The story of the mermaid Melusine must have been very widespread and popular in the early Middle Ages. One indication of this is that 15 manuscripts are still preserved in European libraries, museums, and universities to this day and can potentially be consulted. In addition, there are seven known and an unspecified number of unknown incunabula. Especially during the time of the German Enlightenment and Romanticism, names of poets or literary enthusiasts frequently appear in connection with the legendary and genealogical material of Melusine, like shooting stars, such as the mere mention of names in Theodor Fontane's Der Stechlin or flickering, like Goethe's Die neue Melusine. Notable figures include E. Th. A. Hoffmann, Paracelsus, de La Motte-Fouquet, Gottsched, Tieck, Fontane, Lortzing, and others.