lyric writers leaned on Schreiber, and the librettists could have done
the same; or they could have derived their initial suggestion in more
attractive form than that offered by Loeben. It seems, however, that
Geibel[97] knew Loeben's saga. Though his individual poems on the
Lorelei betray the influence of Heine, and though his drama resembles
Brentano's ballad in mood and in unimportant details, it contains the
same proper names of persons and places that are found in Loeben. And
what is more significant, it contains two important events that are
not found in any of the other versions of the saga: the scene with the
wine-growers and the story of the castaway ring. The latter is an old
theme, but that they both occur in Loeben and in Geibel would argue
that the latter took them from the former. It is largely a question as
to whether a poet like Geibel has to have a source for everything that
is not absolutely abstract. The entire matter is complicated.[98] The
paths of the Lorelei have crossed each other many times since Brentano
started her on her wanderings. To draw up a map of her complete
course, showing just who influenced whom, would be a task more
difficult than grateful.[99]

As to Brentano's original ballad,[100] try as we may to depreciate the
value of his creation by tracing it back to echo-poetry and by
coupling it with older legends, such as that of Frau Holla, we are
forced to give him credit for having not simply revived but for having
created a legend that is beautiful in itself and that has found a host
of imitators, direct and indirect, the world over, including one of
the world's greatest lyric writers. This then is just one of the many
things that the German romanticists started; it is just one of their
many contributions to the literature that lasts. And for the
perpetuation of this one, students of German literature have, it
seems, given the obscure Graf von Loeben entirely too much credit. But