Faust
literary character
Also known as: Doctor Faustus, Faustus
Faust, hero of one of the most durable legends in Western folklore and literature, the story of a German necromancer or astrologer who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and power. There was a historical Faust, indeed perhaps two, one of whom more than once alluded to the devil as his Schwager, or crony. One or both died about 1540, leaving a tangled legend of sorcery and alchemy, astrology and soothsaying,...