Lady Godiva

Lady Godiva by John Collier, ca 1897

Godiva (or Godgifu) (c. 990?–September 10, 1067) was an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who, according to legend, rode naked through the streets of Coventry in England in order to gain a remission of the oppressive toll imposed by her husband on his tenants. The name "peeping Tom" for a voyeur comes from later versions of this legend in which a man named Tom watched her ride and was stricken blind.

The historical figure

Godiva was the wife of Leofric (968 – 1057), Earl of Mercia. Her name occurs in charters and the Domesday survey, though the spelling varies. The Anglo-Saxon name Godgifu or Godgyfu meant "gift of God"; Godiva was the Latinised version. Since the name was a popular one, there are contemporaries of the same name.

It also appears from the chronicles of Ely, Liber Eliensis (end of 12th century), that she was 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. Writing in the 12th century, Roger of Wendover credits Godiva as the persuasive force behind this act. 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.

The manor of Woolhope in Herefordshire, along with three others, was given to the cathedral at Hereford before the Norman Conquest by the benefactresses Wulviva and Godiva - usually held to be this Godiva and her sister. The church there has a 20th C stained glass window showing them (you can see it at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mymuk/1097578497).

Her mark, "di Ego Godiva Comitissa diu istud desideravi", 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, some genealogists have argued that Thorold, who appears in the Domesday Book as sheriff of Lincolnshire, was probably her brother.

After Leofric's death in 1057, his widow lived on until after the Norman Conquest of 1066. She appears in the Domesday survey as one of the few Anglo-Saxons and the only woman to remain a major landholder after the conquest. By the time of this great survey in 1086, Godiva had died, but her former lands are listed. Thus, Godiva apparently died between 1066 and 1086. Some sources maintain that she died on September 10, 1067.

The place where Godiva was buried is a matter of debate. According to one source, she was probably buried at the Church of the Blessed Trinity at Evesham, which is no longer standing. However the novelist Octavia Randolph says that Godiva was buried next to her husband at the priory church in Coventry.

Dugdale (1656) says that a window with representations of Leofric and Godiva was placed in Trinity Church, Coventry, about the time of Richard II.

The legend

A statue of Lady Godiva in central Coventry

According to the popular story, the beautiful 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 remit the tolls. At last, weary of her entreaties, he said he would grant her request if she would ride naked through the streets of the town. Lady Godiva took him at his word and, after issuing a proclamation that all persons should keep within doors or shut their windows, she rode through, clothed only in her long hair. Only one person in the town, a tailor ever afterwards known as Peeping Tom, disobeyed her proclamation in one of the most famous instances of voyeurism. In the story, Tom bores a hole in his shutters so that he might see Godiva pass, and is stricken blind. In the end, Godiva's husband keeps his word and abolishes the onerous taxes.

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 Flores Historiarum by Roger of Wendover (died 1236), a somewhat gullible collector of anecdotes, who quoted from an earlier writer. The later story, with its episode of "Peeping Tom", appeared first among 17th century chroniclers.

At the time, it was customary for penitents to make a public procession in only their shift, a sleeveless white garment similar to a slip today and one which was certainly considered "underwear". Thus, some scholars speculate, Godiva may have actually travelled through town as a penitent, in her shift. Godiva's story may have passed into folk history to be recorded in a romanticised version. Another theory has it that Lady Godiva's "nakedness" may refer to her riding through the streets stripped of her jewellery, the trademark of her upper class rank. However, both these attempts to reconcile known facts with legend are weak; there is no known use of the word "naked" in the era of the earliest accounts to mean anything other than "without any clothing whatsoever".

Morevoer, is no trace of any version of the story in sources contemporary with Godiva, a story that would certainly have been recorded even in its most tame interpretations, and with the founding of Coventry circa 1043, there was little opportunity for the City to have developed to an extent that would have supported such a noble gesture. In addition, the only recorded tolls were on horses. Thus, it remains doubtful whether there is any historical basis for the famous ride.

Like the story of Peeping Tom, the claim that Godiva's long hair effectively hid her nakedness from sight is generally believed to have been a later addition (compare Rapunzel). Certain other thematic elements are familiar in myth and fable: the resistant Lord (Esther and Ahasuerus), the exacted promise, the stringent condition and the test of chastity. Even if Peeping Tom is a late addition, his being struck blind demonstrates the closely knit themes of the violated mystery and the punished intruder (compare Diana and Actaeon).

Popular culture

• The Godiva procession—a commemoration of the legendary ride instituted on May 31, 1678, as part of Coventry fair—was celebrated at intervals until 1826. From 1848 to 1887, it was revived and continued into the 21st century.
• The wooden effigy of Peeping Tom which, since 1812, has looked out on the world from a house at the northwest corner of Hertford Street, Coventry, represents a man in armour and was probably an image of Saint George. It was removed from another part of the town to its present position.
• 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. In 1999 Coventry councillors considered eliminating Godiva from the city's public identity. As of 2005, 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.
• Godiva was immortalized anew in the poem Godiva by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.
• Dr. Seuss wrote a short illustrated novel in 1939 entitled The Seven Lady Godivas: The True Facts Concerning History's Barest Family based on the character.
• Godiva, the chocolate, was named after Lady Godiva.

Engineering mascot

In many university engineering faculties, military engineering corps and other engineering organisations, Lady Godiva is regarded as a mascot and called the "Patron Saint of Engineers" or "Goddess of Engineering". The origin is unclear, although it probably developed in Britain, where several early engineering schools were founded during the industrial revolution. The practice migrated to North America through Canadian schools, such as the University of Toronto which today holds an annual "Godiva Week" in January consisting of events intended to engender school spirit. By the mid-20th century, the practice of engineering organisations associating themselves with Lady Godiva was well established in the United States.

A particular tradition associated with this is that of drinking songs, which make reference to Lady Godiva, particularly Godiva's Hymn.

Historically, certain college organisations staged an annual "Godiva Ride" in which a naked female (or a costumed male) rode a horse across campus. This practice may have declined with the advent of modern feminist attitudes.

Music

Several popular songs make contemporary usage of the Lady Godiva image. These include:

• The Velvet Underground's "Lady Godiva's Operation" on their 1968 LP, White Light/White Heat, referring to a transwoman who dies at the hands of her surgeons during a sexual reassignment-turned-lobotomy.
• Peter and Gordon's "Lady Godiva" (1966) is about a woman who becomes involved in a burlesque show. Like Coventry's Lady Godiva, the Lady Godiva of the song has long flowing hair that covers her body. However, the song has her hair cut as a condition to her performing in the burlesque show.
• Grant Lee Buffalo's song "Lady Godiva and Me" from their 1994 album, Mighty Joe Moon, includes references to Peeping Tom.
• Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show recorded a song "Hey, Lady Godiva".
• Mother Love Bone recorded a song, "Lady Godiva Blues", on their 1992 self-titled album.
• Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" sees Freddie Mercury "passing by like Lady Godiva".
• Simply Red recorded "Lady Godiva’s Room" on their 1992 EP Montreux
• Aerosmith's song "My Girl" from their album, Pump, contains the line, "My girl's a Lady Godiva."
• In Peter Gabriel's song "Modern Love" off his self-titled 1977 album, he states "For Lady Godiva I came incognito".
• In the theme song to the situation comedy Maude, the opening lines were, "Lady Godiva was a Freedom Rider,/ She didn't care if the whole world looked..."
• Boney M's song "Lady Godiva" was released in the year 1981.

Television

• In the Charmed episode "The Bare Witch Project", a student in Magic School accidentally conjures Lady Godiva and Lord Dyson out of a history book. Later, Phoebe, inspired by Lady Godiva, decides to ride naked through a crowded street in support of women's liberation.
• In an episode of Dad's Army, women in the town of Warmington-on-Sea compete for the part of Lady Godiva in a recreation staged by the town.
• The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling featured a character named Godiva who rode to the ring on a horse and wore a sheer bodysuit.
• The Histeria! episode "Tribute to Tyrants" featured a sketch about the legend of Lady Godiva, portrayed by the World's Oldest Woman.
• In one Frasier episode, a girl is wearing a Lady Godiva costume.
• The Maude theme song begins with the words, "Lady Godiva was a freedom rider; she didn't care if the whole world looked!".
• In the Blackadder Goes Forth episode "Private Plane", Captain Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson) describes the Royal Flying Corps as "the biggest show-offs since Lady Godiva entered the royal enclosure at Ascot claiming she had literally nothing to wear".
• In the Round the Twist episode "Linda Godiva", Linda helps Pete win a cross-country horse race by being invisible, she is later turned visible and is seen riding the horse naked.
• In the first episode of The Vicar of Dibley, several characters reminisce about when Letitia Cropley rode through Dibley stark naked in a Lady Godiva reenactment.
• In the Seinfeld episode "The Apology", Jerry's girlfriend regularily walks around in his apartment naked, and at one point he refers to her as "Lady Godiva".
• In a episode of Time Squad Larry showed Otto videos of previous missions and in one of these missions Lady Godiva was riding her horse naked while Tuddrussel ran after her, trying to persuade her to wear some clothes.

Film

• Lady Godiva is the name of a 1955 film starring Irish actress Maureen O'Hara.
• A 1949 Three Stooges short film, The Ghost Talks, featured one of the boys playing Peeping Tom in a slapstick send-up of the Lady Godiva legend. Inspired by an encounter between the stooges and a haunted, empty suit of armour occupied by Tom's spirit, the film changes key elements of the legend, eliminating Tom's blindness as his penalty and inventing a relationship between the tailor and the Lady. The Stooges act out the ghost's narrative of the events of the famous day in costumes based on the clothing of a period many years later than the life of the historic Godiva.
• In the 1988 film 'High Spirits' with Peter O'Toole, the character Eamon, when trying to get two of the castle's female employees to pose as ghosts, tells Patricia he can see her as a mermaid, or the 'Lady Godiva'.

See also

• Asteroid 3018 Godiva, named after Lady Godiva
• Clothes free people
• Godiva Chocolates, a Chocolate Company named after and featuring artwork of Godiva on their boxes
• Lady Godiva syndrome
• Public nudity
• The Seven Lady Godivas, an early Dr. Seuss book

External links

• Cecilia Parsons, "Countess Godiva", 1999, revised 2004: biography and developing legend
• BBC News – the unearthing of a stained glass window identified with Lady Godiva
• James Grout: Lady Godiva, part of the Encyclopædia Romana
• How Lady Godiva Got a Tax Break

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