Christianus Arabicus · Ramon Llull (1232-1316): A Vernacular Writer Between Christianity and Islam

Ramon Llull (1232-1316): A Vernacular Writer Between Christianity and Islam

Ramon Llull’s Cent noms de Déu (Hundred Names of God) has always been considered an anti-Islamic work because of its prologue, where he explains the Islamic worship to the Names of God to polemicize against it. With this IF, I have instead demonstrated that we must consider it as a bridge between Christian and Islamic devotion. It was in fact used for the private worship of lay Christians, both in its short forms (the simple list of the Names) and in the long one (i.e. the hundred poems/chapters which constitute the work, which are actually a comment for each Name). The new critical editions of this work, in Catalan and in Latin, as well as the English translation will help disseminating this work, as it can be of interest to many different fields of study. My research has contribute new materials to Philosophy/Theology by investigating the Christian and Islamic interpretations of God's Names and to Literary History understanding why Llull gave such an importance to a work which is not actually a proper poem but rather versified prose, analogous to the Arabic saj’ and to the early Office of the Hours liturgical text. It is as well important for Linguistics for the analysis of its degree of Occitanisation, which helps to understand how far Llull’s poetic language was from that troubadour lyric which he abhorred, finally to Musicology by examining how this work was chanted. The overall results clearly show the interdisciplinary and cross boundary value of Llull's production. The acquired knowledge during this IF has helped advancing my main research on why Llull used poetic forms albeit he despised them and has provided new materials for understanding the circulation of culture and of ideas in the Mediterranean area in the XIII-XIV centuries as well. The peculiar mixing of Christian and Islamic devotions of the Hundred Names of God reflects the epithet Llull used to define himself, i.e. Christianus arabicus. Even if Llull’s desire was the full conversion of all the unbelievers, he appreciated many aspects of the Islamic culture, which he tried to introduce into Christianity, and which is one of the main reason why he composed his Hundred Names. Llull’s attitude towards Islam is completely different from that of his medieval contemporaries, and it is important for contemporary society to be aware that in the European Middle Ages there were alternatives plans about the possible coexistence of different religions and on how to build a peaceful dialogue among them.

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