Pseudo-Lull

Pseudo-Lull is the name for a corpus of alchemical writings that originated from the 14th to the 16th century and appeared under the name of Ramon Llull or Raimundus Lullus, but did not come from him. Llull himself, a Catalan encyclopaedist, mystic, poet and missionary of the 13th and 14th centuries, criticized alchemy and also considered a conversion of base metal into noble not possible.

The assignment was probably made because of his reputation as a magician and because of the possibility of interpretation that his combinatorial locking method (Ars Magna) and his element theory offered for alchemy, and began as early as 1370 with the attribution of already existing alchemical texts. In the 15th and 16th centuries further writings were added to him, so that in the 15th century they grew to around 50, which were often used in alchemical circles and were included in the 17th century collection of Theatrum Chemicum . Llull received the reputation of one of the greatest alchemists of the Middle Ages.

The oldest writing of the Corpus is the Testamentum , probably by a Catalan author who studied medicine in Montpellier and from the 14th century (first printed in Cologne in 1566). The book claims to have been written in London before 1332. According to a legend of the 16th century, Llull, who worked as a missionary, survived the stoning by the Muslims and switched to gold making to finance a new crusade . He is said to have been successful in it and for Edward III. Produced large amounts of gold in London in 1332, but used it for his own purposes (the legend is still portrayed as truth in the history of alchemy by Karl Christoph Schmieder from 1832). Another well-known script is the Codicillus .

Typical of the writings in the Pseudo-Llull Corpus is the division of alchemy into theory and practice, which are linked by mnemonic methods. According to Pseudo-Llull, the goal is the conversion of metals and the production of a universal medicine (Panacea), each with the help of the Philosopher's Stone, which is produced from mercury and sulfur, as well as the purification of precious stones.

In later texts of the corpus, such as the Liber de secretis naturae from the beginning of the 15th century or the Explanatio compendiosaque applicatio artis Raymundi Lulli by B. de Lavinhetas (Lyon 1523), an explicit connection to the person and to the other writings of Llull is made .

literature

Antonio Clericuzio, Raimundus Lullus, in: Claus Priesner , Karin Figala : Alchemie. Lexicon of a Hermetic Science, Beck 1998
Michela Pereira: The alchemical corpus attributed to Raymond Lull, Warburg Institute, London 1989 (= The Warburg Institute Surveys and Texts , 18)
Joachim Telle : (Pseudo-) Lull (us), Raimund (us). In: Author's Lexicon . 2nd Edition. Volume 5, 2004, Col. 1046-1049.
Joachim Telle: (Pseudo) -Lullus-Corpus, Lexicon of the Middle Ages , 1993

Individual evidence

↑ The passages are listed in Karl Chistoph Schmieder, Geschichte der Alchemie, Halle 1832, p. 176. According to Schmieder, who considered the pseudo-Lull corpus to be authentic, a change of heart took place in Llull's later writings. On p. 178 ff. He lists 25 writings from the pseudo-Lull corpus that he considers to be genuine.

[1] The passages are listed in Karl Chistoph Schmieder, Geschichte der Alchemie, Halle 1832, p. 176. According to Schmieder, who considered the pseudo-Lull corpus to be authentic, a change of heart took place in Llull's later writings. On p. 178 ff. He lists 25 writings from the pseudo-Lull corpus that he considers to be genuine.