I'll be doing a series of written works complied,
which will explain the energy and history of California. The first of these is from author Garci Rodriguez de Montalvo, whose frictional tale of Queen Calafia is our basis.
Calafia is a pagan who is convinced to raise an army of women warriors and sail away from California with a large flock of trained Griffins (
a legendary creature with the body, tail, and back legs of a lion; the head and wings of an eagle) 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 In the siege, the griffins harm enemy and friendly forces, so they are withdrawn.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 combate 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 her
army to California for further adventures.
(image Queen Califia by
CalifiabyTheArthurWrigh)
The name of
Calafia was likely formed from the Arabic word KHALIFA (religious state leader) which is known as CALIPH in English and CALIFA
in Spanish. Similarly, the name of Calafia's monarchy,
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 Christians and Muslims which had
recently concluded in Spain. The character of Calafia is used by
Rodríguez de Montalvo to portray the superiority of chivalry chivalry in which the attractive virgin queen is conquered, converted to Christian beliefs and married off.
Califia, 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 Europeans taking the land by force.
(Griffins)
In the book
The Adventures of Esplandián the story of Calafia is introduced as a curiosity.
Calafia is introduced as a regal black woman, courageous, strong of
limb and large of person, full in the bloom of womanhood, the most
beautiful of a long line of queens who ruled over the mythical realm of
California. She commanded a fleet of ships with which she demanded tribute from
surrounding lands, and she kept an aerial defense force of griffins,
fabulous animals which were native to California, trained to kill any
man they found.
Calafia meets Radiaro, a Moslem warrior who convinces her that she
should join him in retaking Constantinople from the Christian armies
holding it. Calafia, in turn, convinces her people to take their ships,
weapons, armor, riding beasts, and 500 griffins, and sail with her to
Constantinople to fight the Christians, though she has no concept of
what it means to be Moslem or Christian.
Landing near Constantinople, Calafia meets with other Moslem warrior
leaders who were unable to remove King Amadis and his Christian allies
from the city, and she tells them all to hold back and watch her manner
of combat—she says they will be amazed. The next morning, she and her
women warriors mount their "fierce beasts" wearing gold armor "adorned
with the most precious stones", advancing to invest the city.
Terrific battles raged along the city's walls but the attackers were
repulsed. Calafia led a picked group of women warriors to attack a city
gate, one held by Norandel, the half-brother of King Amadis. Norandel
charged out of the gate against Calafia; upon meeting their two lances
were broken but the warriors remained standing. They struck at each
other with sword and knife, and a general melee ensued, Calafia throwing
knights from their horses and taking great blows on her shield. Two
more knights charge forward from the city, nobles named Talanque (a
nephew of King Amadis) and Maneli, a prince of Ireland. The next day, Calafia duels with King Amadis trade blows until he disarms her and knocks her helmet off. Both Calafia and Radario surrender to the Christians.
While being held prisoner, Calafia acknowledges the astonishing beauty
of Leonorina, daughter of the Constantinople emperor and the intended
bride of Esplandián, and resolves not to interfere with their union. She
accepts Christianity as the one true faith, saying, "I have seen the
ordered order of your religion, and the great disorder of all others, I
have seen that it is clear that the law which you follow must be the
truth, while that which we follow is lying and falsehood."
She marries Talanque, a large and handsome knight who fought with her
outside the city gate; similarly, her sister Liota marries Maneli,
Talanque's companion in arms. The women return to California with their
husbands to establish a new dynasty complete with both sexes, as a
Christian nation.
(image: Espadian by: Getty)
The first voyage of Christopher Columbus. Christopher Columbus
in the late 15th century sparked a new interest in the search for
"Terrestrial Paradise", a legendary land of ease and riches, with
beautiful women wearing gold and pearls. Spanish author Garci Rodriguez de Montalvo Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo
drew upon reports from the New World to add interest to his fantasy
world of chivalry and battle, of riches, victory and loss, of an
upside-down depiction of traditional sex roles. Around the year 1500 in
his novel
The Adventures of Esplandián, he writes:
"Know ye that at the right hand of the Indies there is an island called
California, very close to that part of the Terrestrial Paradise, which
was inhabited by black women without a single man among them, and they
lived in the manner of Amazons Amazons.
They were robust of body with strong passionate hearts and great
virtue. The island itself is one of the wildest in the world on account
of the bold and craggy rocks."
