Calafia

Uncommon card · No. 198891

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. Rodríguez's fictional Californie is most likely 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 In the siege, the griffins harm enemy and friendly forces, so they are withdrawn.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...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Lucile Lloyd, Public domain