Hores de Nostra Dona Santa Maria (Hours of Our Lady Saint Mary)
Hores de Nostra Dona Santa Maria
A verified public-domain excerpt for this text is still being set. The folio is catalogued and linked below; an original Sub Rosa rendering will follow.
What it is
A poetic composition of the Divine Hours in honour of the Virgin Mary, written by Llull as an attempt to substitute the standard Marian Office with a work rooted in his own Art. Written in Occitano-Catalan verse, it praises Mary through scenes and miracles and was intended for personal devotional recitation. It was published together with the companion Desconhort de Nostra Dona in the standard critical edition. Llull composed the piece during his active engagement with the Aragonese crown circle, and it represents an original devotional contribution to Iberian Marian liturgy outside the Roman Office.
Why it still matters
This Marian Office in verse offers a contemplative alternative to standard Liturgy of the Hours prayer for those drawn to Lullian mysticism; it can be prayed as a brief daily Marian devotion. The modern critical edition (NEORL XI, ed. Simone Sari) is the standard scholarly text.
Kept alongside
Book of Hours of Maria of Navarre
Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis (Book of Hours of María de Navarra, Queen of Aragon)
The first illuminated Book of Hours created on the Iberian Peninsula, this manuscript was commissioned by King Peter IV of Aragon for his wife Maria of Navarre, Queen of Aragon (1338–1347). Its creation is directly documented by a royal letter of 26 April 1342 in which Peter urgently requests from Maria 'the beautiful book of hours painted by Ferrerius Bassa.' The manuscript contains nearly 400 illuminations, exclusive offices including the Hours in honour of St Louis (her direct ancestor), and is now held at the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Venice (Mss. Latini cl. 1 nº 104). It is the most important surviving witness to private Aragonese royal devotional practice of the fourteenth century.
Llibre d'amic e amat (Book of the Lover and the Beloved)
Llibre d'amic e amat
Embedded within Blanquerna as its fourth book, this collection of 365 brief mystical sayings — one for each day of the year — constitutes the most widely used devotional text in the Lullian corpus. In each aphorism the Lover (the soul) addresses or seeks the Beloved (God/Christ), using imagery drawn from Sufi mysticism, the Song of Songs, and troubadour poetry. Llull was deeply connected to the Aragonese court and the work circulated among the Crown's ruling class; Peter IV, John I, and Martin I of Aragon all engaged with Lullian texts. The standalone manuscript tradition shows it was extracted and circulated independently from Blanquerna for private devotional use.
Doctrina pueril
Written by Ramon Llull in Mallorca c.1274–1276 and explicitly dedicated to his son, this is the first catechetical manual in a Romance language, structured to convey the essentials of Christian faith to children and educated laypeople alike. Two thirds of the text walks through articles of faith, commandments, sacraments, virtues and vices; the final third introduces the liberal arts, natural science and comparative religion. Llull was the former court seneschal of James II of Majorca, a vassal of the Crown of Aragon, and sent the work along with letters suggesting it serve the princes of Aragon for their education and preparation for rule. A surviving 13th–15th-century codex is held at the Arxiu Nacional d'Andorra.