WEBVTT - The Monstrefact: The Loreley

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of

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<v Speaker 1>My Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and

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<v Speaker 1>this is the Monster Fact, a short form series from

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff to Blow Your Mind, focusing in on mythical creatures,

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<v Speaker 1>ideas and monsters in time. This Friday on Weird House Cinema,

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<v Speaker 1>Joe and I will discuss the seventy three horror film

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<v Speaker 1>The Laurelize Grasp, in which a bloodthirsty immortal woman emerges

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<v Speaker 1>from the depths of the Rhine River in Germany to

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<v Speaker 1>take on a monstrous reptilian form and tear the hearts

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<v Speaker 1>from mortal victims. The movie is rife with allusions to

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<v Speaker 1>Germanic mythology, and yet the actual origins of the Laurel

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<v Speaker 1>Monster can be found not in myth but in German

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<v Speaker 1>romanticism of the nineteenth century. Now. To be sure, global

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<v Speaker 1>traditions of mermaid It's in sirens are quite ancient, but

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<v Speaker 1>this particular water spirit seems to only date back to

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<v Speaker 1>German poet Clemens Brentano's eighteen hundred poem lor Ley. It

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<v Speaker 1>tells the tale of a doomed woman named lor Ley, who,

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<v Speaker 1>convicted of sorcery, throws herself off a high cliff and

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<v Speaker 1>into the river Rhine. German poet Hendra Kaina also wrote

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<v Speaker 1>a popular poem of Loralai and described her haunting of

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<v Speaker 1>the cliffs as follows. The fairest of maidens is sitting

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<v Speaker 1>up there a beautiful delight. Her golden jewels are shining.

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<v Speaker 1>She's combing her golden hair. She holds a golden comb,

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<v Speaker 1>singing along as well an enthralling and spell binding melody

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<v Speaker 1>in his little boat. The boatman is seized by it

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<v Speaker 1>with a savage woe. He does not look upon the

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<v Speaker 1>rocky ledge, but rather high up into the heavens. I

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<v Speaker 1>think that the waves will devour the boatman and boat

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<v Speaker 1>in the end. And this by her songs sheer power,

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<v Speaker 1>fair lore Lie has done with Highna's lyrics, we are

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<v Speaker 1>clearly within the domain of sirens and mermaids. Now. These

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<v Speaker 1>poems were quite popular, and both were also turned into song.

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<v Speaker 1>General enthusiasm for this romantic notion of a doomed siren

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<v Speaker 1>eventually led locals to erect a statue of her atop

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<v Speaker 1>a particular rocky cliff overlooking the Rhine. The Laura Lae Rock, Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>this would be her namesake, and the very geologic formation

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<v Speaker 1>that our poets were referring to in crafting their melancholy ballads.

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<v Speaker 1>Located in the upper Middle Rhine Valley or Rhine Gorge,

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<v Speaker 1>the rock was long seen as a place of possible

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<v Speaker 1>supernatural significance due to the strange echoes it elected, perceived

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<v Speaker 1>as the possible murmurings of dwarves or gnomes in its caves.

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<v Speaker 1>While long known as Laura Lae, the exact etymology of

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<v Speaker 1>the name is uncertain. Lay means rock, but the lower

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<v Speaker 1>part may refer to sounds, murmurs, or the possible presence

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<v Speaker 1>of magical creatures, depending on who you ask. But as

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<v Speaker 1>IGNACEE Freuerlicht points out in a article appearing in the

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<v Speaker 1>German Quarterly, there was never a tradition of a siren

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<v Speaker 1>atop these cliffs before nineteenth century poets created the connection quote.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes the view is voiced that Haina, unlike his Romantic predecessors,

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<v Speaker 1>restored the original legend. However, there is no old tradition

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<v Speaker 1>calling an all read or water nymph lorelei, and there

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<v Speaker 1>is no ancient legend about a maiden singing on top

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<v Speaker 1>of the Laura Lae rock who has no communication with

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<v Speaker 1>passing men Still. The romantic idea of this haunting figure,

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<v Speaker 1>as well as the monstrous version in the ninety three film,

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<v Speaker 1>speak to a long history of superstitions concerning the Rocky

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<v Speaker 1>Cliffs and the Rhine depths beneath it. Yah Tune in

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<v Speaker 1>for additional episodes of The Monster Fact each week. As always,

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<v Speaker 1>you can email us at contact at stuff to Blow

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<v Speaker 1>your Mind dot com. Stuff to Blow Your Mind is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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