In my latest blog about Freemasonry, I mentioned my belief that this fraternity started after 1307 as an alliance between two factions, namely, the families of the original Knights Templar and the families of Kabbalah practicing Exilarchs who were expelled from France in 1306, and who later converted to Christianity. Because of persecution, this group commenced as a secret and very exclusive organization. However, from 1490 onwards, when according to Rabbi Avraham Azulai open involvement in the study of Kabbalah became permissible for the "Last Generation", membership to Freemasonry became accessible to everyone. But even then, the organization's existence remained a well guarded secret among its select members.
First among those welcomed into the brotherhood were the aristocrats, the scholars, and high ranking churchmen. In other words, those people who belong to the top of the pyramid of human society. Together, this group of new recruits formed a third faction in Freemasonry known as the Illuminati (the Enlightened Ones), or the Alumbrados. The historian Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo found the name Alumbrados as early as 1492 (and in the form aluminados, in 1498), and traced the group to a Gnostic origin. He thought their views were promoted in Spain through influences from Italy.
The Catholic Encyclopedia describes the Alumbrados as Christian mystics who appeared in Spain in the sixteenth century and who claimed to have direct communication with God. They held that the human soul can reach such a degree of perfection that it contemplates even in the present life the essence of God and comprehends the mystery of the Trinity. Once this level of perfection of the soul is reached, all external worship, they declared, becomes superfluous, the reception of the sacraments becomes unnecessary, and sin (even if committed) will not stain the soul in this state of complete union with the Perfect Father. The highest perfection attainable by the Christian according to them consists in the loss of one's individuality, and in complete absorption with God.
But what exactly were these influences from Italy which according to the historian Marcelino Menéndez y Pelayo gave rise to this mysterious group now known as the Illuminati?
These influences can be collectively grouped together into one movement known as Christian Kabbalah, which started and flourished at the time of the Renaissance. Christian Kabbalah first appeared in Italy in the late 15th century, due to the contributions of two Italian Renaissance philosophers, namely, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, and Lodovico Lazzarelli.
Count Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463 – 1494) was the youngest son of Francesco I, Lord of the Mirandola and Count of Concordia, by his wife Giulia, daughter of Feltrino Boiardo, Count di Scandiano. In 1486 Giovanni Pico della Mirandola charged his tutor Flavius Mithridates, a converted Jew, with the task of translating from Hebrew into Latin a whole Kabbalistic library, encompassing most of the Jewish mystical works then available. Yohanan Alemanno, an Italian Jewish humanist philosopher and exegete, and another one of Pico della Mirandola's tutors, taught that the Kabbalah was divine magic.
Lodovico Lazzarelli (1447 - 1500) was an alleged magician and diviner who had contact with many important thinkers and scholars of his time, the most prominent among them being the preacher and hermeticist Giovanni "Mercurio" da Correggio. Giovanni is believed to belong to the same distinguished Northern Italian feudal family of da Correggio which produced Niccolo da Correggio (1450-1508), the poet, playwright, and diplomat who was in close contact with the ducal court of Ferrara.
Renaissance scholars portrayed Giovanni da Correggio, or Mercurio, as a divinely inspired prophet who not only gains the loyalty of the uneducated masses who marvel at his wondrous abilities but is also surrounded by a select retinue of outstanding scholars who are equally impressed by his talents and are unquestionably convinced of the authenticity of his prophecy. He appeared in Rome in 1484, in Florence in 1486 (where he met with both Pico della Mirandola and Flavius Mithridates), in Ferrara, then in Lyons at the end of the fifteenth century.
Eyewitnesses described him as "a great celebrity who wandered through many regions preaching, interpreting the Holy Scriptures, and extolling his wisdom almost to the extent that he imagined his utterances to be inspired by the Holy Spirit ... For he boasted that he comprehended all the learning of all the ancient Hebrews, Greeks and Latins and despised practically all the ancients, philosophers as well as theologians, since compared to him only, he said, they were all unlearned and not one of them appeared to be wholly wise regarding the mysteries. Whence he confessed that he was versed in all the knowledge of the world, understood all the mysteries and arcana of natural things, was able to discover the deepest meanings of the scriptures, and knew everything that mortal man could know."
While Pico della Mirandola and Lodovico lazzarelli are both credited for making Christian Kabbalah popular during the Renaissance, I believe that Giovanni da Correggio was the one who sparked or started the interest for this movement in Italy.
It didn't take quite long before this new form of spirituality became popular not just among the elite, but also among the masses.
One of the earliest leaders of the Alumbrados in Spain was a labourer's daughter known as La Beata de Piedrahita (1485 — 1524), a mystic born in the village of Aldeanueva. According to her contemporaries, this peasant visionary was the daughter of devout farmers who spent her childhood doing charitable works and spending long hours in prayer. For hours she would remain in an ecstatic trance, unmoving, her arms and legs rigidly extended, dissolving herself in the arms of the Deity. Though unlearned she was reputed to be the equal of the most sophisticated theologians, her supernatural lights easily compensating for her lack of schooling.
News of her deeds reached King Ferdinand II of Aragon, who summoned her to his court at Burgos, where she stayed during the season of 1507-08, impressing king and courtiers and meeting Cardinal Cisneros. The 2nd Duke of Alba, Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo, also took a patron's interest in her affair.
Serious charges were made regarding her orthodoxy during the Spanish Inquisition, culminating in four trials between 1508 and 1511.
Her three influential patrons, the 2nd Duke of Alba, his cousin King Ferdinand II of Aragon, and Cardinal Cisneros recently regent of Castile, convinced the episcopal hierarchy that she enjoyed a special inspiration available to very few; their support was largely responsible for the failure of La Beata's critics to bring about her downfall as a heretic. She was absolved of the charges and her life and doctrine pronounced exemplary. She went on to rule as prioress in a convent founded especially for her by the Duke of Alba in her native village in central Castile.
The Alumbrados were one of the groups targeted by the Spanish Inquisition during 1478-1833. This tribunal was established by the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castille.
But if the Alumbrados were being persecuted by the Spanish Inquisition, and if this tribunal was established by King Ferdinand II of Aragon, then why was he protecting La Beata de Piedrahita at his own risk? The Duke of Alba even went so far as establishing a convent specially made for her. Could it be that Ferdinand II, together with the Duke of Alba and Cardinal Cisneros, were secret members of the Alumbrados?
It should be noted that some Jewish commentators about the Spanish Inquisition consider Father Tomas de Torquemada, first Inquisitor General of Spain, as the true mastermind behind this hateful fanaticism. Being the confessor of Queen Isabella since her childhood, he held quite a strong influence in many of her decisions, both political and personal.
On the other hand, King Ferdinand was described as having close contact with the Jews and got along well with them. "Leading Jews proudly regarded Ferdinand as their pillar and protector," due to his converso roots (he was the great-grandson of a Jewess of Toledo) and what appeared to be generally cordial relations (Sarachek 41, Minkin 91). Ferdinand gave a number of Jews important posts in his administration, also furthering an image of friendliness.
Now going back to my original question about King Ferdinand II of Aragon, was he a secret member of the Illuminati or the Alumbrados?
If he was, he certainly wasn't the only sovereign monarch at that time who became one. Lodovico Lazzarelli (1447-1500) wrote a dialogue, titled Crater Hermetis, in which the two speakers are Lazzarelli and King Ferdinand of Aragon. The king is initiated into a mystery which is said to be a fusion of Christianity, Kabbalah and Hermeticism. Most authors believe that King Ferdinand I of Naples (1423-1494), and not King Ferdinand II of Aragon (1452-1516), was the King Ferdinand referred to in this dialogue. But then, perhaps Lodovico had both King Ferdinands in mind when he created this character in his dialogue?
If my conclusion is correct that King Ferdinand II of Aragon and the 2nd Duke of Alba, Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo, were Alumbrados, then we can include Christopher Columbus as another possible member of the Illuminati at that time.
Remember that when Queen Isabella I turned down Columbus' request for ships, on the advice of her confessor, and as he was leaving town by mule in despair, King Ferdinand II intervened. Isabella then sent a royal guard to fetch him and Ferdinand later claimed credit for being "the principal cause why those islands (in America) were discovered (in 1492)".
Diego Colón Moniz, the firstborn son of Christopher Columbus, married María de Toledo y Rojas, niece of Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo, the 2nd Duke of Alba, who happened to be King Ferdinand II's cousin. So eventually they all became one family (of Illuminati?) in the end.
Christian Kabbalah tended to be characterized by syncretism between the Jewish Kabbalah, Christianity, and "pagan" philosophies such as Hermeticism, Neoplatonism and Pythagoreanism.
According to the author John F. Nash, Christian Kabbalists explored the Kabbalah and other ancient esoteric traditions in the hope of discovering the timeless foundations of all world religions, known as the Prisca Theologia. That hope led to an early form of what, today, we would call ecumenism. A number of scholars of the period shared the dream of finding an all-embracing theology that could unify Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - and perhaps even "paganism". Christianity was already viewed as an outgrowth and fulfillment of Judaism, and Islam claimed to be the fulfillment of both. If indeed the roots of Kabbalah extended back to or before Abraham, then it might pervade all three Abrahamic religions, including "paganism".
What this all-embracing theology could be which predates Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, will be answered in my next blog.