Llull, Ramon

English Raymond Lully

(born 1232/33, Ciutat de Majorca, Majorca—died 1315/16, Tunis or near Majorca) Spanish (Catalan) mystic, poet, and missionary. He was reared at the court of Majorca, where he wrote lyrical troubadour poetry. He later traveled widely, attempting to convert Muslims to Christianity; he is said to have been stoned to death at Bejaïa. As a philosopher, he is best known as the inventor of an “art of finding truth.” Primarily intended to support the church in its missionary work, it was also designed to unify all branches of knowledge. In his principal work, Ars magna (1305–08), he tried to depict all forms of knowledge, including theology, philosophy, and the natural sciences, as mutually analogous and manifestations of the godhead in the universe. His writings influenced Neoplatonic mysticism throughout medieval and early modern Europe. In Catalan culture, his allegorical novels Blanquerna (c. 1284) and Felix (c. 1288) enjoy wide popularity; he is also known for his treatise on chivalry, his animal fables, and an encyclopaedia of medieval thought.