’s nephew is called Gwern, the Welsh word for alder, and in the Battle of the Trees, Bran was identified by the alder sprigs he carried. The alder usually grows by water, and its rather unusual characteristics give interesting hints of some of Bran’s aspects. |
The alders in the front line began the battle - Taliesin |
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Gwern in the Tale
of Bran In the Romance of Branwen, Gwern’s fate contains clues to a hidden meaning. At the feast celebrating the reconciliation between Bran and the Irish king, Gwern is made the new king of Ireland, but then, in the midst of the joyful feast, Bran's half-brother throws Gwern into the raging fire, precipitating the final battle. Alder wood burns badly, but it makes hot-burning charcoal, and so a symbolic rendering of the event could be that alder (Gwern) is put into the fire for transformation into something purer and more concentrated, rather than for destruction. Looked at this way, the episode is also reminiscent of the story of the greek hero Achilles, who as a child was placed in the fire by his mother to render him immortal, but was left with a vulnerable heel where his mother had held him. Perhaps the story of Gwern could be a veiled reference to the rituals required to make a new king invulnerable. |
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About the Alder A red dye can be made from alder bark. An ancient term for alder was 'that which reddens the face', and possibly it was this dye which was used by the 'crimson-stained heroes' of the Welsh Triads, who were sacred kings. So, according to this line of argument, the alder symbolises transformation, perhaps re-birth or immortality, and the fiery quality of the hero, themes which tie in to Bran's magical cauldron of re-birth. Another chain of meaning comes from the alder's association with water. Alder trees typically grow near the water, which distributes its seeds, and alder wood is especially resistant to water, being used as foundations or piles in marshy land. In the Romance of Branwen, the giant Bran wades through the sea to Ireland, and then lies down to make himself into a bridge for his army. Both of these episodes give the theme of the alder symbolising dominion over waters. The third alder-meaning comes from the alder's renown as the best wood to use for whistles and pipes. Such was the reputed harmony of the music played on alder pipes that the topmost branch of the alder tree became known as the 'oracular singing head' of Bran. This theme is one of air and poetry, tying in to Bran's concern with the bardic tradition. |
about Bran and
the alder. |
