Description
Book SynopsisThe first cohesive Faust narrative in facsimile form, German transcription, and (first-ever) English translation, plus a history of Faust illustrations and an assessment of Faust's historicity. 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.
Trade Review[E]nriches Faust philology . . . through a reliable edition of one its early textual sources. -- Dieter Martin * GERMANISTIK *
The time is . . . ripe for what the editor calls a "corrective to our understanding of the sixteenth-century character known as Faust" (4). [This is a] handsomely produced volume . . . with [a]ttractive reproductions of the illustrations in their surprisingly well-preserved original colours [, which] lead on to an extensive review of visualizations of Faustus across the centuries. The edition concludes with an attempt to situate Rosshirt within literary history and a meticulous review of the evidence for and against seeing Doctor Faustus as a historical figure. -- Osman Durrani * FOLKLORE *
J. M. van der Laan . . . presents a critical edition of the six Faust tales contained in Rosshirt's extensive manuscript. The edition consists of a high-quality facsimile print of Rosshirt's manuscript (21-59), followed in synoptic presentation by a diplomatic transcription of the early New High German text and a modern English translation (60-137). A commentary on the text, which provides both lexical explanations and historical contexts, is found in the footnotes. The edition is flanked by an extensive introduction (1-17), which provides information on the sparse biographical data on Christoph Rosshirt, on the language and content of his manuscript, a detailed description of the manuscript, and notes on the edition and translation that follow. The book is followed by two essays, one on the illustrations in Rosshirt's manuscript, the other on the vehement discussion that has been going on for decades about the data on the historical Faust. -- Joana van de Löcht * DAPHNIS *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: Faust, Christoph Rosshirt, and His Manuscript PART I. CHRISTOPH ROSSHIRT'S FAUST TALES Facsimile Edition Annotated German Transcription with English Translation PART II. COMMENTARY Faust Illustrated from Rosshirt to Delacroix and Beyond Faust's Identity and the Significance of Rosshirt's Tales about Him Bibliography
