The intriguing tale begins with an imaginary queen and a 500-strong flock of griffins.

In the early 16th century, the Spanish writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo, renowned for his tales of adventure and chivalry, published Las Sergas de Esplandián, or The Adventures of Esplandián.

The novel described a fictitious island called California — believed to be the first time the name appears in print — located somewhere between Asia and the Americas. A fertile paradise that was home to extraordinary riches, the island was populated solely by Black warrior women and ruled by the Amazonian Queen Calafia.

De Montalvo, who probably derived the name from the Arabic word “khalifa,” meaning leader, describes how the courageous Queen Calafia, “desirous of achieving great things,” sailed from her island utopia to Constantinople, now Istanbul, with her daughters. They wore golden suits of armor and were adorned with pearls. Their goal? To wage war against the Christian forces defending the city.

With the help of her flock of trained griffins, Calafia and her warriors fought on the side of the Muslims in their battle against Christendom. Soon taken prisoner, Calafia married a Christian and converted to his religion before returning home with her fearsome entourage.

De Montalvo’s tale circulated widely in early 16th-century Spain. Hernán Cortés, the celebrated conquistador, knew the story well. The allure of untold riches, exotic lands and powerful figures like Queen Calafia would have been irresistible to explorers, fueling their imaginations as they sought new territories.

Scholars think that in 1633, when Spanish mutineer Fortún Ximénez, and two years later Cortés himself, landed on what is now Baja California, they probably did not realize they were standing upon a peninsula, but likely thought they were on an island. Could this be Queen Calafia’s island?

By the mid-16th century, the name California had taken off in the popular imagination. The Spaniards gave the name Las Californias to the peninsula and the lands to the north, including what is now known as Baja (Lower) California and Alta (Upper) California.

Other etymological theories include the idea that the name California derives from a phrase in an Indigenous language, or even from the Old Spanish “calit fornay” (hot furnace). However, scholars remain most persuaded by the theory of Queen Calafia’s mythical island — a fitting origin story for a place that would later capture the imagination and inspire the dreams of people around the world.

Sherry Velasco, professor of Spanish and Portuguese and gender studies, and a scholar of Renaissance Spanish literature, notes the overwhelming success of de Montalvo’s chivalric series of novels, of which Las Sergas de Esplandián was the second installment. “I can’t help but think of a more recent fantasy-adventure franchise, George R.R. Martin’s ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ series of books, which inspired the television series ‘A Game of Thrones,’” Velasco says. “Perhaps Queen Calafia and her griffins paved the way for Khaleesi and her dragons, and other stories of powerful women.”