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Illuminati, designation in use from the 15th century, assumed by or applied to various groups of persons who claimed to be unusually enlightened. The word is the plural of the Latin illuminatus (“revealed” or “enlightened”). According to adherents, the source of the “light” was viewed as being directly communicated from a higher source or due to a clarified and exalted condition of the human intelligence. To the former class belong the Alumbrados (Spanish: “enlightened”) of Spain. Spanish historian Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo first finds the name about 1492 (in the for...

Illuminati—the plural of the Latin word illuminatus, meaning “enlightened”—is a name that has been in use since the late 15th century and has been applied to various groups since then. Members of these groups claim to be unusually enlightened, with the “light” attributed to a higher source or to an exalted condition of the human intelligence. The doctrines, practices, and rituals of illuminati groups are generally shrouded in secrecy: the Bavarian illuminati adopted a cipher for communicating with each other, while the Rosicrucian order claimed to be bound to secrecy for 100 year...