Mound of Mourning where Peredur found the serpent

The Mound of Mourning where Peredur found the serpent is a perilous landmark in Peredur’s travels, identified by the encounter between a serpent and the Black Oppressor and by a stone of seemingly limitless wealth. The account presents it as a destination to be reached, and describes both its unusual terrain and the people guarding it.

The Mound and Its Serpent

The mound has a carn upon it, and a serpent dwells within the carn. On the serpent’s tail rests a stone with a remarkable property: whoever holds it in one hand will have as much gold as desired in the other. The treasure is thus bound to a dangerous creature and a specific place, rather than presented as wealth freely available to travellers.

The Black Oppressor’s Account

The Black Oppressor tells Peredur that he lost an eye fighting the serpent. His injury supplies the evidence of the creature’s danger, while his explanation of the stone gives Peredur a reason to seek the mound. The account also reveals the speaker’s identity: he is called the Black Oppressor because he had oppressed those around him and done justice to none. Peredur kills him after learning this, ending his oppression; the directions and information about the mound come from their encounter before that outcome.

Route and Defences

The mound belongs to a sequence of destinations described to Peredur. After the Palace of the Sons of the King of the Tortures, he is told that the route leads onward to the Court of the Countess of the Achievements, and from there to the Mound of Mourning. The mound is said to be surrounded by the owners of three hundred tents, who guard the serpent. The account therefore frames the location not as an empty wilderness but as a defended site whose extraordinary treasure is protected by both the creature itself and a substantial encampment.