The Faust Tales of Christoph Rosshirt: A Critical Edition with Commentary

The Faust legend, which has come down to us most famously in Goethe’s tragedy but also in countless other incarnations since the late sixteenth century, was first collected and presented as a cohesive narrative (in manuscript) byChristoph Rosshirt during the 1570s. Rosshirt was also the first to provide illustrations of Faust, hand-colored by Rosshirt himself. This book offers a critical edition of Rosshirt’s six tales, including an introductory chapter,a facsimile of the manuscript, a transcription and first-ever English translation on facing pages, as well as a history of Faust illustrations, with Rosshirt’s own illustrations and other examples up through Delacroix, the most complete survey of such illustrations to date. A final chapter rounds out the study with an assessment of Rosshirt’s significance for the Faust tradition, a review of the evidence for a historical Faust, and a rejection of his historicity (because it is unprovable) in favor of his existence only in his story - a story Rosshirt helped to tell - and in our imaginations that animate that story.

J. M. van der Laan is Professor Emeritus of German at Illinois State University.