«Ars orandi»: Ramon Llull’s «Ars compendiosa Dei»

Abstract

Using Barbara H. Jaye’s brief survey of the artes orandi as a starting point, I examine Ramon Llull’s Ars compendiosa Dei (May 1308) in the light of the definition she provides of the genre. Though I do not share Jaye’s belief that the ACD is the sole text within Llull’s corpus which might qualify as such an ars, I nevertheless carry out a kind of «thought experiment» on the basis of her insights. I incorporate into my own account consideration of certain Aristotelian logical constructs (e.g. theories of antithesis) to show how these (and other) determinants interact with Christian beliefs in their explication of the relations holding between divine mercy and justice and their human counterparts. Penitent humanity finds itself situated within precisely such a network of relations in respect of a just and merciful God. At the heart of this relationship lies the bidirectional discourse between God and humanity, articulated primordially in the former’s address to the latter and subsequently in the latter’s response as orant-contemplative.