Florinda la Cava facts for kids

Florinda la Cava, often just called La Cava, is a famous character from an old Spanish legend. She is said to have played a big part in the fall of the Visigothic kingdom in Spain in the year 711. For many centuries, people in Spain believed she was a real person. However, there is no actual proof that she ever existed. Her name, La Cava, was likely made up much later.

The musical La Cava, which started in 2000, tells the story of this legend.

The Legend of La Cava

La Cava was supposedly the daughter of a man named Count Julian. Some older stories even say she was his wife. Count Julian himself might not have been a real person.

According to the oldest Arabic stories, Count Julian was a Christian governor. He ruled Ceuta, a city in North Africa, under the last Visigothic king, Roderic. King Roderic was a real king.

The legend says that King Roderic did something bad to Florinda. In some versions, the king secretly watched her while she was bathing in a garden. This made Count Julian very angry. To get revenge on King Roderic, Count Julian supposedly teamed up with the Umayyad forces. These forces were conquering northern Africa at the time. Together, they planned to invade Spain.

Where the Name "La Cava" Comes From

The story of La Cava first appeared in old writings from the 11th and 12th centuries. In these early stories, she did not have a name. She was first called "Oliba" in a 12th-century book, but this name did not become popular.

The name "La Cava" first appeared in a Portuguese book from the 14th century. In this book, she was given an Arabic-sounding name, Alataba or Alacaba. Later, in a rewritten version, she was always called la Caba. This became the name we know today.

The name became very popular thanks to a book written around 1430. In 1592, the name Florinda was added to her story.

Possible Meanings of "La Cava"

The name La Cava might have been influenced by the Hebrew and Arabic words for Eve. These words are Chava and Ḥawwā. There are some clear similarities between Florinda's legend and the story of Eve. One writer in the 15th century, who used to be Jewish, simply called her Caba.

A clear link between Florinda and Eve was made in 1574. A theologian named Gabriel Esteban de Salazar wrote that "we wrongly say Eva instead of Chava. This is the sad name of the Chava, who caused Spain to be lost."

La Cava Rumía

By the 16th century, a piece of land on the north coast of Africa was called La Cava Rumía. Many Spaniards thought it was named after the legendary La Cava. This area is sometimes called Albatel. It is near Cape Caxine.

According to a French survey from the 19th century, this bay was still called the golfe de la Malamuger. This means "gulf of the evil woman." The ruins of ancient Roman Tipasa are on this bay. The Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania is a bit further inland. This monument is known in local Arabic as Qabr Arrūmiyyah, which means "the tomb of the Christian woman." This name probably came from an older Punic name meaning "royal tomb."

At some point, this unknown woman was thought to be Florinda la Cava. This idea might have started with local people. There were many Spanish people living in that area. However, some people, like Luis del Mármol Carvajal in the 16th century, argued this was a mistake. They said the site was correctly known as Covor Rumía, meaning "Christian tomb." Also in the 16th century, Diego Hurtado de Mendoza disagreed that the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania was a Christian tomb.