Ramon LLull (1232-1316) was born the son of a prosperous Catalan merchant and spent his youth pursuing worldly pursuits, until a series of powerful visions of Christ moved him to devote his life entirely to serving God. One of his lifelong ambitions was to write a book to counter the "errors of the infidels," to which end he studied Arabic and immersed himself in whatever arabic texts he could obtain. The Book of the Lover is one of the most celebrated works of medieval mystical literature offering a uniquely expressed and moving testimony to the soul's quest for union with God. The 365 paragraphs of "moral metaphors" intended for daily meditation, are written in the style of the Muslim sufis who offer words of love and brief exampla that inspire great devotion. Professor Johnston concisely explains the peculiarities of Llull's idiosyncratic theological and philosophical system and offers the most comprehensive assessment to date of his debt to the Islamic tradition of devotional discourse. In addition, brief notes help to guide the reader's appreciation of the spiritual insight that Llull sought to stimulate with his text. Contains original Latin and Catalan text, translation and commentary.

Ramon LLull (1232-1316) was born the son of a prosperous Catalan merchant and spent his youth pursuing worldly pursuits, until a series of powerful visions of Christ moved him to devote his life entirely to serving God. One of his lifelong ambitions was to write a book to counter the "errors of the infidels," to which end he studied Arabic and immersed himself in whatever arabic texts he could obtain. The Book of the Lover is one of the most celebrated works of medieval mystical literature offering a uniquely expressed and moving testimony to the soul's quest for union with God. The 365 paragraphs of "moral metaphors" intended for daily meditation, are written in the style of the Muslim sufis who offer words of love and brief exampla that inspire great devotion. Professor Johnston concisely explains the peculiarities of Llull's idiosyncratic theological and philosophical system and offers the most comprehensive assessment to date of his debt to the Islamic tradition of devotional discourse. In addition, brief notes help to guide the reader's appreciation of the spiritual insight that Llull sought to stimulate with his text. Contains original Latin and Catalan text, translation and commentary.

Modern histories of medieval culture often assert without qualification that the oral exercise of public eloquence during the European Middle Ages was limited to preaching by the clergy. The classical art of rhetoric supposedly survived only as a written subject for study in the schools. During the past thirty years, however, knowledge of medieval rhetorical theory and practice has grown tremendously. Historians and philologians have devoted particular attention to the relationship between oral and written communication in medieval Europe. Their investigations are beginning to suggest -- not surprisingly -- that interest in eloquence was not confined to the schools or clergy. Secular officials arguing in princely courts or town halls, and laypeople seeking to develop their learning or piety also cultivated an interest in rhetoric. Given the paucity of testimony available, the New Rhetoric of the Mallorcan lay theologian and philosopher Ramon Llull (1232-1316) offers an exceptional witness to the non-academic and non-clerical concern for eloquence. His proposals for new Christian arts of communication are among the best evidence available for assessing the diffusion of rhetorical doctrines from the cloisters and schools into the courts, town halls, and private chapels of Western Europe around 1300. Growing interest in Llull's work and in medieval rhetoric have combined to produce this first published edition. The first part on order shows how Llull's entire program attempts to correlate ethical, metaphysical, and linguistic categories into a single system of Anselmian "rightness." The next section on beauty could almost form a complete art of preaching in itself, thanks to the brief compilations of sermon material that it includes. The broad range of discursive elements and techniques in which Llull seeks verbal beauty makes this section very eclectic in scope. Part three on knowledge attempts to explain the diffusion of right linguistic and rhetorical doctrine almost exclusively through the Divine Dignities and other categories of the Great Art. The final section on love consists of ten proverbs regarding loving speech, each explicated with an appropriate exemplum.

Ramon Llull (1232-1316), born on Majorca, was one of the most remarkable lay intellectuals of the thirteenth century. He devoted much of his life to promoting missions among unbelievers, the reform of Western Christian society, and personal spiritual perfection. He wrote over 200 philosophical and theological works in Catalan, Latin, and Arabic. Many of these expound on his "Great Universal Art of Finding Truth," an idiosyncratic dialectical system that he thought capable of proving Catholic beliefs to non-believers.
This study offers the first full-length analysis of his theories about rhetoric and preaching, which were central to his evangelizing activities. It explains how Llull attempted to synthesize commonplace advice about courtly speech and techniques of popular sermons into a single program for secular and sacred eloquence that would necessarily promote love of God and neighbor. Llull's work is a remarkable testimony to the diffusion of clerical culture among educated lay-people of his era, and to their enthusiasm for applying that knowledge in pursuit of learning and piety. This book should find a place on the shelf of every scholar of medieval history, religion, and rhetoric.