Godiva, Lady

Godiva, Lady
flourished с 1040–1080

Anglo-Saxon gentlewoman famous for her legendary ride nude through Coventry, Eng.

She was the wife of Leofric, earl of Mercia (d. 1057), with whom she founded a monastery at Coventry. There is no evidence connecting the rider with the historical Godiva. According to the legend, Leofric, exasperated over Godiva's ceaseless imploring that he reduce Coventry's heavy taxes, declared he would do so if she rode naked through the crowded marketplace. She did so, her long hair covering all of her body except her legs; as a result Leofric removed all tolls except those on horses. A later chronicle asserts that Godiva required the townsmen to remain indoors at the time fixed for her ride. Peeping Tom, a citizen who looked out his window, became part of the legend in the 17th century, and in most accounts he was struck blind or dead.

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▪ Anglo-Saxon gentlewoman
Old English  Godgifu 
died between 1066 and 1086

      Anglo-Saxon gentlewoman famous for her legendary ride while nude through Coventry, Warwickshire.

      Godiva was the wife of Leofric, earl of Mercia, with whom she founded and endowed a monastery at Coventry. The chronicler Florence Of Worcester (d. 1118) mentions Leofric and Godiva with respect, but does not refer to the ride. There is no evidence connecting the rider with the historical Godiva.

      The earliest extant source for the story is the Chronica (under the year 1057) of Roger of Wendover (d. 1236). He recounts that her husband, in exasperation over her ceaseless imploring that he reduce Coventry's heavy taxes, declared he would do so if she rode naked through the crowded marketplace. She did so, her hair covering all of her body except her legs. Ranulf Higden (Higden, Ranulf) (d. 1364), in his Polychronicon, says that as a result Leofric freed the town from all tolls save those on horses. An inquiry made in the reign of Edward I shows that at that time no tolls were paid in Coventry except on horses. A later chronicle asserts that Godiva required the townsmen to remain indoors at the time fixed for her ride. Peeping Tom, a citizen who looked out his window, apparently became a part of the legend in the 17th century. In most accounts he was struck blind or dead.

      The Godiva procession, from 1678 part of Coventry Fair, is held every seven or eight years.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Godiva, Lady —    The wife of Earl Leofric of Mercia, and a devout and generous patron of churches and abbeys, she was Lady of Coventry in her own right. She died in 1067 and about a 100 years after her death, Roger of Wendover, a monk of St Alban s, told how… …   A Dictionary of English folklore

  • Godiva, Lady — (floreció 1040–1080). Dama anglosajona célebre por su legendaria cabalgata desnuda a través de Coventry, Inglaterra. Era la esposa de Leofric, conde de Mercia (m. 1057), con quien fundó un monasterio en Coventry. No existen pruebas que vinculen… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • GODIVA, LADY —    wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia and Lord of Coventry, who pled in vain with her husband on behalf of the inhabitants of the place for relief from heavy exactions he had laid upon them, till one day he relented and consented he would grant her… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Lady Godiva — Godiva Lady Godiva, par John Collier, 1898 Godiva (Lady Godiva, aussi appelée Godgifu) était une dame saxonne qui, d après la légende, a traversé nue à cheval les rues de Coventry, en Angleterre, vers l an 1000, afin de convaincre son mari de… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Godiva — (izg. godȃjva/ob. godȋva), Lady DEFINICIJA pov. knjiž. anglosaska plemkinja iz 11. st. čuvena po tome što je uvijena samo u svoje duge kose gola projahala kroz grad Coventry kako bi prisilila muža Leofrica da smanji namete svojim podanicima;… …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • Godiva — Cet article concerne la personnalité. Pour les autres significations, voir Godiva (homonymie). Lady Godiva, par John Collier, 1898 Godiva (Lady Godiva …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Lady Godiva — Para otros usos de este término, véase Godiva. Lady Godiva, por John Collier, ca 1897. Lady Godiva (principios del siglo XI) fue una dama anglosajona, famosa por su belleza y su bondad casada con Leofric (968–1057), conde de Chester y de …   Wikipedia Español

  • Lady Godiva — noun according to legend she rode naked through Coventry in order to persuade her husband not to tax the townspeople so heavily; the only person to look at her as she rode by was a man named Tom and Peeping Tom has become a synonym for voyeur… …   Useful english dictionary

  • lady — ladyhood, n. ladyish, adj. ladyishly, adv. ladyishness, n. ladyless, adj. /lay dee/, n., pl. ladies, adj. n. 1. a woman who is refined, polite, and well spoken: She may be poor and have little education, but she s a real lady. 2. a woman of high… …   Universalium

  • Lady — (Voz inglesa.) ► sustantivo femenino Título británico de honor que se da a las señoras de la nobleza. IRREG. plural ladys tb:ladi * * * lady (ingl.; pronunc. [léidi]) f. *Tratamiento dado en Inglaterra a las señoras de la nobleza. * * * lady.… …   Enciclopedia Universal

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