Every city, even the smallest one, dreams of having its own beautiful legend, and the inhabitants of English Coventry are very lucky in this sense. For almost a millennium, they have been telling their children the legend of a beautiful naked woman who once drove through the streets of their town.
Legend
According to the classic version of the legend, Lady Godiva was the wife of the owner of the city, Count Leofric. The count was distinguished by a tough disposition, and did not spare his subjects at all, levying exorbitant taxes on the townspeople. The countess was famous not only for her unearthly beauty, but also for her kind heart, therefore she repeatedly begged her husband to make the life of her subjects easier. During one of these conversations, the count, enraged by the constant requests of his wife, vowed in his hearts that he would reduce taxes only if Godiva passed through the city streets completely naked. He believed that this condition would be impossible for a godly lady, but she nevertheless decided on such a desperate step.
On the appointed day, a beautiful naked woman riding a snow-white horse rode through the streets of Coventry. But contrary to Leofric's fears, the inhabitants loved the Countess so much that they preferred to lock themselves in their houses, tightly closing all the shutters. Thus, having passed through the whole city, Lady Godiva, whose only cover was only a luxurious shock of hair, did not meet a single onlooker.
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True, according to legend, there was one treacherous city dweller who remained in history under the name "Peeping Tom", who decided to spy on the countess, but as soon as he looked at her, he immediately went blind.
Shocked by his wife's feat, the earl kept his promise, abolished taxes, and prosperity reigned in Coventry for a long time. In memory of the desperate woman, the grateful residents not only kept her name for centuries, but erected a monument on the main square of the city.
In fact
In this beautiful legend, not everything turned out to be fiction, however, except for the most interesting. Count Leofric and his wife were very real historical characters. They lived in the first half of the 11th century and are most remembered by chroniclers for the fact that in 1043 they founded a Benedictine abbey in Coventry. The count endowed the monks with land, giving them the possession of more than two dozen villages, and the pious Lady Godiva donated so much jewelry to the monastery that it suddenly became one of the richest monasteries in Britain. Together with the abbey, Coventry itself grew richer, quickly becoming one of the largest and most prosperous cities in the country.
Leofric died much earlier than his wife, and she, leaving to another world, generously bequeathed all the possessions remaining after her husband's death in favor of the church. It is not surprising that the noble spouses immediately began to be considered almost saints, and with all the due honors they were buried on the ground of the abbey they founded.
The scandalous event that happened to the pious lady Godiva is not mentioned anywhere by the Catholic chroniclers. However, it is known for certain that at one time there were really no taxes in Coventry.
For the first time, spicy details about the naked countess are mentioned in the chronicles of Roger Wendrover, a monk of the monastery of St. Alban, which was significantly inferior in wealth to the Abbey of Coventry. It is possible that the envious cleric deliberately composed this story in order to at least slightly dispel the aura of holiness around Leofric's wife. He also said that the event itself took place on July 10, 1040. This date was remembered, but the same tax abolition in Coventry happened as much as 17 years later, so it is not possible to understand whether these two events are related to each other and whether they actually happened.
The version of the legend
Modern researchers argue that the legend of Lady Godiva has nothing to do with real history, and its roots must be sought not in documents, but in folklore and pagan myths.
Professor Daniel Donahue believes that perhaps there was a certain noble woman who cared about the needs of the common people. However, the main reason why this legend took root in Coventry was the ancient myth of the horse-goddess, who was worshiped in these places for centuries.
During the Saxon conquest of Britain, the Hvikke tribe settled on the land where Coventry later grew up. From time immemorial, the goddess Koda was considered the supreme deity of the tribe, who was often depicted in the form of a naked horsewoman. Not so long ago, during archaeological excavations in the village of Wegington, a large sanctuary was discovered dedicated to this goddess. Moreover, modern historians believe that the name of the Cotswold area also testifies to the widespread cult of Koda in central Britain.
At the same time, lost among the dense forests and impenetrable swamps of Coventry, for a very long time remained inaccessible to Christian missionaries. Even the name itself, "Coventry", comes from the name of the sacred tree Kof, around which the main rites of worship of the goddess were performed.
The main pagan ritual was traditionally held in the middle of summer, when people marched together through the streets of the city to the sacred tree, and at the head of the procession rode a beautiful naked woman who personified the goddess Koda. There, under a tree, the main rites and sacrifices were performed. Koda took the blood of young men and horses as victims.
Thus, by the time the Christian "enlighteners" nevertheless reached Coventry, the pagan cult had become very firmly established in the life of local residents. We must pay tribute to the patience and wisdom of the holy fathers, who chose not to fight local beliefs, but gradually adapt them in their own way. But it took quite a long time until the warlike and bloodthirsty Koda, or Goda, was able to turn into the pious and compassionate Lady Godiva.
Christianization of the pagan myth
Paganism on this land was extremely reluctant to yield its positions, and even the establishment of that very rich Benedictine abbey did not help much to convert the inhabitants of Coventry to Christianity. Even under the walls of the holy monastery, the people continued to organize their annual summer processions and bloody rituals.
However, over time, the monks still managed to change the very essence of the holiday. More than one generation passed before the townspeople believed that the summer holiday was dedicated to Godiva - a Christian, and the main motive was the story of the abolition of taxes, which seemed at that time more a fairy tale than the patronage of the mythical goddess.
This turning point in the worldview of the former pagans finally took place around the 12th century.
The interpretation of the "Peeping Tom" story is also interesting. Initially, the man who suffered divine punishment was associated with the sacrifice of the Code. However, the monks figured out how to use this element of history for the edification of the flock. God's punishment remained, but now the man suffered because of his own treachery, and not because of the carnivorousness of the deity himself.
According to historians, the legend of Tom appeared much later than the main legend, in the 16th century, when the city authorities of Coventry commissioned the painter Adam van Noort a large painting dedicated to Lady Godiva. The canvas also depicted Leofric, quietly spying on his wife's trip. When the painting was shown to the locals of Coventry, they unanimously decided that the peeping man was not a count at all, but thus a treacherous citizen.
Legend for centuries
Be that as it may, the legend of Lady Godiva is still popular in Coventry. Her statue stands in the square near the cathedral, and the image adorns the official seal of the city council.
Moreover, since 1678, annually, on July 10, a holiday dedicated to Godiva has been held in Coventry. Nowadays, it looks like a fun carnival, with music, dancing and the indispensable evening fireworks. Medieval costumes became an obligatory attribute for all participants.
Like a thousand years ago, the townspeople arrange a mass procession along the streets of the city, which in our century ends at the foot of the Godiva monument. The queen of the holiday is also chosen here. True, for reasons of morality, applicants for the title are not forced to undress, but all of them must have luxurious golden hair.
The image of Lady Godiva has always been popular with people of art. Many paintings, poems and novels are dedicated to her. Based on the legend, several feature and animation films have been shot. Not so long ago, astronomers named one of the asteroids after her.
And whoever Godiva really is, a pagan goddess or a humble Christian, the legend of a beautiful naked woman will live for more than one millennium, while men live in the world, and while the city of Coventry stands.