Ramon Llull's Literary Works: An In-Depth Analysis

Ramon Llull's Literary Works

Evast & Blanquerna

The protagonist of the novel Evast & Blanquerna, written in Montpellier in 1283, is a hero without stain who has the gift of always choosing the best option. He lives life from the Lullian perspective. At eighteen, he leaves his parents, Evast and Aloma, and the proposed marriage to Natana, in search of the spiritual perfection of the hermit. This, however, is the end of a long journey during which he has been a monk, an abbot, a bishop, and the Pope. Throughout the book, there are abundant small instructive moral stories, known in medieval times as eximplis. These examples, used by preachers to embellish sermons on doctrine, served to provide a picture that was plastic, entertaining, and understandable.

Characters: Natana, Blanquerna, Evast, and Aloma.

Felix, or the Book of Wonders

Felix tells the life of a young man named Felix who abandons his home to travel the world. During his journey, Felix marvels at all he sees. Llull's goal is for the protagonist to admire God's creation, with a series of examples to learn the truths of the Christian faith.

Book of Beasts

The argument is simple: a fox, once elected councilor for the Lion King, tries to commit all kinds of abuses to finally usurp power. After eliminating all rivals, his attempt to overthrow the king fails because the elephant and the wild boar restore the established order.

This apologue is based on three principles:

1. The hierarchical organization of society.
2. The condemnation of political ambitions that could break the established order.
3. The need for a monarch to know how to form a fair and effective governing team.

Book of the Lover and the Beloved

The argument of this mystical work consists of 366 verses, each a very short story, which provides sufficient matter for a church member to meditate on each day. The characters are "the friend," who represents man, and "the beloved," who is the creator God. Love is often personified as the force that unites them. There are 366 verses so that one can meditate on a different verse each day of the year.

The Four Great Chronicles

• The Chronicle of James I, or Book of Facts

• The Chronicle of Bernard Desclot, or Book of King Peter and His Ancestors

• The Chronicle of Ramon Muntaner

  Muntaner's Chronicle recounts the events that he lived through during the reign of five kings, from James I to Alphonse IV of Aragon. It is intended to record the services he provided to the crown and to extol the greatness of the Catalan nation and its kings. It is a valuable testimony on the issue of the Almogavars. It has a high literary quality and was written to be heard rather than read. There are abundant hyperboles, always to exalt his homeland and its people.

• The Chronicle of Peter IV of Aragon

  Written at the initiative of Peter IV, but not by him, it explains some important facts of his reign. The main objectives were to strengthen the monarchy and to give prestige and justify his actions as king. Although the Chronicle was written by the secretaries of the Foreign Ministry, the role of the monarch is notable, especially when he tells of his memories, aspirations, feelings, and ideas.

Ramon Llull's Legacy

Ramon Llull's case is exceptional and unique, principally for two reasons: first, because he was a pioneer in Europe in using a Romance language, Catalan, for his written texts; and second, because he became the true creator of Catalan literary language. He presented, for the first time, a clear syntax, rich and full of nuances, and a wide and precise vocabulary.

Llull had two major goals: firstly, the creation of a philosophical system ("Art"), which had very personal reasons, to prove intelligible the great truths of the Christian faith; and secondly, the expansion of Christianity and the moral formation of the population.