Llull punished blasphemy violently yet could not bear to execute the slave

Evidence

One day he heard that his Muslim slave had blasphemed Christ’s name; Llull, “impelled by a great zeal for the Faith, hit the Saracen on the mouth, on the forehead, and on the face.” The slave later attacked his master with a knife and wounded him; Ramon and the other members of the household subdued him and had him imprisoned. Ramon prayed to the Virgin for guidance: should he have the man who had taught him Arabic killed, or should he let him live and risk being attacked again? His prayers were answered in a singular way; he discovered that the slave had hanged himself in his prison cell. This incident provides several interesting clues about Llull’s personality, his curious mix of fanaticism and tolerance: Llull cannot bear to hear harsh, blasphemous language, nor can he bear the thought of killing his slave. — John V. Tolan, Saracens, 1284

Categorization

• QUESTION: The slave’s suicide conveniently resolves Llull’s dilemma — worth chasing whether the hagiographic Vita fabricated the suicide to preserve Llull’s moral purity.
• SEED: Angle: the self-hanging slave as the narrative convenience that lets a holy man avoid blood on his hands — a pattern in hagiography worth exploring.