John Faust was a German 16th century occultist. According to some accounts he was born in Suabia, others make him a native of Anhalt, others of Brandenburg. When he was sixteen years old he went to Ingolstadt and studied theology, became in three years a magister, but abandoned theology, and began the study of medicine, astrology, and magic, in which he likewise instructed his familiar Johann Wagner, the son of a clergyman at Wasserburg. After John Faust had spent a rich inheritance, he allegedly, according to tradition, made use of his power to conjure up spirits, and entered into a contract with the devil for twenty-four years. A spirit called Mephistopheles was given him as a servant, with whom he travelled about, enjoying life in all its forms, but the evil spirit finally carried him off. Even yet John Faust and his familiar Wagner play a conspicuous part in the puppet-shows of Germany, and the legend forms the subject of Goethe's great drama Faust, and furnishes the libretto for Gounod's famous opera of the same name. As early as 1590 the legend was dramatically treated in England by Christopher Marlowe. Research John Faust
Abbreviations
Research John Faust
