Etymology of California

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
toponym
California.

Multiple theories regarding the origin of the name California, as well as the root language of the term, have been proposed,

The Song of Roland
.

When Spanish

Sea of Cortez, they believed the peninsula to be an island similar to the island described in de Montalvo's novel.[2] They named the land California. Initially, California applied only to Baja California Peninsula; however, as Spanish explorers and settlers moved north and inland, the region known as California, or Las Californias, grew. Eventually it included not only the peninsula, but also the lands north of the peninsula, along the coast of today's U.S. state of California. Unlike the peninsula, this region was only practical to reach by sea voyages, and acquired a separate identity: Alta (Upper) California, making the lower territory Baja (Lower) California
.

Today, the name California is shared by

Baja California Peninsula, or one of the Mexican states on the peninsula, Baja California, or Baja California Sur. Collectively, the U.S. and Mexican states constitute a region referred to as The Californias
.

Las Sergas de Esplandián origin theory

California Capitol by Lucile Lloyd
)

In the early 16th-century romance novel

Terrestrial Paradise, and ruled by Queen Calafia
.

For many years the de Montalvo novel languished in obscurity, with no connection between it and the naming of California. That changed in 1862 when

Atlantic Monthly.[5]
Hale concluded that when Spanish explorers came upon the Baja California Peninsula, they named it California, after the fictional island in de Montalvo's book, because the explorers thought the peninsula was an island, east of the Indies, similar to the island described in de Montalvo's novel.

An excerpt from the novel, where California is first mentioned, using a contemporary Spanish translation:

Sabed que a la diestra mano de las Indias existe una isla llamada California muy cerca de un costado del Paraíso Terrenal; y estaba poblada por mujeres negras, sin que existiera allí un hombre, pues vivían a la manera de las amazonas. Eran de bellos y robustos cuerpos, fogoso valor y gran fuerza. Su isla era la más fuerte de todo el mundo, con sus escarpados farallones y sus pétreas costas. Sus armas eran todas de oro y del mismo metal eran los arneses de las bestias salvajes que ellas acostumbraban domar para montarlas, porque en toda la isla no había otro metal que el oro.[6]

The English translation, as it appeared in the Atlantic Monthly in March 1864:

Know, then, that, on the right hand of the Indies, there is an island called California, very close to the side of the Terrestrial Paradise, and it was peopled by black women, without any man among them, for they lived in the fashion of Amazons. They were of strong and hardy bodies, of ardent courage and great force. Their island was the strongest in all the world, with its steep cliffs and rocky shores. Their arms were all of gold, and so was the harness of the wild beasts which they tamed and rode. For, in the whole island, there was no metal but gold.[7]

–Las Sergas de Esplandián, (novela de caballería)
by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo.
Published in Seville in 1510.

Hale supposed that in inventing the names, de Montalvo held in his mind the

Arabic word khalifa which means steward[b], successor or leader. The same word in Spanish was califa, easily made into California to stand for "land of the caliph" خلیف, or Calafia to stand for "female caliph" خلیفة .[10]

Possible inspiration for Montalvo

Most scholars agree that Montalvo's Las Sergas de Esplandián is the direct progenitor of the word California. However, no one knows absolutely how Montalvo derived the word—whether he invented it himself, formed it from the Arabic word khalifa, or was inspired by other works. Several unprovable theories have been put forward.[11] [12]

Califerne in Song of Roland

Putnam wrote that

The Song of Roland held a passing mention of a place called Califerne, perhaps named thus because it was the caliph's domain, a place of infidel rebellion.[8] Chapman elaborated on this connection in 1921: "There can be no question but that a learned man like Ordóñez de Montalvo was familiar with the Chanson de Roland ...This derivation of the word 'California' can perhaps never be proved, but it is also plausible—and it may be added too interesting—to be overlooked."[13] Polk characterized this theory as "imaginative speculation".[14]

Polk wrote that another scholar offered the "interestingly plausible" suggestion that Roland's Califerne is a corruption of the Persian Kar-i-farn, a mythological "

griffins lived.[14]

French historian Prosper Boissonnade wrote in 1923 that a fortified city named Kal-Ifrene or Kalaa-Ifrene was located about four days march south of Bougie in Algeria. In the 11th century the city was an Arabic stronghold, manned by the Berber tribe of the Beni-Ifrene under their king Beni-Hammad. The city was feared and respected by Christian warriors of the Crusades. Based on his studies, Boissonnade felt that this city was the Califerne found in Song of Roland, and that it inspired Montalvo in turn. Contemporary California historians Herbert D. Austin and Rockwell D. Hunt wrote separately that this was a likely explanation.[11][12]

The Song of Roland is an 11th-century Old French epic poem that describes the August 15, 778, defeat and retreat of Charlemagne's army by the Basque army at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in the Pyrenees. On line 2924 of the poem, which is in verse number CCIX (209), the word Califerne is one of the lands mentioned, with no indication of its geographic location. It is, however, mentioned after a reference to Affrike, or Africa.

The original French verse CCIX (lines 2920–2924):

Morz est mis nies, ki tant me fist cunquere
Encuntre mei revelerunt li Seisne,
E Hungre e Bugre e tante gent averse,
Romain, Puillain et tuit icil de Palerne
E cil d'Affrike e cil de Califerne;

An English translation of verse CCIX (lines 2920–2924):

Dead is my nephew, who conquered so much for me!
Against me will rebel the Saxons,
Hungarians, Bulgars, and many hostile men,
Romans, Apulians, and all those of Palermo,
And those of Africa, and those of Califerne;

–Song of Roland, Verse CCIX (lines 2920–2924), 11th century[c]

The word Califerne, from the Song of Roland, may have served as an inspiration to Montalvo for the name "California", since both works contain a similar plot point; a battle between Christian and non-Christian armies. The author of the Song of Roland is believed to be the Norman poet Turoldus.[15]

Greek word kalli

Putnam discussed Davidson's 1910 theory That Montalvo's California was based on the Greek word kalli (meaning beautiful) but discounted it as exceedingly unlikely,[10] a conclusion that Dora Beale Polk agreed with in 1995, calling the theory "far-fetched".[8]

Other origin theories

Several alternate theories have been proposed as possible origins of the word California, but they all have been dismissed, or at least determined by historians to be less compelling than the novel, Las Sergas de Esplandián. Some of the most studied alternate theories include the following.

Calida Fornax

This term could derive from the Old Spanish *Calit Fornay, an alteration of the Latin Calida Fornax, meaning hot furnace.[16]

This theory may explain why the circa 1650 map of the Island of California has the name as two words, "Cali Fornia."

The word California may signify that it is a place that is hot in the manner of a lime kiln; both Spanish and Catalan have similar words taken from the Latin roots calcis (lime) and fornax (oven).[17]

Kali forno

Another suggested source is kali forno, an indigenous phrase from one of the local

Californian languages meaning "high mountains".[18][19]
However, the name "California" was printed in Montalvo's book before Spanish explorers spoke with Native Americans.

Calahorra

Another possible source for California's name may be Calahorra in Spain.[15]

Application of the name

The Island of California, from a map c. 1650 (restored)

La Paz, under a royal charter granting him that land.[citation needed
]

It has also been suggested that Hernando de Alarcón, sent by the viceroy Mendoza—an enemy of Cortés—on a 1540 expedition to verify Cortés's discoveries, referred to the inhospitable lands as California, and it was he who named the peninsula after the fabled island in Las Sergas. There is no question about Hernando de Alarcón's use of the term, nor about his allusion to Las Sergas, but there is question as to whether this is the first use of the name to refer to those lands and whether he intended the name as mockery. Alarcón provides a clear link from the literary, imaginary California to the real place, but his usage cannot be proven to be the actual origin, in that the name might predate him.[21][22]

Today the name California is applied to the

Baja California Peninsula, the Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortés), the U.S. State of California, and the Mexican states of Baja California and Baja California Sur
.

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ At the time, "Indies" referred to India and the southeast Asian island groups influenced by India. The area is now referred to as the East Indies.
  2. خلیفة
     has a strong religious connotation in Arabic because the Quran states that man is the steward of God's earth, implying that he is neither its owner nor inheritor [Sura Al-Baqara 2:30].
  3. Charles Scott Moncrieff
    (London, 1919), as reproduced at Orbis Latinus; many variant texts exist.

Citations

  1. ^ See, for example, several theories cited at Etimología de California on etimologias.dechile.net. Retrieved 1 April 2006.
  2. ^ Ford, pp. 11.
  3. ^ Hale 1862, p. 45.
  4. ^ Price, Arthur L. (November 3, 1912). "How California Got Its Name". Vol. CXIL, no. 156. San Francisco, California: The San Francisco Call. The San Francisco Sunday Call. p. Magazine Section, Part 1.
  5. ^ Hale 1864, p. 265.
  6. ^ Rodríguez de Montalvo, Garci (1526) [1496]. Las sergas de Esplandián [The Adventures of Esplandián] (in Spanish). Sabed que ala diestra mano de las Indias ouo una Isla llamada California mucho llegada ala parte del paraiso terrenal la qual sue poblada de mugeres negras sin que algun uaro entre ellas ouiesse: que casi como las amazonas … (The first mention of "California" occurs on the unnumbered page after page CVIII, in the right column.)
  7. ^ Hale 1864, p. 266.
  8. ^ a b c Polk 1995, p. 130.
  9. ^ Putnam 1917, pp. 293–294.
  10. ^ a b Putnam 1917, p. 356.
  11. ^
    doi:10.2307/41169718
    .
  12. ^ a b Hunt, Rockwell Dennis (1926). "The Name California". California and Californians. Vol. 1. Lewis Publishing. pp. 55–67.
  13. ^ Chapman 1921, pp. 63–64.
  14. ^ a b Polk 1995, p. 131.
  15. ^ a b Maas, Georgia (April 26, 2000). "The Maven's Word of the Day – California". Random House. Archived from the original on December 21, 2001. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  16. ^ "CALIFORNIA". Diccionario Etimológico (in Spanish).
  17. ISBN 978-84-300-3631-8
    .
  18. ^ According to the Chronology of California History (accessed 1 April 2006) on the site of Sons of the Revolution in California, Mexican priest Miguél Venegas put forth this theory in 1757.
  19. ^ Smith, Jeff (2001-09-13). "Cortés Looks for Amazons". San Diego Reader. Retrieved 2023-06-02.
  20. ^ Stewart, George (1945). Names on the Land: A Historical Account of Place-Naming in the United States. New York: Random House. pp. 11–17.
  21. ^ Descubrimientos y Exploraciones en las Costas de California 1532–1650 ("Discoveries and Explorations on the Coasts of California 1532–1650", Madrid, 1947; 2ª edición 1982, pp. 113–141): relevant passage quoted and cited at Etimología de California on etimologias.dechile.net. Retrieved 1 April 2006.
  22. ^ Primeras Exploraciones Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine ("First explorations") on Portal Ciudadano de Baja California, on the official site of the Baja California state government. Retrieved 1 April 2006.

Bibliography

Further reading

External links
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