The origins of the Faust story
The character of Faust or Faustus has been one of the most enduring and significant figures in European culture for almost five hundred years. The earliest records of a Dr Georg Faust in Germany date from between 1507 and 1540 and concern a real person who acquired some reputation as a magician, alchemist and astronomer. After his death in about 1540, Protestant theologians began to suggest that his skill must have derived from the devil. From this speculation, there developed the legend of the learned scholar who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and power. This story has been retold many times, in many different ways, depending on the date and time at which the versions appeared.
Early written versions
- A manuscript collection of tales about Faust seems to have been in circulation in Germany between 1570 and 1587, and in the latter year the first book about Faust was published: the Historia von D. Johann Fausten [The Story of Dr Johann Faust]
- It was translated into English by an author know only as ‘P. F.’ as: The Historie of the damnable life, and deserved death of Dr. John Faustus and published 1592
- Christopher Marlowe probably used this book as his source for Doctor Faustus.
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