Ramon Lull | Biography

Ramon Lull was born in Spain in 1232, the son of a nobleman. He married at age twenty-five. Six years later after asserting he had had a series of spiritual experiences, he set about to accomplish what he perceived to be his life mission. Lull would establish colleges where missionaries could train to convert the Arabic people. He wanted his students to clearly present the superiority of Christianity over any other way of thinking. They would need training in other languages and the best knowledge on a wide range of subjects. To this end, he developed what he called the "art of finding the truth." This method linked all knowledge together as a means to show that all could come to know the Creator by knowing the creation.

It is one of the ironies of history that a man such as Ramon Lull should be described as an alchemist. Studies of his work since 1950 show that Lull was clearly against the alchemy. It was one of the influences leading faithful away from Christianity. What he did promote was the teaching of the currently best knowledge of medicine. This was four hundred years before the practice of making medicine would begin to separate from the ancient ways of alchemy. Surely, the best knowledge of medicine at the time of Lull was intricately connected with alchemy. So, even though in his lifetime he tried to steer people away from the mystical influences of alchemists, because his books contained methods associated with alchemists, he has been believed to be one of them. Furthermore, although he stressed reason and study for determining truth, his faith was professedly based on mystical experience. The alchemists were attracted to the mysticism in his work and quoted him. Many authors wrote works of alchemy in his name, but these works have been dated to years after Lull's death.

A study of Lull's authentic work shows that he did have much of value in his thinking. He did not study at one of the Christian schools, because he had not mastered Latin and the schools wanted younger students. He was essentially self-taught and, therefore, not limited in what he chose to study. He was one of the few scholars of his time who was free to study classical works not directly associated with Christianity. Furthermore, because he was not learning under the church supervision, he did not have to seek approval for his opinions and challenged himself to search for the truth beyond popular opinions and to organize that search. This is similar to the modern role of the scientist. Libavius, whose writings influenced chemistry away from alchemy and toward becoming a science, surely knew of Lull. In the writings of Libavius, there is the same emphasis on understanding the best knowledge available.

Lull lived to be 84. Late in life, he did see his dream of missionary colleges become a reality. The Council of Vienna approved the development of these colleges four years before he died. It is another irony that he should be described as a martyr. Lull constantly stressed collecting the facts and making a rational assumption from those facts. The evidence suggesting he was martyred is very scant and does not hold up in light of other evidence. Lull died in early 1316, most likely at Mallorca.