Editing Faust (section)

==Sources==
[[File:Twardowski z diablem.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Sir Twardowski|Pan Twardowski]] and the devil'' by [[Michał Elwiro Andriolli]]. The Polish folklore legend bears many similarities to the story of Faust.]]

The tale of Faust bears many similarities to the [[Theophilus of Adana|Theophilus]] legend recorded in the 13th century writer [[Gautier de Coincy]]'s ''Les Miracles de la Sainte Vierge''. Here, a saintly figure makes a bargain with the keeper of the infernal world but is rescued from paying his debt to society through the mercy of the [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Blessed Virgin]].<ref>An 1875 edition is at:
{{cite book
 |last1=Gautier de Coincy |first1=Par 
 |last2=l'Abbé Poquet |first2=Par 
 |date=1857
 |title=Les miracles de la Sainte Vierge 
 |publisher=Parmantier/Didron
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nwedgt6DDtoC&pg=PR3
 |lang=fr
}}</ref> A depiction of the scene in which he subordinates himself to the Devil appears on the north [[tympanum (architecture)|tympanum]] of the [[Notre Dame de Paris|Cathedrale de Notre Dame de Paris]].<ref>See, for example, this photo at:
{{cite AV media
 |last = Ballegeer |first = Stephen
 |date = 5 August 2006
 |title = Portal on the north transept
 |place = [[Notre Dame, Paris]], FR 
 |medium = photo
 |website = [[flickr]]
 |url = https://www.flickr.com/photos/uncle_buddha/220748038/
 |url-status = live
 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161129065722/https://www.flickr.com/photos/uncle_buddha/220748038
 |archive-date = 2016-11-29
}}
</ref>

The origin of Faust's name and persona remains unclear.{{dubious|date=June 2017}} In the ''[[Historia Brittonum]]'', Faustus is the offspring of an incestuous marriage between king [[Vortigern]] and Vortigern's own daughter.<ref>
{{cite book
 | author=[[Nennius]]
 |title=Historia Brittonum |lang=la, en
 |trans-title=History of the Britons
 |publisher=Project Gutenberg
 |translator= Giles, J.A.
 |year=2006
 |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1972/1972-h/1972-h.htm
}}
:''See also'' [[Historia Brittonum |Nennius — ''Historia Brittonum'']]
</ref> 

The character is ostensibly based on [[Johann Georg Faust]] ({{circa|1480–1540}}), a magician and [[alchemy|alchemist]] probably from [[Knittlingen]], [[Württemberg]], who obtained a degree in [[Divinity (academic discipline)|divinity]] from [[Heidelberg University]] in 1509, but the legendary Faust has also been connected with an earlier [[Johann Fust]] ({{circa|1400–1466}}), [[Johann Gutenberg]]'s business partner,<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1=Meggs |first1=Philip B.
 |first2=Alston W. |last2=Purvis
 |date=10 May 2016
 |title=Meggs' History of Graphic Design |edition=4th
 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons
 |location=Hoboken, NJ
 |page=73
 |isbn=978-1-118-77205-8
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YxUWCgAAQBAJ&q=fust
 |url-access=subscription
}}
</ref>
which suggests that Fust is one of the multiple origins to the Faust story.<ref>
{{cite journal
 |last=Jensen |first=Eric
 | title=Liszt, Nerval, and "Faust"
 |journal=19th&nbsp;Century Music
 |volume=6 |issue=2 |page=153
 |publisher=University of California Press
 |date=Autumn 1982
 |doi=10.2307/746273 |jstor=746273
}}
</ref>
Scholars such as Frank Baron<ref>
{{cite book
 |first=Frank |last=Baron
 |year=1978
 |title=Doctor Faustus: From history to legend
 |publisher=Wilhelm Fink Verlag
 |isbn=978-3-7705-1539-4
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NdpkAAAAMAAJ&q=Doctor+Faustus,+from+History+to+Legend
}}
</ref>
and [[Leo Ruickbie|Ruickbie]] (2009)<ref>
{{cite book
 |first=Leo |last=Ruickbie |author-link=Leo Ruickbie
 |year=2009
 |title=Faustus: The life and times of a Renaissance magician
 |publisher=The History Press
 |isbn=978-0-7509-5090-9}}
</ref>
contests many of these{{which|date=June 2017}} previous assumptions.{{clarify|date=June 2017}}

The character in Polish [[folklore]] named [[Sir Twardowski|Pan Twardowski]] (Sir Twardowski in English) presents similarities with Faust. The Polish story seems to have originated at roughly the same time as its German counterpart, yet it is unclear whether the two tales have a common origin or influenced each other. The historical Johann Georg Faust had studied in [[Kraków]] for a time and may have served as the inspiration for the character in the Polish legend.<ref>
{{cite book
 |first = Walter |last = Schamschula
 |year = 1992
 |title = Pan Twardowski: The Polish variant of the Faust legend in Slavic literatures – a study in motif history
 |series = California Slavic Studies |volume = 14
 |editor1-first = Henrik |editor1-last = Birnbaum
 |editor2-first = Thomas |editor2-last = Eekman
 |editor3-first = Hugh   |editor3-last = McLean
 |publisher = University of California Press
 |isbn=978-0-520-07025-7
 |pages = 209–231
 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=sMmDOdEmC38C&pg=PA209
}}
</ref>

The first known printed source of the legend of Faust is a small [[chapbook]] bearing the title ''[[Historia von D. Johann Fausten (chapbook)|Historia von D. Johann Fausten]]'', published in 1587. The book was re-edited and borrowed from throughout the 16th century. Other similar books of that period include:
* ''Das Wagnerbuch'' (1593)
* ''Das Widmann'sche Faustbuch'' (1599)
* ''Dr. Fausts großer und gewaltiger Höllenzwang'' (Frankfurt 1609)
* ''Dr. Johannes Faust, Magia naturalis et innaturalis'' (Passau 1612)
* ''Das Pfitzer'sche Faustbuch'' (1674)
* ''Dr. Fausts großer und gewaltiger Meergeist'' (Amsterdam 1692)
* ''Das Wagnerbuch'' (1714)
* ''Faustbuch des Christlich Meynenden'' (1725)

The 1725 Faust chapbook was widely circulated and also read by the young Goethe.

Related tales about a pact between man and the Devil include the plays ''[[Mariken van Nieumeghen]]'' (Dutch, early 16th century, author unknown), ''[[Cenodoxus]]'' (German, early 17th century, by [[Jacob Bidermann]]) and [[The Countess Cathleen]] (Irish legend of unknown origin believed by some to be taken from the French play ''Les marchands d'âmes'').