Historical person
Florinda la Cava
fl. early 8th century (legendary)
Florinda la Cava is the name given in later tradition to the daughter of Count Julian, a frontier lord associated with Ceuta, whose dishonour was said to have precipitated the Muslim invasion of Visigothic Spain. Versions differ sharply: Roderic may seduce her, rape her or enter a consensual relationship, while her father’s revenge is made the immediate cause of the crossing from North Africa in 711.
No contemporary evidence securely establishes Florinda as a historical individual. Modern analysis therefore treats her as a legendary figure whose changing representation exposes ideas about gender, honour, religious conflict and national decline.
Elizabeth Drayson’s The King and the Whore investigates the legend that made the sexual misconduct of the Visigothic king Roderic and the revenge of Florinda la Cava’s father responsible for the Muslim conquest of Iberia in 711.
Non Fiction
Non Fiction featuring Florinda la Cava (1 book)
Biographies, histories and other non-fiction are listed separately from the historical novels above.