Editing Calafia (section)

{{short description|Fictional character in Las sergas de Esplandian}}
{{about|the fictional queen of California}}
{{Good article}}
{{Infobox character
| name = Calafia
| series = 
| image = [[File:Detail of Queen Califia in the "California's Name" mural (Lucile Lloyd, 1937).gif|180px]]
| caption = Depiction of Queen Califia at the [[California Capitol]], shown in the ''California's Name'' mural, painted by [[Lucile Lloyd]] in 1937.
| first = {{Circa|1510}}
| creator = [[Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo]]
| gender = Female
| occupation = Ruler of the [[Island of California]]
| title = Queen Calafia
| 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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Putnam |first=Ruth |editor=Herbert Ingram Priestley |title=California: the name |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924008278347 |year=1917 |publisher=University of California |location=Berkeley}}</ref> She is the namesake of the [[The Californias|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 people|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 [[griffin]]s 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 In the siege, the griffins harm enemy and friendly forces, so they are withdrawn.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.<ref name=Beebe>{{cite book |last1=Beebe |first1=Rose Marie |last2=Senkewicz |first2=Robert M. |title=Lands of promise and despair: chronicles of early California, 1535–1846 |url=https://archive.org/details/landsofpromisede00rose |url-access=registration |series=California legacy |year=2001 |publisher=Heyday Books |isbn=1-890771-48-1 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/landsofpromisede00rose/page/9 9]–11}}</ref>

The name of ''Calafia'' was likely formed from the [[List of Arabic loanwords in English|Arabic word]] ''[[Khilafah|khalifa]]'' (religious state leader) that is known as [[caliph]] in [[English language|English]] and ''califa'' in [[Spanish language|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]]''.<ref name=Beebe/>

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 [[Origin of the name California|California's origin]], symbolizing an untamed and bountiful land prior to European settlement.<ref>{{cite book |last=Peck |first=Donna |title=Romantic Days and Nights in San Francisco |volume=3 |year=2001 |publisher=Globe Pequot |isbn=0-7627-0846-8 |page=5}}</ref>