(Vol. vii., p. 177.)
I never heard of our Lord's cross having been made of _elder_ wood. The
common idea, legend, or tradition, that prevailed formerly was, that the
upright beam of the cross was made of _cedar_, the cross-beam of
_cypress_, the piece on which the inscription was written of _olive_,
and the piece for the feet of palm.
The legend concerning the wood of the cross is very curious, and may be
analysed as follows:--When Adam fell sick, he sent his son Seth to the
gate of the garden of Eden to beg of the angel some drops of the oil of
mercy that distilled from the tree of life. The angel replied that none
could receive this favour till five thousand years had passed away. He
gave him, however, a cutting from the tree, and it was planted upon
Adam's grave. It grew into a tree with three branches. The rod of Moses
was afterwards cut from this tree. Solomon had it cut down to make of it
a pillar for his palace. The Queen of Sheba, when she went to visit
Solomon, would not pass by it, as she said it would one day cause the
destruction of the Jews. Solomon then ordered it to be removed and
buried. The spot where it was buried was afterwards dug for the pool of
Bethsaida, and the mysterious tree communicated the power of healing to
the waters. As the time of the Passion of Christ approached, the wood
floated on the surface of the water, and was taken for the upright beam
of the cross. See this curious legend at greater length in the _Gospel
of Nicodemus_; the _Legenda Aurea_ at the feasts of the Discovery and
Exaltation of the Cross; Curzon's _Monasteries of the Levant_, p. 163.;
and Didron's _Iconography_, p. 367., Bohn's edition.
I think, however, that I can explain the origin of the question put to
RUBI by his poor parishioner as to the cross having been made of _elder_
wood. His question may have sprung from a corruption of an old tradition
or legend regarding not our Saviour, but Judas his betrayer. Judas is
said to have hanged himself on an _elder_ tree. Sir John Maundeville, in
his description of Jerusalem, after speaking of the Pool of Siloe, adds,
"And fast by is still the elder tree on which Judas hanged
himself for despair, when he sold and betrayed our Lord."--P.
175., Bohn's edit.
To return to the wood of the cross. In Sir John Maundeville's time a
spot was pointed out at Jerusalem as the spot where the tree grew:
"To the west of Jerusalem is a fair church, where the tree of
the cross grew."--P. 175.
and he speaks of the wood of this tree as having once been used as a
bridge over the brook Cedron (p. 176.). Henry Maundrell describes a
Greek convent that he visited, about half an hour's distance from
Jerusalem:
"That which most deserves to be noted in it, is the reason of
its name and foundation. It is because there is the earth that
nourished the root, that bore the tree, that yielded the
timber, that made the cross. Under the high altar you are
shown a hole in the ground where the stump of the tree
stood."--P. 462.
These are some of the legendary traditions regarding the history and
site of the wood of the cross, up to the time of the Passion of Christ.