Lorlei (Loreley, Lurlei, Lorelei) In German literary folklore and in local legend, an enchantress with long blond hair who sits on a cliff 133 meters above the Rhine river. She combs her hair and sings a song that bewitches the captains of ships down below, causing them to drive their vessels into the rocky crags and to lose their lives. While the literary versions by Clemens Brentano and particularly by Heinrich Heine in the early 19th century are well known, according to local legend the same spot on the Rhine is said to be the location of the Nibelungen horde.

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Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend, Third Edition – Written by Anthony S. Mercatante & James R. Dow– Copyright © 2009 by Anthony S. Mercatante