Critical edition and commentary of Ramon Llull's Lectura super figuras Artis demonstrativae et Liber chaos

• Applicant: Dr. Carla Compagno
• Subject Area: Roman Catholic Theology
• Term: from 2016 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 340321578

The many works – around 280 – written by the Majorcan philosopher of religion and mystic Ramon Llull (Lat. Raimundus Lullus, 1232–1316) after his conversion in 1263 follow the goal of providing the representatives of the competing religions Judaism and Islam a path to the core Christian doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation that is not based on authoritative texts but on rational argumentation alone. Llull was convinced of having found such a path in his "Ars", a method he developed over the course of several decades, beginning with his Ars compendiosa inveniendi veritatem (ca. 1274) and culminating in his Ars generalis ultima (1305–1308).Ramon Llull wrote the Lectura super figuras Artis demonstrativae et Liber chaos in Montpellier between 1285 and 1287. This work is connected to the Ars demonstrativa, which he wrote in the year 1283. The Ars demonstrativa is the second important version of the Lullian "Ars" after the first account in his Ars compendiosa inveniendi veritatem (ca. 1274). In it, he indeed develops a new method of logical demonstration as an alternative to the classical Aristotelian propter quid and quia. He refers to this method himself as "demonstratio per aequiparantiam". Llull’s aim is to convert the unbelievers by means of a rational demonstration of the triune God without calling on the support of authorities like the Holy Scriptures or the Church Fathers. The work has been transmitted in a Latin version included in 17 extant manuscripts. A part of the Lectura known as the Liber chaos has survived in a special, independent transmission in 21 further manuscripts. In this part of the work, Llull explains the theory of chaos and the constitution of the material substances from the prima materia. This cosmological and natural philosophical topic is ultimately a theological goal, because it has to be considered in connection with the question of the resurrection of the body. A critical edition of this work is one of the principal gaps in current Llull research, as it was disseminated widely among the first Humanists, such as Nicholas of Cusa (1401–1464) and Sozomeno of Pistoia (1387–1458).

• DFG Programme: Research Grants