Lady Godiva

Godiva was the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia. They had nine children; one son was Ælfgar. Godiva's name occurs in charters and the Domesday survey, though the spelling varies. The Old English name or meant "gift of God"; 'Godiva' was the name's Latinised form. Since the name was a popular one, there are contemporaries of the same name. It is claimed that Godiva was born in Bucknall, Lincolnshire around 995 AD; however several historians have declared the charter document used as evidence for this to be spurious. A woman named Godiva was recorded in the 12th-century history (called "") of Ely Abbey. If that "Godiva" were the same person as [the legendary figure] 'Lady Godiva', then she would have been a widow when Leofric married her. Both Leofric and Godiva were generous benefactors to religious houses. In 1043, Leofric founded and endowed a Benedictine monastery at Coventry on the site of a nunnery destroyed by the Danes in 1016. Writing in the 13th century, Roger of Wendover credits Godiva as the persuasive force behind this act of generosity. In the 1050s, her name is coupled with that of her husband on a grant of land to the monastery of St. Mary, Worcester, and the endowment of the minster at Stow St Mary, Lincolnshire. She and her husband are commemorated as benefactors of other monasteries at Leominster, Chester, Much Wenlock, and Evesham. She gave Coventry a number of works in precious metal by the famous goldsmith Mannig and bequeathed a necklace valued at 100 marks of silver. Another necklace went to Evesham, to be hung around the figure of the Virgin Mary accompanying the life-size gold and silver rood she and her husband had donated, and St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London received a gold-fringed chasuble. Both Godiva and her husband were among the most munificent of the several large Anglo-Saxon donors of the last decades before the Norman Conquest; the early Norman bishops made short work of their gifts, carrying them off to Normandy or melting them down for bullion. Nevertheless, the memory of Godiva and Leofric survived during the Norman reign and in 1122 their names were commemorated in the mortuary roll of Saint Vitalis of Savigny. unveiled in 1949 in Broadgate, Coventry, a £20,000 gift from W. H. Bassett-Green, a Coventrian. (pictured in 2011) The manor of Woolhope in Herefordshire, along with four others, was given to the cathedral at Hereford before the Norman Conquest by the benefactresses Wulviva and Godiva—usually held to be the Godiva of legend and her sister. The church there has a 20th-century stained glass window representing them. Her signature, ("I, The Countess Godiva, have desired this for a long time"), appears on a charter purportedly given by Thorold of Bucknall to the Benedictine monastery of Spalding. However, this charter is considered spurious by many historians. Even so, it is possible that Thorold, who appears in the Domesday Book as sheriff of Lincolnshire, was her brother. After Leofric's death in 1057, his widow lived on until her mid-fifties and died sometime between the Norman Conquest of 1066 and 1086. She is mentioned in the Domesday Book as one of the few Anglo-Saxons and the only woman to remain a major landholder shortly after the conquest. By the time of this great survey in 1086, Godiva had died and her former lands are listed as held by others. The place where Godiva was buried has been a matter of debate. According to the , or Evesham Chronicle, she was buried at the Church of the Blessed Trinity at Evesham, which is no longer standing. According to the account in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, "There is no reason to doubt that she was buried with her husband at Coventry, despite the assertion of the Evesham chronicle that she lay in Holy Trinity, Evesham." the oldest known textual reference to the use of a Rosary-like string of prayer-beads. William Dugdale (1656) stated that a window with representations of Leofric and Godiva was placed in Trinity Church, Coventry, about the time of Richard II. == Legend ==

The legend of the nude ride is first recorded in the 13th century, in the and the adaptation of it by Roger of Wendover. Despite its considerable age, it is not regarded as plausible by modern historians, nor is it mentioned in the two centuries after Godiva's death, whereas her generous donations to the church receive various mentions. of the legendary ride, by John Thomas, Maidstone Museum, Kent According to the typical version of the story, Lady Godiva took pity on the people of Coventry, who were suffering grievously under her husband's oppressive taxation. Lady Godiva appealed again and again to her husband, who obstinately refused to lower the taxes. At last, weary of her repeated requests, he said he would grant her request if she would strip naked and ride on a horse through the streets of the town. Lady Godiva took him at his word, and after issuing a proclamation that all persons should stay indoors and shut their windows, she rode through the town, clothed only in her long hair. Just one person in the town, a tailor ever afterwards known as 'Peeping Tom', disobeyed her proclamation in what is the most famous instance of voyeurism. In most versions of the story, Tom is struck blind or dead for his transgression. Some historians have discerned elements of pagan fertility rituals in the Godiva story, whereby a young "May Queen" was led to the sacred Cofa's tree, perhaps to celebrate the renewal of spring. The oldest form of the legend has Godiva passing through Coventry market from one end to the other while the people were assembled, attended only by two knights. This version is given in by Roger of Wendover (died 1236), a somewhat gullible collector of anecdotes. In a chronicle written in the 1560s, Richard Grafton claimed the version given in originated from a "lost chronicle" written between 1216 and 1235 by the Prior of the monastery of Coventry. A modified version of the story was given by printer Richard Grafton, later elected MP for Coventry. According to his Chronicle of England (1569), "Leofricus" had already exempted the people of Coventry from "any maner of Tolle, Except onely of Horses", so that Godiva ("Godina" in text) had agreed to the naked ride just to win relief for this horse tax. And as a condition, she required the officials of Coventry to forbid the populace "upon a great pain" from watching her, and to shut themselves in and shutter all windows on the day of her ride. Grafton was an ardent Protestant and sanitized the earlier story. conforms to Grafton's version, saying that Lady Godiva performed her ride to remove the customs paid on horses, and that the town's officers ordered the townsfolk to "shutt their dore, & clap their windowes downe," and remain indoors on the day of her ride. Peeping Tom The story of Peeping Tom, who alone among the townsfolk spied on the Lady Godiva's naked ride, probably did not originate in literature, but came about through popular lore in the locality of Coventry. Reference by 17th century chroniclers has been claimed, According to an 1826 article submitted by someone well versed in local history identifying himself as 'W. Reader', there was already a well-established tradition that there was a certain tailor who had spied on Lady Godiva, and that at the annual Trinity Great Fair (now called the Godiva Festival) featuring the Godiva processions "a grotesque figure called Peeping Tom" would be set on display, and it was a wooden statue carved from oak. The author has dated this effigy, based on the style of armour he is shown wearing, from the reign of Charles II (d. 1685). The same writer felt the legend had to be subsequent to William Dugdale (d. 1686) since he made no mention of it in his works that discussed Coventry at full length. (The story of the tailor and the use of a wooden effigy may be as old as the 17th century, but the effigy may not have always been called "Tom".) W. Reader dates the first Godiva procession to 1677, but other sources date the first parade to 1678, and on that year a lad from the household of James Swinnerton enacted the role of Lady Godiva. The English Dictionary of National Biography (DNB) gives a meticulous account of the literary sources. The historian Paul de Rapin (1732) reported the Coventry lore that Lady Godiva performed her ride while "commanding all Persons to keep within Doors and from their Windows, on pain of Death", but that one man could not refrain from looking and it "cost him his life"; Rapin further reported that the town commemorates this with a "Statue of a Man looking out of a Window." appealed to the Godiva legend in caricaturing the fashions of the time. Next, Thomas Pennant in Journey from Chester to London (1782) recounted: "[T]he curiosity of a certain taylor overcoming his fear, he took a single peep". (In Pennant's time, around 1782, silk was worn, but the annotator of the 1811 edition noted that a cotton garment had since replaced the silk fabric.) == Degree of nudity ==

While most iterations of the legend describe Godiva riding completely nude, there is much dispute as to the historical authenticity of this notion. A more plausible rationale for the legend includes one based on the custom at the time for penitents to make a public procession in their shift, a sleeveless white garment similar to a modern slip and one which was certainly considered "underwear" in Godiva's time. If this were the case, Godiva might have actually travelled through town as a penitent in her shift, likely unshod and stripped of her jewellery which was the hallmark of her upper class rank. It would have been highly unusual to see a noblewoman present herself publicly in such an unadorned state, possibly bringing about the legend which would later be romanticised in folk history. Her 'naked' ride has also been considered to provide an insight into how women used their sensuality and bodies to wield power in twelfth century England, as well as how her protest formed Coventry's civic identity. Some suggest that the nudity myth originated in Puritan propaganda, designed to blacken the reputation of the notably pious Lady Godiva. Chroniclers of the 11th and 12th centuries mention Godiva as a respectable religious woman of some beauty and do not allude to nude excursions in public. It has also been argued that the story was made up about the pious Lady Godiva in order to attract pilgrims, and therefore, revenue, to Coventry. == Images in art and society ==

1792 with Lady Godiva (right) depicted on the reverse in Coventry by William Calder Marshall woven silk picture The Lady Godiva Procession (1887), produced by Coventry weaver and inventor Thomas Stevens and held at the Honolulu Museum of Art The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Coventry maintains a permanent exhibition on the subject. The oldest painting was commissioned by the County of the City of Coventry in 1586 and produced by Adam van Noort, a refugee Flemish artist. His painting depicts a "voluptuously displayed" Lady Godiva against the background of a "fantastical Italianate Coventry". In addition the Gallery has collected many Victorian interpretations of the subject described by Marina Warner as "an oddly composed Landseer, a swooning Watts and a sumptuous Alfred Woolmer". Thomas Stevens, the 19th-century Coventry born weaver, famous for his innovation of the woven silk pictures known as stevengraphs, sold an image of the Lady Godiva Procession amongst his designs. Another medium used to depict Godiva was linocut printing, with Haydn Reynolds Mackey's early 20th century work held in the collection of the Royal Academy of Arts in London. John Collier's painting Lady Godiva (1897) was bequeathed by social reformer Thomas Hancock Nunn. When he died in 1937, the Pre-Raphaelite-style painting was offered to the Corporation of Hampstead. He specified in his will that should his bequest be refused by Hampstead (presumably on grounds of propriety) the painting was then to be offered to Coventry. The painting hangs in the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum. American sculptor Anne Whitney also created a marble sculpture of Lady Godiva, in the collection of the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas, and another sculpture of Lady Godiva by stonemason John Thomas is held at the Maidstone Museum, Kent. Coventry displays her naked ride through the city and Peeping Tom's voyeurism The Godiva Procession, a commemoration of the legendary ride, was instituted on 31 May 1678 as part of Coventry fair and was celebrated up to the 1960s. The part of Lady Godiva was usually played by a scantily clad actress or dancer, and the occasion often attracted controversy. For instance, in 1854, the Bishop of Worcester protested against "a Birmingham whore being paraded through the streets as Lady Godiva." These annual processions were enlivened by constant rumours, beforehand, that the girl playing the part of Lady Godiva would actually appear nude, like the original. These hopes were eventually realised in a play staged in 1974, at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry, entitled The Only True Story of Lady Godiva, in which Lady Godiva appeared naked, riding a motor cycle. The wooden effigy of Peeping Tom which, from 1812 until World War II looked out on the world from a hotel at the northwest corner of Hertford Street, Coventry, can be found in Cathedral Lanes Shopping Centre. It represents a man in armour and was probably an image of Saint George. Nearby, in the 1950s rebuilt Broadgate, an animated Peeping Tom watches over Lady Godiva as she makes her hourly ride around the Godiva Clock. From the mid-1980s a Coventry resident, Pru Porretta, has adopted a Lady Godiva role to promote community events and good works in the city. Porretta retains the status of Coventry's unofficial ambassador. Each September Poretta marks the occasion of Lady Godiva's birthday by leading a local pageant focusing on world peace and unity known as The Godiva Sisters. In August 2007, the Godiva Sisters was performed in front of 900 delegates from 69 countries attending the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children Biennial Conference held at the University of Warwick. In the 2010 New Year Honours Porretta was appointed a Member of the Order of The British Empire for services to the city of Coventry community and tourism services. In 1999, Coventry councillors considered eliminating Godiva from the city's public identity, however, the Coventry City Council logo unveiled in 2000 features Lady Godiva and her horse. The previous logo also featured Godiva. Literature • "Godiva" (1842), a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. • "Guli" ("The Heart"), a poem by Galaktion Tabidze, includes a mention of Lady Godiva. • ''The Seven Lady Godivas: The True Facts Concerning History's Barest Family'' (1939), a short illustrated novel by Dr. Seuss. • Lady Godiva and Master Tom, a 1948 novel by Raoul Cohen Faure. • Godiva: A Novel, by Nicole Galland, a 2013 historic novel. • Naked: A Novel of Lady Godiva, by Eliza Redgold, a 2015 romantic novel based on Godiva's life. • Lady Godiva’s Birthday Suit by Aaron Ashmore, a 2021 children's book. Classical music and opera • Vítězslav Novák composed a concert overture called Lady Godiva based on the story (Prague, 1907; Op. 41). Modern music • The 1966 Peter and Gordon song "Lady Godiva" reimagines the Lady Godiva legend in the modern day. • The 1968 Velvet Underground song "Lady Godiva's Operation" tells the story of a transitional operation turned into a botched lobotomy. • The 1978 Queen song "Don't Stop Me Now" mentions Lady Godiva with the line "I'm a racing car, passing by like Lady Godiva". • The 2013 Heaven Shall Burn song "Godiva" from their album Veto, with the album also featuring an image of Lady Godiva on the cover. Film '' film poster. • Lady Godiva (1911), silent short film by Vitagraph Studios with Julia Swayne Gordon as Lady Godiva. • Lady Godiva (1921), a German silent drama film starring Hedda Vernon as Lady Godiva. • The Lady Godiva (1928), silent short film based on Tennyson's poem and with Gladys Jennings as Lady Godiva. Also known as Ghosts of Yesterday #1: Lady Godiva. • Lady Godiva Rides Again (1950), British comedy film with Diana Dors and Pauline Stroud. Titled Bikini Baby in the United States. • Lady Godiva of Coventry (1955), starring Irish actress Maureen O'Hara in the title role. • Lady Godiva: Back in the Saddle (2007), comedy film. == Gallery ==

File:Lady godiva full.jpg|Jules Joseph Lefebvre, Lady Godiva, 1890 File:Jones – Godiva Preparing to Ride through Coventry.jpg|George Jones, Godiva Preparing to Ride through Coventry (1833), at Tate Britain File:Claxton - Lady Godiva 1850.jpg|Marshall Claxton, Lady Godiva (1850), at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry File:Maidstone 019.jpg|John Thomas, Lady Godiva at Maidstone Museum File:Herbert Backstage Pass cmglee 46.jpg|Lady Godiva at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry File:The semi-naked Lady Godiva sitting on a horse having slipper Wellcome V0040010.jpg|Lady Godiva depicted in her shift. Engraving by J.B. Allen after G. Jones File:The Lady Godiva Clock in Coventry, England.jpg|Broadgate Clock, Coventry File:Lady Godiva Statue In Coventry.jpg|Lady Godiva Statue in Coventry File:Lady Godiva Statue, Broadgate Square, Coventry.jpg|William Reid Dick, Lady Godiva Statue == See also ==