| Harvard Magazine Show your Support for Harvard Magazine Your donation today ensures that Harvard Magazine can continue to provide high-quality content and remain an editorially independent source of news about the Harvard community. Your independent source for Harvard news since 1898 Right Now | Togless Trotting A detail (inset) of this 1586 painting may show Leofric checking his wife’s progress. Later viewers may have taken him for Peeping Tom. Lady Godiva, oil on canvas, by Adam van NoortHerbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry, UK/Bridgeman Art Library Staggering beneath the yoke of oppressive taxes, the medieval residents of Coventry, England, pleaded in vain for relief. Ironically, deliverance would come from the wife of the very lord who scorned their pleas. Lady Godiva repeatedly urged her husband, Leofric, to lessen the people's tax burden, and time and again he refused. Yet she persisted, and one day in exasperation he told her he would lower taxes when she rode a horse, naked, through the streets of the town at midday.

When she took him at his word and set out on her famous ride, the highborn Lady Godiva became an instant heroine to the common people of Coventry. A fascinating piece of history. But as it happens, most medieval scholars agree the ride never took place. Professor of English and American literature and language Daniel Donoghue examines the origins and cultural significance of the myth in Lady Godiva: A Literary History of the Legend (Blackwell), and offers insights into how that myth has evolved over the centuries. "The story," he notes, "was based on the life of Godifu, a real woman who lived in Coventry in the latter part of the eleventh century and was married to one of the most powerful men in England." Contemporary historians did not consider Godifu particularly noteworthy; what little was written about her at the time mentioned her merely as the wife of a famous man. But Donoghue points out that "two centuries after her death, chroniclers in the Benedictine abbey of St. Albans inserted a fully developed narrative into their Latin histories" and the legend of Lady Godiva was born.

"Nobody knows quite why the legend was invented and attached to her name," he says, "but it does seem to function as a kind of myth of origin for the town of Coventry. At the end, Count Leofric seals the agreement about taxes with his own seal." One of the myth's most interesting subplots involves the role of "Peeping Tom," who doesn't even appear in the story until the seventeenth century. According to legend, the people of Coventry, as a gesture of respect and appreciation for Lady Godiva's actions on their behalf, stayed indoors behind shuttered windows to preserve her modesty as she passed. Everyone, that is, except Tom, whose lustful curiosity compelled him to gaze at her and who was then, according to various versions of the legend, struck either blind or dead in punishment. "Over time, Tom would become the scapegoat and bear the symbolic guilt for people's desire to look at this naked woman," says Donoghue. Tom would also become a compelling figure for artists and authors.

In A Tour Thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain (1724-27), Daniel Defoe visited Coventry and spoke of "the poor fellow that peep'd out of the window to see her...looking out of a Garret in the High Street of the City." Tennyson's "Godiva" was a poem that, more than any other literary or historical work of its time, created a standard—and highly romanticized—version of the legend for the Victorian era. In the poem, Tom was blinded: "...but his eyes, before they had their will,/Were shrivell'd into darkness in his head,/And dropt before him. So the Powers, who wait/On noble deeds, cancell'd a sense misused;/And she, that knew not, pass'd...." Given the sexual tension that the appearance of Tom creates between the observer and the observed, the prurient and the chaste, the punished and the rewarded, Donoghue writes, "Their pairing anticipates Sigmund Freud's clinical definitions of scopophilia and exhibitionism in terms of one another so well that he almost seems to have Peeping Tom in mind for the former and Lady Godiva for the latter.

Only in recent years has Peeping Tom become extricated from the Godiva legend to the extent that it is possible to mention one without calling to mind the other." The Godiva myth is filled with contradictions. The lady is obedient to her husband, yet boldly challenges his position on taxes. She rides naked through the streets of the city, yet remains chaste. She is a member of the ruling class who nonetheless sympathizes with the plight of ordinary people. Like other myths, this one offers ways to resolve—symbolically, at least—such conflicting social and sexual dynamics. Myths have also traditionally done what Donoghue describes as the "cultural work" of passing down history, tradition, and shared values. Now movies and television have essentially taken over that role from written and spoken tales. "One reason I decided to write this book was that the legend is dying out," says Donoghue.

"Our children know about Godiva Chocolates, and they may have a visual image of a naked woman on a horse, but really know nothing about the story." ~Charles Coe Lady Godiva's Famous Ride Through Coventry Lady Godiva's Famous Ride Through Coventry Lady Godiva's Famous Ride Through Coventry Another Myth of Women's History Lady Godiva by John Maler Collier, about 1898. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Public domain image. By Jone Johnson Lewis According to legend, Leofric, the Anglo-Saxon earl of Mercia, imposed heavy taxes on those who lived on his lands. Lady Godiva , his wife, tried to persuade him to remove the taxes, which caused suffering. He refused to remit them, finally telling her that he would if she would ride nude on horseback through the streets of the town of Coventry. Of course, he first proclaimed that all citizens should stay inside and close the shutters over their windows. According to the legend, her long hair modestly covered her nudity.

Godiva, with that spelling, is the Roman version of the Old English name Godgifu or Godgyfu, meaning "gift of God." The term "peeping Tom" supposedly begins with part of this story, too. The story is that one citizen, a tailor named Tom, dared to view the noblewoman Lady Godiva's nude ride. He made a small hole in his shutters. So "peeping Tom" was applied after that to any man who snuck a peek at a naked woman, usually through a small hole in a fence or wall. continue reading below our video What are the Seven Wonders of the World How true is this story? Is it a total myth? Exaggeration of something that really happened? Like much that happened that long ago, the answer is not completely known, since there were not detailed historical records kept. What we do know: Lady Godiva was a real historical figure. Her name appears with Lefric's, her husband's, on documents of the time. Her signature appears with documents making grants to monasteries. She was, apparently, a generous woman. She is also mentioned in an 11th century book as the only major female landowner after the Norman conquest.

So she seems to have had some power, even in widowhood. But the famous nude ride? The story of her ride does not appear in any written record we now have, until almost 200 years after it would have happened. The oldest telling is by Roger of Wendover in the Flores Historiarum. Roger alleges that the ride happened in 1057. A 12th century chronicle credited to the monk Florence of Worcester mentions Leofric and Godiva. But that document has nothing about such a memorable event. (Not to mention that most scholars today ascribe the chronicle to a fellow monk named John, though Florence may have been an influence or contributor.) In the 16th century, Protestant printer Richard Grafton of Coventry told another version of the story, considerably cleaned up, and focused on a horse tax. A ballad of the late 17th century follows this version. Some scholars, finding little evidence of the truth of the story as it has generally been told, have offered other explanations: she rode not naked but in her underwear. Such public processions to show penitence were known at the time.

Another explanation offered is that perhaps she rode through town as a peasant might, without her jewelry that marked her as a wealthy woman. But the word used in the earliest chronicles is one used for being without any clothing at all, not just without outer clothing, or without jewelry. Most serious scholars agree: the story of the ride is not history, but myth or legend. There's no reliable historical evidence from anywhere near the time, and that histories nearer the time have no mention of the ride adds credence to this conclusion. Lending strength to that conclusion is that Coventry was only founded in 1043, so by 1057 it's unlikely it would have been large enough for the ride to be as dramatic as it is pictured in the legends. The story of "peeping Tom" doesn't even appear in Roger of Wendover's version 200 years after the ride supposedly happened. It first appears in the 18th century, a gap of 700 years, though there are claims of it appearing in 17th century sources which have not been found. Chances are the term was already in use, and the legend was made up as a good backstory.

"Tom" was, as in the phrase "ever Tom, Dick and Harry," probably just a stand-in for any man, in making a general category of men who violated a woman's privacy by observing her through a hole in a wall. Furthermore -- Tom isn't even a typical Anglo-Saxon name, so this part of the story likely comes from far later than the time of Godiva. So here's my conclusion: Lady Godiva's ride likely belongs in the "Just Ain't So Story" category, rather than being historical truth. If you disagree: where's the near-contemporary evidence? I'll still enjoy Godiva chocolate and the song. More About Myths of Women's History: Lady Godiva | Lady Godiva Legend | Coventry Travel She Took the Tax Away and Built Herself an Everlasting Name : Lady Godiva in Coventry © Travel Signposts.. Our stop at Coventry Cathedral gave us the opportunity to pay a visit to Lady Godiva. Whilst the thought of a beautiful young woman riding naked on a horse, with only her with long tresses to cover her modesty, still fires the imagination of many people, do many remember why she did it?

Lady Godiva Legend Lady Godiva was an Anglo-Saxon noble woman whose husband, Leofric, was the Earl of Coventry. According to popular legend, her husband was a nasty piece of work and taxed his people heavily. Lady Godiva felt sorry for the people of Coventry who were suffering under her husband’s oppressive taxes. She appealed to her husband again and again, but he steadfastly refused to reduce the taxes. There are many versions to this legend, and in the one told to us today, Lady Godiva’s husband said he would reduce the punitive taxes if she would mount a white steed and ride naked through the city of Coventry. Lady Godiva made the self-sacrifice and agreed to ride naked through the city, but on condition that all the people would lock themselves indoors and not look. It’s at this point that the guys in the audience pipe up “so why bother”. According to this version of the legend, all the citizens in town obeyed and stayed indoors, all except a curious tailor who has since become known as Peeping Tom. He could not resist seeing Lady Godiva riding naked on her horse and decided to peek through a keyhole.

Just when he did, a flash of sunlight reflected off a glass into the keyhole and blinded Peeping Tom. In the end, Lady Godiva’s husband agrees to abolish the onerous taxes and hence the words by Tennyson “Then she rode back clothed on with chastity…… She took the tax away and built herself an everlasting name.” Everlasting fame she has certainly achieved as up till today, many songs and poems have been written about her and paintings as well. The Herbert Gallery and Museum has displays on this 11th century legend. Although the story of her horse-ride may be a legend, Lady Godiva and her influence were definitely real. Lady Godiva lived in the 11th century and her charity and power are well documented in history. The city of Coventry holds a Godiva Festival in July each year to celebrate its historic connection with Lady Godiva. This free weekend of music and entertainment includes a Godiva procession through the streets Coventry’s War Memorial Park. What's your next move, after having read this post?

History Undressed: The Legend of Lady Godiva Guest Posts ***All photos accompanying posts are either owned by the author of said post or are in the public domain -- NOT the property of History Undressed. If you'd like to obtain permission to use a picture from a post, please contact the author of the post.*** Monday, March 17, 2008 The Legend of Lady Godiva Does the name Godiva ring any bells with you? If you’re thinking of chocolates…well I’m right there with ya, except I am talking about the woman who inspired Joseph Draps to name his chocolatier Godiva. Lady Godiva, or by her given Saxon name, Godgifu, Countess of Mercia was married to Earl Leofric of Mercia. The couple came to Coventry, then a teeny weeny town of Coventry, and in 1043 founded a Benedictine priory. Lady Godiva is said to have given many gifts in honor of the Virgin Mary, by melting down her own gold and silver that were then made into crosses and other spiritual pieces.

The legend says Leofric taxed the people of Coventry harshly, and that many people would plead with Godiva to ask him to lower the taxes. Leofric repeatedly denied her requests. Then one day, fed up with her nagging him about it, he turns to her exasperated and says, “I’ll lower the taxes when you ride through the town naked on your horse!” With a serious face Godiva says, “Do I have your permission to do so, husband?” Leofric already annoyed beyond belief says yes. Little did he realize that his headstrong wife would actually strip down, climb onto her horse and ride through the village. Now here is where stories differ. One version says that all the people of the town were ordered inside and were not to look at her as she went by, and another version says all the towns’ people in the marketplace averted their eyes. In both of these versions there is a man named Tom. Tom decides he wants a peek, that naughty boy.

He peeps at the beautiful Godiva riding in her birth-day gown (suit didn’t sound right…) down the street, hence the term “peeping Tom.” However the first story of the peeping perv didn’t come out until the 1700’s… Needless to say, a stunned Leofric lowered the taxes. Edward I, was fascinated with this story and actually had an investigation done to see if it really happened. According to ancient documents, the taxes were lowered at that time. Coincidence or did someone get naked? In 1057, Leofric died and was buried in one of the porches of the Abbey. His title went to their only son Aelfgar who died in 1062 leaving the title to his son, Eadwine who was only fourteen at the time. His younger brother Morkere gained the earldom of Northumbria in 1065. Godiva kept her lands, and continued to possibly rule them until her death. However both of her grandsons would have their lands taken from them by William the Conqueror. Lady Godiva’s death is not exactly known.

It is most definite that she died before the Domesday Book was commissioned in 1085, however we know she died after William conquered England in 1066. It is noted from the Domesday book, completed in 1086, that Godiva, had holdings in Leicester, Nottinghamshire, and Warwickshire that had not yet been re-granted to anyone else, since at the time of the book she had already passed. She must have been a very popular woman, and held a lot of clout for William the Conqueror to allow her to keep all of her lands. Most lands were stripped from the noblemen, as was evidenced by her two grandsons. Most women were tossed aside or abused. We know for certain that Lady Godiva existed, as for the legend, there have been many conflicting arguments. For one thing, it was not recorded until nearly two hundred years after it happened. Also, when this event was supposed to have occurred, Coventry was still a small town with only about 50 working people living there. Whether or not it’s true it is a fabulous tale, and one the people of Coventry love!

Each year a pageant is held that follows the route of the legendary lady. The picture on the left is a statue of Godiva riding on her horse in Coventry. So is the Legend of Lady Godiva myth or reality? What do you think? Happy Monday! BBC - History - Ancient History in depth: An Anglo-Saxon Tale: Lady Godiva Print this page Who was Lady Godiva? The story of Lady Godiva's ride, naked, through the streets of Coventry has changed and grown over the 900 years or so of its existence - but who was the real person behind the legend? Lady Godiva was married to Leofric, the 'grim' Earl of Mercer and Lord of Coventry, a man of great power and importance. The chronicler Florence of Worcester mentions Leofric and Godiva, but does not mention her famous ride, and there is no firm evidence connecting the rider with the historical Godiva. In 1043 the Earl and Countess founded a Benedictine house for an abbot and 24 monks on the site of St Osburg's Nunnery, which had been destroyed by the Danes in 1016.

The monastery was dedicated by Edsi, Archbishop of Canterbury, to God, the Virgin Mary, St Peter, St Osburg and All Saints. During the dedication ceremony, Earl Leofric laid his founding charter upon the newly consecrated altar, which not only granted the foundation, but also gave him lordship over 24 villages for the maintenance of the house. Lady Godiva endowed the monastery with many gifts in honour of the Virgin Mary. She is supposed to have had all her gold and silver melted down and made into crosses, images of saints and other decorations to grace her favoured house of God. Leofric died in 1057 and was buried with great ceremony in one of the porches of the Abbey church. Lady Godiva survived her husband by ten years and is also said to have been buried in the church, although this has not yet been proven. She rode through the silent streets unseen by the people... On her deathbed, she gave a heavy gem-encrusted gold chain to the monastery, directing that it should be placed around the neck of the image of the Virgin. Those who came to pray, she said, should say a prayer for each stone in the chain.

The remains of the subsequent 13th-century church monastery, Coventry's first cathedral, can now be seen in Priory Row. Top The Godiva legend The Godiva procession © So what is the truth behind the story of Lady Godiva's ride through Coventry? Why would a lady of great standing in the town do such a thing? The legend has been handed down over many years, so the line between fact and fiction has become more than a little blurred. The earliest surviving source for the legend is the Chronica of Roger of Wendover for the year 1057. He wrote that Godiva pleaded with her husband to relieve the heavy burden of taxes he had imposed on the citizens of Coventry. Weary of her persistence, Leofric said he would grant her request if she would ride naked through the town. The rest of the story is not documented at all, but it is said that so great was her compassion for the people of Coventry that Godiva overcame her horror of doing this. She ordered the people to remain indoors with their windows and doors barred. Loosening her long hair to cover her as a cloak, she mounted her waiting horse.

Then she rode through the silent streets unseen by the people, who had obeyed her command because of their respect for her. The story tells how Godiva pleaded with her husband to relieve the heavy burden of taxes he had imposed upon the citizens. Only one man, called Tom, was unable to resist the temptation to peep at the Countess (hence the term 'Peeping Tom'). He unbarred his window, but before he could satisfy his gaze he was struck blind. Her ordeal completed, Godiva returned to her husband, who fulfilled his promise to abolish the heavy taxes. According to Ranulf Higden's Polychronicon, Leofric freed the town from all tolls save those on horses. An inquiry made in the reign of Edward I shows that indeed, at that time, no tolls were paid in Coventry except on horses. A pageant is held annually in Coventry to re-enact Lady Godiva's original route through the town. Lady Godiva (1010 - 1080) - Find A Grave Memorial Metropolitan Borough of Coventry West Midlands, England Folk Figure.

Though some facts remain shrouded in mystery, she has come down to us as an English noblewoman who allegedly rode naked thru the streets of Coventry to protest her husband's tax policies. Undisputedly, Lady Godiva was the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, "Godiva" being a Latin version of the Old English name "Godgifu", meaning "gift of God". The couple appear in numerous records of the time and were quite wealthy, sponsoring multiple religious institutions including, in 1043, the Benedictine Monastery of Coventry. According to legend Lady Godiva took pity on the people of Coventry because of Leofric's excessive taxation. Tired of her nagging, he vowed to remove the taxes if she would remove her clothing and ride thru the streets naked. She did and he kept his promise, cancelling all taxes save that on horses. (Modern scholarship has raised an interesting point; both Godiva and Leofric were independently rich and some sources indicate that it was she who actually owned Coventry and would thus have had the power to levy or remit taxes. If that story be true, the motivation for her exhibitionistic horse ride becomes a matter of speculation).

Differing accounts have Leofric either clearing the streets or making the whole town watch; maybe she was a blonde or maybe not and perhaps her nudity was covered by her long hair and perhaps it wasn't. She and her sister Wulviva endowed the cathedral at Hereford and are honored there by a modern stained glass window, while a window depicting her and Leofrac was placed in Trinity Church of Coventry. Her signature, "di Ego Godiva Comtissa diu istud desideravi", is found on the charter of the Benedictine Monastery at Spalding. She remained in Coventry following Leofric's 1057 death with Domesday Books listing her as the only Anglo-Saxon woman still holding property after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The legend of her ride has grown over the years with one later addition being "Peeping Tom", a local tailor struck blind after boring a hole in his shutter to watch her ride by; a statue representing him occupies a Coventry shopping center and his name remains a synonym for "voyeur".

From 1678 on an annual reenactment has been held in Coventry, usually with a prostitute hired for the purpose; in 1974 Coventry's Belgrade Theatre had a naked actress ride across the stage on a motorcycle. Despite protests, celebrations in Coventry continue with her birthday marked each September and a mechanical depiction of her riding nude around a large public clock every hour. Numerous performers including Steven Tyler of Aerosmith as well as the late Eartha Kitt and Groucho Marx have worked her name into song lyrics, multiple books, movies, and television episodes have brought her to life, and Pietro Mascagni composed the opera "Isobeau" about her with Maria Farneti singing the lead for the June 2, 1911 world premiere. Colleges such as the University of Toronto and McMaster University still hold "Godiva Week" complete with a "Godiva Ride" while "Godiva's Hymn" remains a popular drinking song. For some unknown reason, Lady Godiva has became sort of an unofficial "Patron Saint" of the engineering profession in colleges but more especially in the military.

Countless artists have painted and sculpted her and today coffee, chocolate, and lingerie carry her name. At this distance in time it is probably impossible completely to separate fact from fiction in the legend of Lady Godiva. Scholarly sources state that she was buried with her husband in the Abbey they had co-founded though some have claimed she was laid to rest at the Church of the Blessed Trinity in Evesham. Both buildings have long since fallen into ruin. (bio by: Bob Hufford) Who was Lady Godiva? - Ask History Ask History October 22, 2014 By Evan Andrews Share this: Google You might associate the name “Godiva” with a brand of Belgian chocolates, but it was first popularized as part of a 900-year-old English legend. The original Lady Godiva was an 11th century noblewoman married to Leofric, the powerful Earl of Mercia and Lord of Coventry. As the story goes, Godiva was troubled by the crippling taxes Leofric had levied on the citizens of Coventry. After she repeatedly asked him to lessen the burden, Leofric quipped that he would lower taxes only if she rode naked on horseback through the center of town.

Determined to help the public, Godiva stripped off her clothes, climbed on her horse and galloped through the market square with only her long flowing hair to cover herself. Before leaving, she ordered the people of Coventry to remain inside their homes and not peek, but one man, named Tom, couldn’t resist opening his window to get an eyeful. Upon doing so, this “Peeping Tom” was struck blind. After finishing her naked ride, Godiva confronted her husband and demanded that he hold up his end of the bargain. True to his word, Leofric reduced the people’s debts. While most historians consider her nude horseback ride a myth, Lady Godiva—or “Godgifu” as some sources call her—was indeed a real person from the 11th century. The historical Godiva was known for her generosity to the church, and along with Leofric, she helped found a Benedictine monastery in Coventry. Contemporary accounts of her life note that “Godgifu” was one of only a few female landowners in England in the 1000s, but they make no mention of a clothes-free horseback ride.

That story appears to have first cropped up some 100 years after her death in a book by the English monk Roger of Wendover, who was known for stretching the truth in his writings. The legend of “Peeping Tom,” meanwhile, didn’t become a part of the tale until the 16th century. The Godiva myth was later popularized in songs and in verse by the likes of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, who wrote a famous poem called “Godiva” in 1840. Tags The City of Coventry: The legend of Lady Godiva | British History Online The City of Coventry: The legend of Lady Godiva The City of Coventry: The legend of Lady Godiva Pages 242-247 This free content was digitised by double rekeying . All rights reserved. Citation: Footnotes THE LEGEND OF LADY GODIVA The earliest known version of the story occurs in the Chronicle of Roger of Wendover (fn. 1) (d.

1237), and may be rendered as follows: However, the countess Godiva, a devotee of the mother of God, desiring to free the town of Coventry from the heavy servitude of toll, often besought the earl, her husband, with earnest prayers to free the town from the said servitude and other troublesome exactions, by the guidance of Jesus Christ and his mother. The earl upbraided her for vainly seeking something so injurious to him and repeatedly forbade her to approach him again on the subject. Nevertheless, in her feminine pertinacity she exasperated her husband with her unceasing request and extorted from him the following reply: 'Mount your horse naked', he said, 'and ride through the market place of the town, from one side right to the other, while the people are congregated, and when you return you shall claim what you desire'.

And the countess answered, 'And if I will do this, will you give me your permission?' And he said, 'I will.' Then the countess, beloved of God, accompanied by two soldiers, as it is said, mounting her horse naked, loosed her hair from its bands, so veiling the whole of her body, and thus passing through the market place she was seen by nobody (a nemine visa) except for her very white legs. Her journey completed, she returned rejoicing to her husband, and, as he wondered at the deed, she demanded of him what she had asked. Then Earl Leofric freed the town of Coventry and its inhabitants from the said servitude, confirming what he had done with a charter. Except for the detail of the two accompanying soldiers, Wendover's Chronicle was copied almost verbatim by Matthew Paris (d. 1259) in his Chronica (fn. 2) and in the Flores Historiarum, (fn. 3) and by John of Tinmouth (c. 1336) and John of Brompton (fn. 4) (c. 1436). Another group of chroniclers, Ranulf Higden (d.

1364), Knighton (fl. 1363), and John Trevisa (fn. 5) (1387), while giving basically the same account, add a few details: that the ride took place in the morning 'through the midst of the city', and that its purpose was the freeing of the city from all tolls except that on horses. A slightly different account is given in Grafton's Chronicle (fn. 6) (1569). Citing 'Gaufride' as his authority, Grafton says that before she set out on her ride Godiva explained her purpose to the city officials, who thereupon ordered all inhabitants to stay in their houses, shut their windows, and not look into the streets. Then with 'her gentlewoman to wait upon her', she galloped through the town unseen. 'Gaufride', who cannot be identified with any of the known Geoffries of that period - Geoffrey of Monmouth, Geoffrey Gaimar, Geoffrey of Swynbroke, or Geoffrey Malaterra (fn.

7) - may have been Geoffrey, prior of Coventry (1216-35) and author of a chronicle and register which are no longer extant. (fn. 8) This version of the story, therefore, which provides a framework for the Peeping Tom episode, may have received written form as early as the first half of the 13th century. Camden (fn. 9) and Dugdale (fn. 10) simply repeated the version of Wendover and Knighton, but during the 17th century, the alternative account began to gain ground. Häfele (fn. 11) quotes a 17th-century ballad which is virtually Grafton in verse. A manuscript written temp. Charles II (fn. 12) repeats the countess's (fn. 13) injunction to the inhabitants to stay indoors and adds that someone 'let down a window' whereupon the horse neighed, and that this was the reason for the exception of horses from the general exemption from toll. This manuscript was copied from an earlier, probably 16th-century one, and E. S. Hartland (fn.

14) suggests that the expression 'let down a window' suggests an even earlier period, before glass for windows had come generally into use. The Revd. Rowland Davies, visiting Coventry in 1690, noted an 'image of an old man looking out of the window' at the end of Broadgate, that had been erected 'in memory of a fellow who peeped out there when the queen rode naked through the town'. (fn. 15) De Rapin Thoyras, writing in 1724, also noted the statue, and added that the man who was 'trop curieux', was put to death. (fn. 16) The earliest evidence for the name 'Peeping Tom' occurs in the city annals under the year 1773 (fn. 17) and Thomas Pennant, writing in 1782, calls him a tailor. (fn. 18) Thomas Seward, Canon of Lichfield (d. 1790), describes the peeper as 'one Actaeon, a groom of the countess', whose horse, recognising the groom, neighed. (fn.

19) The written accounts of the Godiva story form only part of the tradition. Most of the oral tradition has been lost but some of it, in the form of ballads, was preserved. (fn. 20) The earliest non-literary evidence is a late-14th-century window in Holy Trinity Church representing Leofric and Godiva and originally bearing the inscription: I Luriche for the love of thee Doe make Coventre tol-free (fn. 21) The glass, which was in a south window, was removed in 1775, but parts of it were put in another window in 1779. (fn. 22) Fragments of the glass are still (1964) to be found in the church. (fn. 23) The original window portrayed Leofric as a middle-aged man with short hair and bushy beard, and Godiva opposite, a coronet on her golden hair, holding out her hands in entreaty. Above Leofric and Godiva was a small figure of a woman in a yellow dress, seated on a white horse and carrying a branch in her left hand. (fn.

24) After the Reformation Godiva came to replace to some extent the religious images of Catholicism and it was probably no coincidence that a picture of Godiva was painted in 1586 and hung in St. Mary's Hall about the same time as the plays were being suppressed. (fn. 25) Godiva also became a symbol of civic freedom. As early as 1495 verses found on St. Michael's door denounced the recent tolls on wool and cloth and the exaction of fees from apprentices: This cite should be free & nowe is bonde. Dame good Eve made it free (fn. 26) The resurgence of interest in the legend in the late 17th century may have been connected with the struggle for the charters. The 1586 portrait was copied in 1681 by 'Mr. Ellis the limner' (fn. 27) and the first recorded Godiva procession took place in 1678, when 'James Swinnerton's son represented Lady Godiva' and a medal was struck in commemoration. (fn.

28) It is highly probable that the Peeping Tom statue mentioned by 18th-century writers can be identified with the figure put up in Greyfriars Lane by Alderman Owen in 1678. (fn. 29) The figure, carved from a single block of wood, represents a man in the armour 'of the time of Henry VII', and was probably a St. George. But it was painted and dressed in the clothes and wig of the time of Charles II, a fact which suggests that it was identified with Peeping Tom and carried in the Godiva procession since c. 1678. (fn. 30) The Godiva procession was an important part of the Great Show Fair throughout the 18th and first half of the 19th centuries. The details of the procession varied, but it usually included the mayor and corporation, the city companies, and a girl clad in a close-fitting, flesh-coloured costume to represent Lady Godiva.

The character of the procession and accompanying festivities changed during the 19th century: the mayor and corporation ceased to take part after the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835 and the day of the procession was changed from Friday to Monday, while other historical personages connected with Coventry were introduced. During the 19th century, too, there were growing suspicions of the original purpose of the procession, which began to affront the prudery of upright citizens and the pious Christianity of Coventry Roman Catholics who wanted to replace it with a Marian procession, especially after a fiasco in 1842 when the actress impersonating Lady Godiva had celebrated too exuberantly and had to be held on to her horse. By 1900 the procession had ceased to be part of a genuine tradition and during the present century it has been held principally to mark special occasions, like the coronation of Edward VII in 1902, of George V in 1911, the peace celebrations in 1919, the Festival of Britain in 1951, and the Cathedral Festival in 1962. (fn.

31) Nevertheless Lady Godiva continues to provide a subject for literature and art, (fn. 32) one of the latest examples being the bronze equestrian statue by Sir William Reid Dick which was officially unveiled in the centre of Broadgate in 1949. (fn. 33) It has long been accepted that the legend is very unlikely to be literally true. Godiva (fn. 34) was a historic person, the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, mother of Ælfgar, Earl of East Anglia, and grandmother of Edwin and Morcar and of Aldgyth, wife of Gruffyd, Prince of Wales, and, after his death, of King Harold. She was a considerable landowner, probably in her own right, and a patron of several religious houses, including the Benedictine abbey at Coventry. She seems to have been a woman of conventional piety, which mainly took the form of benefactions to monasteries and a typically Anglo-Saxon devotion to the Virgin. This is attested by contemporary deeds and 12th-century chroniclers: Florence of Worcester (d. 1118), Symeon of Durham (fl.

1130), William of Malmesbury (d. 1143), Henry of Huntingdon (fl. 1154), Roger of Hoveden (fl. 1204), and Walter of Coventry (fl. 1217). (fn. 35) But there is no written evidence of the ride until Roger of Wendover (d. 1237) or possibly Geoffrey, Prior of Coventry from 1216 to 1235. Even if Roger of Wendover and Geoffrey (fn. 36) used earlier writers, the story as they tell it presupposes a town, a developed community with a market-place and a charter of liberties. This, while true of 13th-or even 12th-century Coventry, was not an accurate description of Coventry in the mid 11th century. It has been calculated (fn. 37) that in 1086 Coventry was mainly an agricultural community of about 350 serfs living in single-story hovels, tolls being the least of their burdens. Furthermore, similar traditions at St.

Briavels (Glos.), Dunster (Som.), Otmoor (Oxon.), and the Tichborne Crawls (Hants.), (fn. 38) and the close analogy with folklore and rites in Britain, Germany, Scandinavia, and even India, (fn. 39) suggests that the origin of the Godiva story and procession lies in pagan myth and ritual rather than in an act by the historic Countess Godiva. Elements in the Godiva legend and other traditions relating to Coventry provide clues as to the nature of the original cult although any reconstruction must, in the absence of positive proof, remain conjectural. The naked woman with long hair, riding in a springtime procession, is the one constant factor in all variations of the legend and represents a goddess of fertility. (fn. 40) The tabu element of the Peeping Tom story may be a genuine part of the original myth, recalling similar penalties for those who intruded on the forbidden rites of other fertility goddesses - Artemis in Greece, the Bona Dea in Rome, Nerthus or Hertha in Germany and rainmaking ceremonies in India. (fn. 41) Like the intruder in other tabu stories, (fn.

42) however, Peeping Tom may have played a more positive part in the ritual, as the priest-king, the consort of the goddess who was sacrificed to ensure the fertility of the crops and herds, and well-being of the community. (fn. 43) Other men, often strangers or criminals, and finally animals, came to be substituted for the sacrificial priest-king, and this stage may be represented in the Coventry Hock Play. In many places at Hocktide - the Monday and Tuesday following the second Sunday after Easter - women caught and bound or 'hocked' any man they encountered and exacted a forfeit from him. At Coventry this simple custom seems to have developed in the 15th century into a play, said to commemorate the defeat of the Danes by Ethelred in 1002 or the death of Hardicanute and the end of the Danish regime. The play comprised a battle between two parties on hobby-horses, ending with the defeat of the Danes and the English women leading them captive. It is generally accepted (fn. 44) that this was an aetiological explanation for what was a seasonal rite involving the capture and death of the sacrificial victim.

The 'hocking' with ropes may represent, not only the capture, but the actual death by hanging which was a common feature in northern religion, (fn. 45) while the 'battle' between the two sides probably derives from the struggle between rival communities for the body of the fertilizing victim. (fn. 46) The final stage was the substitution of an animal for the human male victim, and this is probably represented in Coventry by the horse, an important part of the Godiva legend, which in some accounts is specifically related to Peeping Tom. The horse, particularly the white horse, was the main sacrificial animal in northern mythology, used in divination and especially associated with the fertility god, Freyr. (fn. 47) In Coventry, from the 13th century, and probably earlier, horses were in a special category in relation to tolls. In 1280 the whole town was said to be free from toll with the exception of horse toll, from which the burgesses were exempt but which they exacted from their under-tenants. (fn.

48) In 1355, when the prior gave up control of his Friday market, he specifically reserved the right to take toll for horses. (fn. 49) There is no mention of horse toll in the grants of fairs to the prior and earl, and it may have originated in the Friday (fn. 50) market, for which no charter exists, but which was certainly in existence by 1161-75. (fn. 51) There is evidence, however, in the form of an early, but undated, conveyance, (fn. 52) to suggest that horse toll may have been connected with the conditions of burgage tenure rather than with the grant of markets or fairs, and therefore to have originated in the 12th-century charters of the earls of Chester. (fn. 53) The explanation given by some of the chroniclers that the exception of horse toll was connected with the neighing of Godiva's horse when it noticed Peeping Tom, was probably a later aetiological rationalization, but it may well be correct in connecting it with the legend. As in the similar tradition at St. Briavels, (fn.

54) the toll may originally have represented payment made on the occasion of an annual festival, in the case of Coventry, to provide the sacrificial horse. Besides its obviously phallic qualities, (fn. 55) the horse was also a symbol of death, (fn. 56) and the cult at Coventry was probably a typical one of fertility and death, winter and spring. In the two earliest accounts of the Godiva ride, Godiva did not make her journey alone. According to Geoffrey, she was accompanied by a lady-in-waiting, while Roger of Wendover records the presence of two soldiers. In the earliest detailed accounts of the Godiva procession - those of the 18th and early 19th centuries - she was accompanied, apart from the civic dignitaries, by St. George, men in black armour, or by a 'black Godiva'. E. S. Hartland (fn. 57) was the first to draw attention to an 18th-century procession featuring a white Godiva on a white horse and a black Godiva on a black horse at Southam, which had belonged to Earl Leofric and then to Coventry Priory. F.

Bliss Burbidge, (fn. 58) who made further researches into the Southam procession, concluded that it was only a late-18th-century imitation of the nationally famous Coventry procession. This may well have been true, but his second conclusion, that 'a white lady on a white horse would naturally suggest the obverse' is much less plausible. Burbidge himself concluded that an illumination in the Coventry smiths' company book, showing a white lady on a white horse and a black lady on a black elephant, dated from 1707, nearly a century before the recorded Southam procession. In the 1826 Coventry procession, (fn. 59) the black figure was a man in black armour, said to represent St. George. There may be a relatively late historical reason to account for the black figures - the 'St. George' representing the Black Prince, and the elephant, the arms of the city. But the presence of other black figures in the 1826 procession (fn. 60) and of black 'Godivas' in earlier processions recalls the almost universal 'black' figures in mummers' plays, sword-dances and legend generally.

These have been explained as relics of a heat-charm in which faces were blackened by the smoke of a fire lit in semblance of the sun. (fn. 61) Faces may well have been blackened by smoke or charcoal from a fire, but the fire is more likely to have been that of a funeral pyre (fn. 62) and the symbol, that of death. The black Godiva was thus the death aspect of the life and death earth goddess. The Erinnys, Demeter, and Diana all had black cult statues devoted to the death aspect of their personality, (fn. 63) while numerous black Madonnas witness to the survival of worship long after the original object of the cult was forgotten. In the north death and fertility, winter and summer, were sometimes united in one goddess such as Freyja or appeared as the multiple disir or as Holda and Hel, twin aspects of the same deity. (fn.

64) The latter may well have featured in the Coventry cult, being reflected, not only in the black Godiva, but in the medieval Coventry plays, which featured a doomsday involving white, saved souls, and black, damned ones, presided over by the 'Mother of Death'. (fn. 65) The latter, which has no ancestry in Christian mythology, may well be identified with Hel, queen of the northern world of death. (fn. 66) The presence of St. George in the Godiva procession may have survived from the memory of a god or hero, representative of life and enemy of evil and death. The figure of St. George, patron saint of horses, cattle, and vegetation, who appears as the main figure in mummers' plays, and in whose name 'ridings' similar to the Godiva procession were held, is generally agreed to be a thinly disguised survival of the priest-king of the spring festival. In the mummers' plays St. George is the victim, slain and resurrected. In more sophisticated romance he is the positive champion of good, slaying the dragon, symbol of darkness and death. (fn. 67) While the cult of St.

George was widespread in the Middle Ages, there was a special connexion with Coventry, the scene, according to the 16th-century author of the Seven Champions of Christendom, (fn. 68) of George's birth and burial. Another figure of the same type, Guy of Warwick, slayer of dragons and giants, (fn. 69) was also associated with Coventry (fn. 70) where a large bone, said to have come from a gigantic boar killed by him at Swanswell (Swineswell), (fn. 71) was long preserved in St. George's Chapel at Gosford Gate. (fn. 72) Professor Robert Graves (fn. 73) suggests that some of the features in the Godiva cult may be medieval, representing an Arabic cult that reached England via France and Spain at the time of the crusades or a little later. Black figures, especially linked with the dragon-slaying hero, belonged to an Arabic wisdom cult. He also suggests that the 'Dianic' cult, prevalent in the 12th and 13th centuries, was taken up about the same time. There is not necessarily a discrepancy here.

The cult of the medieval 'Diana' was so similar to that of northern goddesses like Holda that it was frequently confused with them. The black figures may have been a later addition to the tradition, perhaps brought in by some of the Black Prince's retainers who had campaigned with him in Gascony and Spain. The Arabic cult may well have influenced the 13th-century romances of St. George and Guy of Warwick, in which Saracens and Moors as well as giants and dragons figure prominently. The local tradition of a death and fertility cult would have attracted stories and embellishments from later, more remote sources. Coventry, the home of an isolated community in the wooded and well-watered Forest of Arden, was ideally situated for the survival of a pagan cult centuries after the country had been nominally Christianised. (fn. 74) It is now generally accepted that the name 'Coventry' is derived from Cofa's Tree, and, while this may have been merely a boundary-mark named after the chief of the community, it may have had an earlier significance as a sacred tree, (fn. 75) which, growing close to a well or pool - perhaps Swanswell, St.

Osburg's Pool, or Hobb's Hole (fn. 76) - frequently became the site of a cult. (fn. 77) The cult seems to have been the common one of a life and death fertility goddess, perhaps called Cofa, or Freyja or Frija (the Lady) or Goda (the good). (fn. 78) A male consort was probably associated with her in myth and ritual and horses and possibly swine sacrificed to her. The cult, which was probably a northern one, basically AngloSaxon but strengthened by a fresh infusion of late paganism at the Danish invasion, (fn. 79) probably survived the foundation of St. Osburg's nunnery in the 10th century and of the Benedictine abbey in 1043, in the form of a spring procession with accompanying orgiastic and sacrificial rites. The transference of veneration from a pagan goddess to the pious Countess Godiva, probably took place during the 12th century, at the initiative of the priory. Häfele (fn.

80) quotes suggestions that a description of Godiva's generosity to Coventry Abbey, in which she 'stripped herself' (denudata) of her worldly possessions, may have been misunderstood. A further confusion may have arisen between the abbey (convent') and the town (Covent'), a possibility which is strengthened by the form Conventrensis in which Coventry appears in some of the earliest chronicle accounts of the legend. (fn. 81) A local monk, knowing of the existence of a local festival and procession, perhaps in honour of Goda, reading that Godiva 'stripped herself' in her generosity to Convent, may have completed the story which received written form in the chronicles of Geoffrey and Roger of Wendover. It is even more likely that the legend was a deliberate attempt by the monks to Christianise the cult. At first they may have tried to forbid the Christian population from attending the procession, a prohibition which was reflected in the Peeping Tom tradition.

But the most successful policy was that usually adopted by the Church in dealing with pagan customs which were too strong to be eradicated, namely to transfer the veneration to a Christian figure, usually a saint, and leave the custom while omitting its less desirable details. (fn. 82) The springtime procession may well have had a continuous history throughout the Middle Ages. If the legend was manufactured during the 12th century when the monks were forging their charters, the procession probably became attached to the Great Show Fair during the 13th or 14th centuries. The procession may have first become attached to the prior's fair, which from 1239 was held on St. George's day. (fn. 83) Later, when the Earl's Half became more important than the Prior's Half, the procession could have been transferred to the earl's fair, held in the octave of Trinity. Miss Dormer Harris quotes evidence from the 15th, and 16th centuries to show that some kind of procession called a 'riding' accompanied the opening of the Show Fair, (fn.

84) and the figure in Holy Trinity window of a woman in a yellow dress holding a branch and riding on a horse, (fn. 85) may represent the medieval Godiva procession. In view of the well-attested connexion of this figure with the larger figures of Leofric and Godiva, Miss Dormer Harris's contention that the figure on the horse represents the sign for Taurus (fn. 86) may be rejected, although the mistake itself is significant. The sign for Taurus, April, was itself a representation of the spring procession in honour of the fertility goddess Venus or Eostre. (fn. 87) The Godiva procession probably suffered the same fate as the Hock play, described in 1575 as 'lately laid down' owing to the 'zeal of certain preachers'. (fn. 88) The festivities were revived after the Restoration. Rawdon refers c. 1665 to an annual 'great feasting' which seems to have been connected with Lady Godiva, (fn. 89) although it may not have been until 1678 that the Godiva procession was revived.

Few, if any, would have then been alive who had themselves witnessed the old procession. This may account for the fact that the St. George statue, correctly associated by tradition with the Godiva story, was transformed into the 17th-century figure of Tom the Tailor. Footnotes 1 . Roger of Wendover, Chron. (Eng. Hist. Soc.), i. 496-8. Thanks are due to the Revd. Professor E. O. James for reading this section in draft. 2 . Chron. Majora (Rolls Ser.), i. 526-7. 3 . Flores Historiarum (Rolls Ser.), i. 576. Formerly attributed to 'Matthew of Westminster', the Flores is now ascribed to Matthew Paris: R. Vaughan, Matthew Paris, 153. 4 . K. Häfele, Die Godivasage und ihre Behandlung in der Literatur (Anglistische Forschungen, heft 66, ed. J. Hoops, Heidelberg, 1929), 15. 5 . Hen. Knighton, Chron. (Rolls Ser.), i.

43-44; Polychronicon Ranulphi Higden (Rolls Ser.), vii. 198-201. Trevisa is mostly only a translation of Higden and is printed side by side with Higden. 6 . R. Grafton, Chron. or Hist. of Eng. (1809), i. 147-8. 7 . F. B. Burbidge, Old Cov. and Lady Godiva, 32-33. 8 . The chronicle was known to Dugdale (Warws. (1656), 100). The register was used by Dodsworth (1585-1654) and can probably be identified with the cartulary made available by Sharp to Dugdale's 19th-century editors: J. C. Lancaster, 'The Cov. Forged Charters: A Reconsideration', Bull. Inst. Hist. Res. xxvii. 116-17. See also J. C. Russell, 'Dict. of Writers of 13th-Cent. Eng.' Bull. Inst. Hist. Res. Spec.

Supplement 3, 32-33. 9 . Camden, Brit. (1586), 318. 10 . Dugdale, Warws. (1656), 86; Dugdale, Baronage (1675), 9. 11 . Häfele, Die Godivasage, 22-23. 12 . A. 43, quoted in Häfele, op. cit. 21-22. 13 . 'Dutchess' in MS. Lady Godiva facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Lady Godiva Myths and Legends of the World COPYRIGHT 2001 Macmillan Reference, USA Godiva, Lady Medieval legend says that a woman named Lady Godiva rode naked on her horse through the English city of Coventry centuries ago. Although a Lady Godiva really existed, no evidence links her with such a deed. The connection occurred when an older fragment of traditional mythology became attached to the name of a historical figure. Lady Godiva was the wife of Leofric, lord of Coventry According to the story she felt that his taxes on the people were unfair.

Irritated, he said that he would change them if she rode naked through the marketplace. She did so, wearing only her long hair. The townspeople respectfully stayed indoors, but a tailor named Tom sneaked a peek out his window and was struck blind. This story seems to be the origin of the expression "peeping Tom." The tale was first written down in the mid-1200s. It most likely combines the real woman's name with ancient folklore about pagan goddesses and processions through the countryside in their honor. pagan term used by early Christians to describe non-Christians and non-Christian beliefs Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. MLA The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright The Columbia University Press Lady Godiva (gōdī´və), fl. c.1040–80, wife of Leofric, earl of Mercia; famous for her legendary ride through the city of Coventry. She was a benefactor of several monasteries, especially that at Coventry, which she and her husband founded (1043).

The legend about her, which first appears in the chronicle of Roger of Wendover , states that her husband agreed to remit the heavy taxation on the people of Coventry if she would ride naked through the town on a white horse. The story of Peeping Tom, the only person who looked through the closed shutters, did not enter the legend until the 17th cent. Michael Drayton (1613), Tennyson (1842), and others made Lady Godiva the subject of poems. A bronze statue of her by Sir William Reid Dick was erected in Coventry in 1949. Cite this article Why did Lady Godiva take a naked horse ride? | HowStuffWorks Why did Lady Godiva take a naked horse ride? Paramount Pictures/ Getty Images Diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but most ladies won't turn up their noses at a gift of exquisite chocolates . If you're on the receiving end of a diamond or a chocolate-raspberry truffle, a mere glimpse of a certain blue box or gold foil parcel is enough to pique excitement. Of course, we're referring to the mother lodes of jewels and confections: Tiffany and Godiva.

Since the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's" was released in 1961, Audrey Hepburn, who played the role of Manhattanite Holly Golightly, has been synonymous with the jeweler. (Never mind the fact that marketing dynamo Letitia Baldrige, Tiffany's first female executive, was really responsible for ushering the company into the spotlight.) In the movie's opening scene, Holly muses in front of a Tiffany storefront window. She's eating breakfast from a bag and wearing a floor-length Givenchy gown. Later on in the movie, Holly explains that Tiffany's is more than a purveyor of fine things -- it's a haven. Up Next How Castles Work Had Tiffany & Co. purposefully selected a face for its brand, perhaps no better than Ms. Hepburn could've been found. Decades after the movie was made, images of the actress draped in jewels endure. The company has no need to stamp her image on its packaging to remind customers that Tiffany's is a classic brand that withstands the tests of time and fleeting trends. The publicity is incidental but priceless. In the case of Godiva, it's a decidedly uncostumed and unaccessorized woman with whom we associate the brand.

It's no accident that she comes to mind when we think of the multimillion-grossing Belgian chocolatier. Lady Godiva is both the namesake and face (body, really) of that company. Joseph Draps chose her to symbolize his business; according to the Godiva Web site, he "sought a name that embodied the timeless qualities of passion, style, sensuality and modern boldness" [source: Godiva ]. Most of us know that Lady Godiva was a beautiful woman who rode naked on her horse through a city. But not all of us know why she did it. And given the fact that women didn't begin riding sidesaddle on horses for nearly four centuries after Lady Godiva's death, Draps' assessment of her character may raise a few eyebrows. It seems rather unfashionable to straddle a horse and parade through the center of town. The act is no more sensual than a celebrity's careless (or calculated) flash of underpinnings as she climbs out of a car. So why would Lady Godiva have exhibited herself like this? 1

Question: According to legend, what was the name of Lady Godiva's horse?
Answer: Aethenoth