General Notes

REFN: 7649AN
Earl of Mercia. A member of a prominent English family, he succeeded his
fath er Leofwine as Earl of Mercia and beame one of the most powerfula men
in the kingdom under King Cnut. htereafter he was at the forefront of
English politi cs, favouring Harold I Harefoot against Harthacnut in 1037
and at times count er-balancing Godwine under Edward the Confessor. He and
his wife Godgifu were generous benefactors of the church. Source: Who's
Who in British History. Co llins & Brown. London. 2000.
Godiva (sometimes Godgifu) (c. 980 - 1067) was an Anglo-Saxon lady, who, a
ccording to legend, roDe naked through the streets of Coventry in Engla
nd in order to gain a remission of the oppressive toll imposed by her husb
and on his tenants.
Legend
According to the story, Lady Godiva was the beautiful wife of Leofric I
II (968 - 1057), Earl of Mercia and lord of Coventry. The people of that c
ity were suffering grievously under the earl's oppressive taxation. Lady G
odiva appealed again and again to her husband, who obstinately refus
ed to remit the tolls. At last, weary of her entreaties, he said he wou
ld grant her request if she would riDe naked through the streets of the to
wn. Lady Godiva took him at his word, and after issuing a proclamation th
at all persons should keep within doors or shut their windows, she roDe th
rough, clothed only in her long hair. One person disobeyed her proclamatio
n, a tailor, ever afterwards known as Peeping Tom. He bored a hole in h
is shutters that he might see Godiva pass and is said to have been stru
ck blind. Her husband kept his word and abolished the onerous taxes.
The oldest form of the legend has Godiva passing through Coventry market f
rom one end to the other while the people were assembled, attended on
ly by two female (clothed) riders. This version is given in Flores Histori
arum by Roger of Wendover (d. 1236), a somewhat gullible collector of anec
dotes, who quoted from an earlier writer. The still later story, with i
ts episoDe of Peeping Tom, appeared first among 17th century chronicler
s. Whether the Lady Godiva of this story is the Godiva or Godgifu ("gi
ft of God") of history is undecided.
Roger of Wendover may not have understood the power and rights of wom
en in preconquest England. Godiva belonged to the second-wealthiest fami
ly in Britain at the time--second only to the Godwins--and she ruled Conve
ntry in her own right at the time of the Domesday Book. Though she may ha
ve inherited the land from her husband, she did own her land herself. So
me scholars speculate that she was also the harsh landlord.
It was customary at that time for penitents to make a public processi
on in only their shift-a sleeveless white garment similar to a slip toda
y, and one which was certainly considered "underwear". Godiva may have rep
ented of her harshness, traveled through town as a penitent, her people wi
tnessing their feared landlord humilated in her shift. Thus, scholars spec
ulate, Godiva's story may have passed into folk history to be record
ed in a rather, but not substantially, romanticized version.
A statue of Lady Godiva in central Coventry
The claim that Godiva's long hair effectively hid her from sight is genera
lly believed, like the story of Peeping Tom, to have been a later additio
n, but compare Rapunzel. Certain other thematic elements are familiar in m
yth and fable: the resistant Lord (Esther and Ahasuerus), the exacted prom
ise, the stringent condition, the test of chastity. Even if Peeping T
om is a late addition, his being struck blind demonstrates the closely kn
it themes of the violated Mystery and the punished intruder (compare Dia
na and Actaeon).
It is also thought that Lady Godiva's "nakedness" refers to her riding thr
ough the streets stripped of her jewellery-trademark of her upper class ra
nk.
Historical corroboration
Nevertheless, that a lady of this name existed in the early part of the 11
th cen