Llullian figure¶
llull_figure · permutation · validated
A rotating figure of concentric discs bearing the nine dignities, whose turning produces every pairing and triplet of them for contemplation.
Provenance¶
- Source: Ramon Llull, Ars Generalis Ultima (1305)
- Attribution:
primary— a named author, work and year this catalogue stands behind - Checkability:
self— decidable from the text and its parameters alone - Attested:
author-stated— the originator set this rule down
Details¶
- Kind: both
- Languages: en
- Requires:
tokens - Deterministic: yes
- Also known as: figura universalis, volvelle
- In other languages: Lullische Figur (de), Figure lullienne (fr)
Notes¶
The ternary Ars is implemented; the earlier quaternary phase carries sixteen dignities rather than nine. Counts here are computed from the letters — 84 chambers of three, 36 of two — and the scholarship corroborates both: the tabula runs 84 columns by 20 rows, whose 1,680 cells match the count reported for the Tabula generalis. The 36 binary compartments belong to the third figure, not to Figura A, which is the circle of the nine dignities themselves; an earlier note here misattributed them. No facsimile has been collated. A figure of 504 met in the secondary literature is 9 × 8 × 7, the ordered triples — Llull's chambers are unordered, which is why 84 is the number. Eco's point is worth keeping in view: the wheels do not freely generate new truths, since the stock of principles is fixed and heterodox combinations are excluded elsewhere in the Ars. The reading of the figure as a first computer (Künzel and Bexte, 1989) is reception, not a finding about the object.
Prompt hint¶
Take the nine dignities and write out each pairing the wheels bring together.
Parameters¶
| Name | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
arity |
integer | 3 |
Principles per chamber. |
figure |
string | llull_ternary |
Which figure to read against. |
level |
— | None |
Which table to read the letters at; inferred if unset. |
Examples¶
chamber-as-letters¶
en — this text satisfies the procedure.
BCD
Source: Ramon Llull, Ars generalis ultima (1305–1308); the fourth figure's chambers
chamber-spelled-at-the-absolute-level¶
en — this text satisfies the procedure.
Bonitas Magnitudo Aeternitas
Source: constructed example; the dignities as the Ars brevis (1308) names them
same-letters-read-as-relations¶
en — this text satisfies the procedure.
Differentia Concordantia Contrarietas
Source: constructed example; the multiple assignment is the device
not-a-principle¶
en — this text does not satisfy the procedure.
Bonitas Magnitudo Zebra
Source: constructed counterexample
a-principle-twice¶
en — this text does not satisfy the procedure.
BB
Source: constructed counterexample; a chamber holds distinct principles