Editing Ramon Llull (section)

===Religious calling===
In 1263 Llull experienced a series of [[Vision (spirituality)|visions]]. He narrates the event in his autobiography ''Vita coaetanea'' ("A Contemporary Life"):

{{quote|Ramon, while still a young man and Seneschal to the King of Majorca, was very given to composing worthless songs and poems and to doing other licentious things. One night he was sitting beside his bed, about to compose and write in his vulgar tongue a song to a lady whom he loved with a foolish love; and as he began to write this song, he looked to his right and saw our Lord [[Jesus Christ]] on the Cross, as if suspended in mid-air.{{sfn|Bonner|1985|pp=10–11}} }}

The vision came to Llull five times in all and inspired in him three intentions: to give up his soul for the sake of God's love and honor, to convert the [[Saracen]]s (i.e., Arabs and/or Muslims) to Christianity, and write the best book in the world against the errors of the unbelievers.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Llull |first1=Ramon |title=A Contemporary Life, Edited and translated by Anthony Bonner |date=2010 |publisher=Tamesis |location=Barcelona/Woodbridge |isbn=9781855661998 |pages=33–35}}</ref>

Following his visions he sold his possessions on the model of Saint  [[Francis of Assisi]] and set out on pilgrimages to the shrines of Saint Mary of [[Rocamadour]], [[James the Great|Saint James]], and other places, never to come back to his family and profession. When he returned to Majorca he purchased a Muslim slave in order to learn Arabic from him.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Llull |first1=Ramon |title=A Contemporary Life, Edited and translated by Anthony Bonner |date=2010 |publisher=Tamesis |location=Barcelona/Woodbridge |isbn=9781855661998 |pages=37–39}}</ref> For the next nine years, until 1274, he engaged in study and contemplation in relative solitude. He read extensively in both Latin and Arabic, learning both Christian and Muslim theological and philosophical thought.<ref>Churchill, Leigh (2004). The Age of Knights & Friars, Popes & Reformers. Milton Keynes: Authentic Media. {{ISBN|1-84227-279-9}}, 9781842272794. p. 190</ref>

In 1270 Llull founded the hermitage of the Holy Trinity in Mallorca, known as Miramar.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-01-12 |title=Ermita de la Trinitat (Hermitage of the Holy Trinity) {{!}} Mallorca Guide, Tourist Attractions, Map |url=https://xmallorca.com/mallorca-churches-cathedrals/ermita-de-la-trinitat-hermitage-of-the-holy-trinity |access-date=2023-06-22 |website=Mallorca Guide, Tourist Attractions, Map |language=en-US}}</ref>

Between 1271 and 1274 Llull wrote his first works, a compendium of the Muslim thinker [[Al-Ghazali]]'s logic and the ''Llibre de contemplació en Déu'' (''Book on the Contemplation of God''), a lengthy guide to finding truth through contemplation.

In 1274, while staying at a hermitage on [[Puig de Randa]], the form of the great book Llull was to write was finally given to him through divine revelation: a complex system that he named his ''Art'', which would become the motivation behind most of his life's efforts.