Ramon Llull

Background

Llull was born c. 1232, in Palma de Mallorca on the Balearic Islands, into a wealthy family. He was the son of a Spanish knight who had received an estate from John I of Aragon.

Education

Llull received the education of a rich knight of the period but was converted from dissipation to a devout life in about 1263.

Career

Llull invented an "art of finding truth" which inspired Leibniz’s dream of a universal algebra four centuries later. In 1263, he was converted from a courtly to a religious way of life, following a series of visions of Christ crucified. He never took holy orders (although he may have become a Franciscan tertiary in 1295), but his subsequent career was dominated by three religious resolutions: to become a missionary and attain martyrdom, to establish colleges where missionaries would study oriental languages, and to provide them with "the best books in the world against the errors of the infidel."

Llull’s preparations lasted a decade; his remaining forty years were spent in writing, preaching, lecturing, and traveling (including missionary journeys to Tunis in 1292; Bogie, Algeria, in 1307; and Tunis late in 1315), and in attempts to secure support from numerous kings and four successive popes for his proposed colleges. During Llull’s lifetime, only James II of Mallorca established such a foundation; when he lost Mallorca to his elder brother, Peter III of Aragon, the college at Miramar apparently was abandoned. In Llull’s old age his proposals were finally approved by the Council of Vienna (1311-1312); and colleges for the study of Arabic, Hebrew, and Chaldean were founded in Rome, Bologna, Paris, Salamanca, and Oxford after Llull’s death. Pious tradition has it that he died after being stoned by Muslims in Bogie in 1316, although his actual death is variously said to have occurred in Bogie, at sea, or in Mallorca; modern scholars doubt the historicity of his martyrdom. As for his third resolution, it led to the various versions of Llull’s Art - and all his scientific contributions were by-products of this enterprise.

The specific origins of Llull’s doctrines regarding the elements, whose importance has been fully recognized only since 1954, are particularly significant. A proper exploration of the antecedents of his Opera medica is a prerequisite for establishing Llull’s final place in the history of Western science. In this connection, it must be mentioned that although Llull himself was opposed to alchemy, his methods had obvious applications in the alchemical field-and they were so applied in a host of pseudo-Llullian alchemical works, most of them composed more than fifty years after his death. These works explain the traditional (but false) "scientific" view which made him "Llull the Alchemist."

Achievements

• Llull is best known in the history of ideas as the inventor of an "art of finding truth" that was primarily intended to support the Roman Catholic faith in missionary work but was also designed to unify all branches of knowledge. He is also considered a pioneer of computation theory, especially given his influence on Leibniz.

Works

More photos

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  • The Book of the Order of Chivalry

    (Llull composed The Book of the Order of Chivalry between ...)

  • Obra escogida

    (Spanish Edition)

Religion

Llull traveled to Paris in November 1309. This was a different visit, not only due to the increasing acceptance of Llullian thought at the University, but also for his involvement in political activities. Clear proof of this situation was the letter of approval signed by professors in the Faculties of Medicine and Theology after hearing a lecture on his Art on February 1310. In addition, Llull met King Philip IV and was awarded a letter of recommendation by the King. The following year, the chancellor of the University of Paris certified Llullian doctrine to be “in accordance to the Catholic faith.”

When Pope Clement V summoned a General Council in Vienna during the summer of 1311, Llull sent a series of requests that defined his religious and political program. Some of the petitions included were the foundation of language schools, the unification of the military orders, funds for a new Crusade, questions regarding the clothing of the priests, the eradication of Averroism, and a program to preach Catholic faith in synagogues and mosques. Some of these petitions were already part of the topics to be discussed and were addressed during the Council. The most important of his requests was the decision to found and promote Hebrew, Arabic, and Chaldean language schools, which was one of the main objectives of the Llullian project. Regarding the unification of the military orders, the Council seemed to acknowledge Llull’s proposal and used it to discuss the fate of the Templars, a Christian military order which would be formally dissolved after the Council.

Views

Llull’s philosophy is not easily situated in the context of the 13th century. Some authors conceptualize it as part of a movement whose main objective was to “unprofessionalize” philosophy. Others emphasize the vernacular character of Llull’s thought, aimed at promoting popular instruction and not only debates in universities; others highlight that the originality of his thought lies not in the use of the vernacular, but rather in the way in which he presents previously disseminated ideas as newly founded, what ultimately granted the recognition from his peers.

However, the general consensus is that his philosophy is separated from the novelties proposed by scholasticism and Aristotelianism. His thought is based on the widely spread ideas of philosophers such as Saint Augustine, Dionysius the Areopagite, Saint Anselm, Hugh of Saint Victor, and Saint Bonaventure. The main feature of Llull’s philosophy is its unifying character. Philosophy, theology, and mysticism are not treated as separate disciplines in his work. Rather, they are different aspects of the same process of knowledge. Therefore, his philosophical ideas are generated according to theological principles and with the intention of elevating the soul to its contact with God.

With this purpose in mind, Llull aims to conceive a universal model to understand reality. As Bordoy points out, on the one hand, this model would allow us to know God in his existence and action, and on the other hand, it would acknowledge the rest of creation as generated by the divinity. These ideas would allow the writing of the Ars, a book that would serve as a method to reach truth for any Jewish, Catholic, or Muslim scholar. Its ultimate purpose, as Rubio argues, would be to convert infidels through the necessary reasons stated throughout the text.

Personality

Llull was a quintessential medieval figure: passionate in faith and love, eager to tilt at windmills, a believer in alchemy, and its attendant mysticism. Yet from the landscape of Llull's mind, shadowed as it was by superstition and extra-scientific lore, emerged the conceptual prototype for the most modern of all machines.

Connections

In 1257 Llull married Blanca Picany, with whom he had two children, Domènec and Magdalena. Although he formed a family, he lived what he would later call the licentious and wasteful life of a troubadour.

Spouse:

Blanca Picany

Son:

Domènec Llull

Daughter:

Magdalena Llull

References

• Ramon Llull and the Secret of Life: An Introduction to the Philosophy of the Human Person Ramon Llull and the Secret of Life describes the enigmatic life of the celebrated medieval philosopher, mystic, and visionary who left behind more than 300 books in Catalan, Latin, and Arabic.
• Dictionary of Scientific Biography Volume 7
  1973