Most of us have either heard of, or sampled elderberry wine at some point. Monty Python fans might recall the hilarious but nonsensical insult slung to King Arthur by the French soldier, who sorely lacked command of the English language: “Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries.” What he actually intended to convey is anyone’s guess, but the odd idiom is evidence that the juicy fruit was well known to the non-tea-totaling set in Europe, at least in England and France.
Ah…but there is so much more to the European elder than fruit and farce...
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