Lully, Raymond

Lully, Raymond (c. 1235–c. 1316) Spanish philosopher whose works were important to Alchemy. Raymond Lully—also known as Ramon Lull—was well known in his time, and his name was borrowed for spurious alchemical works. Numerous legends ascribe to him a colorful life of high adventure. Lully was born in about 1235 in Majorca. He had no formal education but gained attention as a poet and troubadour. He entered the court of King James I of Aragon, where he taught the royal family. He also worked as a missionary, inspired by a mystical vision in which he beheld the Creation as a hierarchy emanating from God. His missionary work was directed at Muslims. Lully’s vision also led to his development of what became known as “Lullian art.” His complex cosmological scheme is represented according to the principles of numbers and the numerical values of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Concentric disks inscribed with the Hebrew letters are revolved to make different combinations that represent the Dinitates Dei, or “Dignities of God,” the causes of all phenomena. Alchemists appreciated this system and thought that it would aid them in their quest for the Philosopher’s Stone. THUS, A SYSTEM OF “LULLIAN ALCHEM Y” AROSE. ONE STORY TOLD ABOUT LULLY IS THATHE WENTTO ENGLAND, WHERE KING EDWARD III EM P LOYED HIM TO M ANUFACTURE GOLD IN THE TOWER OF LONDON. SUP P OSEDLY, LULLY M ADE TONS OF BASE M ETALS INTO ROSE NOBLES (A TYP E OF COIN) ON THE CONDITION THATITBE USED ONLY TO fiNANCE THE CRUSADES. THE KING REFUSED AND IM PRISONED LULLY. HE LATER ESCAPED AND THEN SUPPOSEDLY WENTTO WESTM INSTER ABBEY WHERE HE TAUGHT THE SECRETS OF ALCHEM Y TO AN ABBOT. THE STORY, LIKE OTHERS TOLD ABOUT LULLY, IS PROBABLY fiCTION. THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT LULLY EVER VISITED ENGLAND. ITWAS KING EDWARD II WHO WAS ON THE THRONE ATTHE TIM E, NOT KING EDWARD III, AND ROSE NOBLES DID NOTAPPEAR UNTIL 1465 UNDER THE REIGN OF KING EDWARD IV. Further Reading: WAITE, ARTHUR EDWARD. Alchemists Through the Ages. Blauvelt, N.Y.: Rudolph Steiner Publications, 1970.

The Encyclopedia of Magic and Alchemy Written by Rosemary Ellen Guiley Copyright © 2006 by Visionary Living, Inc.