Chapter 1 - The Background of the Faust Legend

Summary

Assuming that one cannot fully appreciate the later adaptations/appropriations of the Faust legend without some knowledge of the legend’s origin, this chapter examines the sources of the Faust legend. The Magus legend provides one of these sources, since many of the stories later told about Faust appeared earlier in the accounts of charismatic conjurers such as Simon Magus, St. Cyprian, and Theophilus, all possible forerunners of Faust. The medieval biblical cycle plays, featuring malicious Devils and presumptuous Antichrists, and the medieval morality plays, with their cunning Vice tempters and psychomachiae between good and evil, provide another important source. Having canvassed the literary influences on the Faust legend, this chapter undertakes a search for the historical Faust. In 1587, the numerous accounts of a rather shady miracle worker named Faust were published by Johann Spies in a book popularly known as The German Faustbook. Later sometime between 1587 and 1592, a mysterious figure, identified only as P. F. Gent (Gentleman), adapted this text into English. This chapter concludes by comparing the German and English Faustbooks, delineating how each contributes its own vision to the Faust legend.