Faust, hero of one of the most durable legends in Western folklore and literature, the story of a German fortuneteller who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and power. Faust owes his posthumous fame to the anonymous author of the first Faustbuch (1587), a collection of tales about the ancient magi—who were wise men skilled in the occult sciences—that were retold in the Middle Ages about such other reputed wizards as Merlin, Albertus Magnus, and Roger Bacon. Faust owes his fame to the anonymous author of the first Faustbuch (1587), a collection of tales about the ancient magi—who were wise men skilled in the occult sciences—that were retold in the Middle Ages about such other reputed wizards as Merlin, Albertus Magnus,
