What Was Llull Up To?

In the histories of logic and of computer science which mention precursors and pioneers, we often find mention of Leibniz, the great l7th-century mathematician and philosopher, who was one of the first to try to build a mechanical calculator, and who tried to formulate a Mathesis universalis, a sort of scientific language which would permit any two disputants to settle their differences merely by taking pencil and paper and saying, "Let us calculate" But then we find that Leibniz got certain important ideas from a character called Ramon Llull who lived in the l3th century, who carne from a place called Mallorca, and who spent his life trying to convert Muslims and Jews. As if this weren't peculiar enough, when he has appeared in modern treatises, it has usually been as the typical romantic genius or in his case, medieval mystic who wasn't quite right in the head. Even a man as sensible as Martin Gardner (1982) calls him quixotic and paranoid!. So what Llull was up to is a question that indeed needs a bit of clarification.