Calafia

Calafia
Depiction of Queen Califia at the California Capitol, shown in the California's Name mural, painted by Lucile Lloyd in 1937.
First appearance	ca. 1510
Created by	Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo
In-universe information
Gender	Female
Title	Queen Calafia
Occupation	Ruler of the Island of California
Spouse	Talanque
Nationality	Californian

Calafia, or Califia, is the fictional queen of the island of California, first introduced by 16th century poet Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo in his epic novel of chivalry, Las sergas de Esplandián (The Adventures of Esplandián), written around 1510.^[1] She is the namesake of the California region encompassing the U.S. state of California and the Mexican states of Baja California and Baja California Sur.

In the novel, Calafia is a pagan warrior queen who ruled over a kingdom of Black women living on the Island of California (an island off the coast of Asia). Calafia is convinced to raise an army of women warriors and sail away from California with a large flock of trained griffins so that she can join a Muslim battle against Christians who are defending Constantinople. In the siege, the griffins harm enemy and friendly forces, so they are withdrawn. Calafia and her ally Radiaro fight in single combat against the Christian leaders, a king and his son the knight Esplandián. Calafia is bested and taken prisoner, and she converts to Christianity. She marries a cousin of Esplandián and returns with the remainder of her army to California for further adventures.^[2]

The name of Calafia was likely formed from the Arabic word khalifa (religious state leader) that is known as caliph in English and califa in Spanish. Similarly, the name of Calafia's realm, California, likely originated from the same root, fabricated by the author to remind the 16th century Spanish reader of the reconquista, a centuries-long fight between Christian Iberians and Muslim Arabs that had recently concluded in Spain. The character of Calafia is used by Rodríguez de Montalvo to portray the superiority of chivalry in which the attractive virgin queen is conquered, converted to Christian beliefs, and married off. The book was very popular for many decades—Hernán Cortés read it—and it was selected by author Miguel de Cervantes as the first of many popular and presumed-harmful books to be burnt by characters in his famous novel Don Quixote.^[2]

Calafia has been depicted as the Spirit of California, and has been the subject of modern-day sculpture, paintings, stories, and films; she often figures in the myth of California's origin, symbolizing an untamed and bountiful land prior to European settlement.^[3]