Lady Godiva

My interest in the Lady Godiva legend started with mere curiousity. I saw a commercial for a television program and was interested in why this particular show wanted to relate to the story. I had never really known much about it, except that it featured a naked woman riding a horse through a town, so I decided to look into it. I had no idea that the term "peeping tom" had started with the legend or that Godiva had agreed to ride to help her people, and I was able to confirmed that yes, Godiva chocolate is named after her. It was a learning experience and so I present to you, on this page a quick guide to the legend of Lady Godiva.

The Short of the Story:

Almost everyone is familiar with the story of Lady Godiva. As the story goes, she was the wife of the Leofric, Earl of Mercia, in Coventry, Enland who imposed incredible taxes on his people. Godiva pleaded with him again and again to lessen them to no avail. Eventually, because he could not stand to hear her mention it again, he offered her a deal. If she would ride naked through the town, he would reliquish some of the taxes. To his surprise, she agreed, and he stayed true to his word.

It is not clear if Lady Godiva was a fictional or real character of history. There was a historical woman by the name Godfifu who may be the legend Godiva, but historians are undecided.

Historical Timeline of the Lady Godiva Legend
960	Birth of Earl Leofric
c980	Birth of Lady Godiva
1016	Marriage of Leo
1043	Move to Conventry, a Bennedictine Monestary is founded and funded by Leofric and Godiva.
c1045	Date associated with Godiva's ride
1057	Death of Leofric
c1075	Death of Godiva
11^th - 12^th Century	Writings depicting Godiva as a respectable, religious woman. There is no mention of the legendary ride.
c1188 - 1237	Roger Wendover writes the first story of Godiva's ride. She is escorted by two knights and lets her hair down so she is completly hidden by hair.
14^thCentury	Matthew of Westminister writes a similar story, but the residents of Coventry are asked to stay indoors out of respect for Godiva.
c1360	Ranulphus Higden adds that Godiva rode at dawn and Leofric removed all taxes except those on horses.
c1360-1563	Numerous stories are circulated all sharing similar themes with slight changes.
17^thCentury	The character of Peeping Tom is introduced to the story by Paul de Rapin. Peeping Tom was a boy in Conventry who peeked at Lady Godiva through the shutters as she rode past and was struck blind.
This information is provided by Cecilia Parsons 1999, 2000 revised 2004 Countess Godiva