Llull, Ramon (1232–1316), also known as Raymond Lull, was a Catalan philosopher and theologian of the Franciscan order who made important contributions to the development of formal logic and Medieval literature. He is often incorrectly described as an alchemist and pioneer of alcohol distillation. The confusion arises from anonymous authors who published works under his name. These imposter writings are known as the pseudo-Llull corpus. This situation is quite common in the history of alchemy: alchemy writers often used the names of famous wise men to give their writings greater authority, and to avoid being condemned as charlatans or heretics. The real Ramon Llull opposed the practice of alchemy.
The key pseudo-Llull text concerning alcohol is the Testament, published in 1332. Testament describes the process of distilling alcohol from wine and claims this process was known to “the ancients” but kept secret. The Testament contains the earliest known expression of the concept of pure alcohol (“aqua ardens”), as a distinct substance that is separated from water by means of distillation.
Ultimately 143 texts would falsely claim Llull as their author. A whole mythos grew around the “alchemist” Ramon Llull. According to one story he traveled to England and offered to turn lead into gold for King Edward, on condition that Edward use it to finance a crusade. Llull produced the gold, but the king locked him away and invaded France instead.
The life of the real Ramon Llull was even more impressive than the myth. He was the son of a wealthy Palma family who took up a troubadour life until he had a “come to Jesus moment.” According to his autobiography, he was composing a “vulgar tongued” love song one night when Christ appeared to him, floating in midair on the cross. Ramon woke the next morning thinking it had all been a bad dream, but he saw the vision five more times. Finally he gave up his sinful ways and joined the Third Order of Saint Francis.
He believed his divine mission was to convert Muslims to Christianity using rational arguments and logic rather than violent coercion (the preferred method of the day). He learned Arabic (from a Muslim slave), read Arabic philosophy, and developed a system of logic that was a very early precursor to computer science. He also wrote one of the first European novels, Blanquerna, and pioneered the mathematical theory of elections. His fans dubbed him “Doctor Illuminatus.”
At the age of eighty-two, his zeal to convert the “unbelievers” did him in. He traveled to Béjaïa (in modern day Algeria), where an angry crowd, uninterested in his rational arguments, stoned him to death.
Forbes, R. J. Short History of the Art of Distillation. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1948.
Llull, Ramon. Doctor Illuminatus: A Ramon Llull Reader. Edited and translated by Anthony Bonner. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993.
Principe, Lawrence M. The Secrets of Alchemy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013.
By: Sam Eilertsen