The Book of the Lover and the Beloved

This superb translation replicates one of Ramon Llull’s finest works, prefaced by a biography of the great Christian mystic by the translator Edgar Allison Peers.

Llull was born in Majorca in 1232, the son of a wealthy Catalan family. When Ramon was in his early thirties, he experienced a series of visions whilst working as an official for the King of Majorca; most notably that of Christ upon the Cross. He interpreted these as a calling from God. Well-educated and already given to writing poetry, after his visions he wrote instead expressions of his spirituality and veneration of the Lord. His works were celebrated for their eloquent articulations of faith; today, they are considered some of the most notable examples of Medieval Spanish writing and Christian mysticism.

The Book of the Lover and the Beloved takes the form of a dialogue between the two titular characters; the pair discuss emotions such as love in a spiritual context. Much of the work is mystical in nature, seeking to move its readers to a realization that spiritual connection with God – of becoming one with His will – constitutes a matter of immense emotional and soulful depth, encompassing the very essence of reality and the experience of human consciousness.