Brehon Laws & the Tale of Elder Mother

The Folklore & Medicine of Sambucus nigra

In pre-Christian Irish society, judges known as Brehons laid down the law.

The Brehon laws were originally composed in poetic verse and memorised by heart. Brehon law was the way of the pastoral people, whose daily life revolved around their self-sufficient, agricultural economy. A person’s wealth was measured in terms of how many cattle they owned. There were no units of money, and barter was the main form of exchange.

As trees were of great importance to the whole community, it makes sense that there were specific laws to deal with them. Strict penalties were imposed for any unlawful damage, such as cutting the branches or damaging the bark (for example when tapping for syrup.)

There were four classes of tree which roughly mirrored the early class system. The group a tree belonged to largely depended on its economic importance, which was usually related to its fruit, timber, or its size when fully grown.

These were:

• Nobles of the Wood

• Commoners of the Wood

• Lower Divisions of the Wood

• Bushes of the Wood

The penalty for an offence was a fine in the form of livestock. Penalties were meted out according to the class of tree harmed and the type of damage inflicted. For example, the penalty for felling a Noble of the Wood was two and a half milking cows.

The Brehon laws give us important clues about the role and importance of trees in the daily lives of our ancestors.

According to Irish tradition, the Elder (or ‘bour-tree’) was considered to be quite evil, and was classed as Fodla Fedo, or belonging to the lower divisions.

Wood from the Elder tree was considered to bring bad luck. Superstition says that you must never put it on a fire unless you want to see the Devil in the flame. It certainly shouldn’t be used to make baby’s cradles, as the wood is so fragile that the fairies could easily steal the baby and substitute it with a changeling. People were also warned against falling asleep under the Elder as it would attract negative forces, making them victim to horrible nightmares while asleep, and delirium upon waking.