Songs, books, paintings and even films have been written about the beautiful lady Godiva. But at the same time, it is not so easy for everyone to understand what actually happened in the English city of Coventry in the distant XI century.
The story of the noble lady Godiva, who put the interests of her subjects above her own pride, is known far beyond England. Obeying the whim of her tyrant husband, the beautiful lady rode through the whole city naked in order to achieve the abolition of unbearable taxes. But what is the historical truth behind this legend? And was Lady Godiva's husband, Count Leofric, really such an immoral villain?
Beauty versus taxes
The canonical legend tells about the following. Count Leofric of Mercia was a cruel and willful man. He constantly raised taxes, not caring if people could pay them. The tax burden was especially heavy on residents of one of the largest cities in the province - Coventry. Leofrik's wife, the beautiful Godiva, more than once asked her husband to soften his temper and heed the pleas of the common people.
But each time I heard only ridicule and insults in response.
Once, having drunk hard during one of the feasts, Leofric announced that he was ready to reduce or even abolish all taxes if his beautiful wife, so loving the common people, rides naked on a horse around the city. Naturally, it never occurred to him that Godiva would agree. But she, after thinking everything over, came to the conclusion that the interests of people are above her personal pride. And she agreed to the terms of her husband.
The legend is silent about how Leofric took this decision. But it talks about the reaction of the population of Coventry. All the people, having agreed, on the appointed day, tightly locked the shutters and doors of their houses. And not one of them went outside. Therefore, the naked rider was able to make her way without any embarrassment and damage to her honor.
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Only one resident of the city, named Tom, dared to disobey the general opinion. He really wanted to see the naked Lady Godiva, whose fame about her beauty resounded far beyond the borders of Mercia. On the appointed day, he hid behind a shutter and, when the count's wife drove along the street, quietly looked out of it. What she saw was beautiful indeed, although the lady's body was chastely covered by her long golden hair. But at the same moment, higher powers struck the disobedient - Tom was forever blind, having lost the opportunity to see any beauty.
Count Leofric, struck by the dedication of Lady Godiva, kept his word to the drunk and freed the inhabitants of Coventry from taxes (according to another version, he significantly reduced them). And they, in turn, glorified their savior in the legend, ensuring her immortality.
Monk's certificate
King Edward I of England wished to understand how true the popular legend was, back in the 13th century. By his order, the court scribes carefully studied all available chronicles and found out that in 1057 in the city of Coventry (which, however, at that time did not have the official status of the city), the collection of taxes was actually stopped. By some accident (or, conversely, not by accident), this event practically coincided with the death of Count Leofric, which occurred at the end of September 1057.
Historians of our time have established many additional details. It turned out that, according to medieval chronicles, the famous naked detour of Coventry took place on July 10, 1040 (this exact date was not confirmed by financial indicators). The earliest mention of the Lady Godiva story was Roger Vendrover, a monk of the monastery of St. Alban, who chronicled under the Latin name Flores Historiarum (Flowers of History) from 1188 to 1235 (he died in 1236).
Subsequently, versions were put forward that some pagan rituals were found in the legend of Lady Godiva, during which a naked young girl had to go around the city for ritual purposes. And other researchers tried to establish from which taxes the Count's wife was trying to exempt people. It turned out that not from everyone, but only from the tax on the maintenance of horses.
The further, the clearer it became that this story could not be understood, ignoring the second main character - Count Leofric himself.
Riches of Coventry
Count Leofric of Mercia is certainly a historical and well-known personality. He began his independent political career during the Danish conquest of Britain and became Count of Mercia at the behest of the Viking leader Knud the Great, who occupied the English throne from 1016 to 1035. After Knud, Leofric successfully ruled Mercia (formerly an independent state, which at the beginning of the 11th century became one of the provinces of the united country) under three more kings, of whom one was Danish, and two were English. In short, he confirmed his diplomatic abilities more than once, in a variety of ways.
Of course, for all this, Leofric was not an innocent lamb. He organized punitive expeditions against those who turned out to be displeasing to the king, he ruled his possessions with a firm hand and, presumably, did not hesitate to raise taxes as soon as he thought it was necessary. How different was his behavior from other graphs of the time? I think not too much.
Many historical documents tell about Leofrik and Godiv. True, there is no story about a naked passage through the city. But there is a completely reliable story that in 1043 the couple founded a Benedictine monastery in Coventry. Leforik allotted extensive land and 24 villages with peasants to the monastic monastery, and Lady Godiva donated so much gold and jewelry that no monastery in England could compete with him in wealth. In this monastery, the couple were subsequently buried.
It is possible that it was for the construction of this magnificent monastery that the money was required, which Leofric was trying to get by raising taxes. However, ordinary residents later paid off a hundredfold - the thriving monastery attracted a huge number of pilgrims, and after a while Coventry became the fourth largest city in England!
The origins of the legend of the evil Leofric and his noble wife, perhaps, should be sought in the personality of the monk Roger Wendrover - the very author of the chronicle. The fact is that other monasteries were not at all happy about the emergence of a strong competitor in Coventry, drawing off cash flows. And Roger, as a faithful son of the monastery of St. Alban, hastened to compose a defamatory, as it seemed to him, legend about the price at which the welfare of Coventry was bought. Only he miscalculated, and the legend of Lady Godiva only drew additional attention to the town.
Separately, it should be said about Peeping Tom. There is no mention of him until the 17th century. And the name Tom itself has nothing to do with Anglo-Saxon - it simply could not be worn by a resident of Coventry in the 11th century. Researchers suggest that the story arose in the second half of the 16th century as a result of a rather amusing mistake. In 1586, the council of the city of Coventry decided to perpetuate the beautiful legend of Lady Godiva and commissioned a corresponding painting to the then fashionable Flemish artist Adam van Noort. He fulfilled that order in good faith.
Among other things, van Noort depicted in the window of one of the buildings a small figure of a man looking out. Apparently, the artist was referring to Leofric, shocked by the act of his wife. But the audience did not grasp this and immediately composed an addition to the legend - the story about Peeping Tom.
Lady Godiva has repeatedly served as a source of inspiration for artists from different countries and times. It has been repeatedly immortalized both on canvas and in bronze. One of the statues stands in the square next to the former Coventry Cathedral. And since 1678, a holiday has been annually held in the city in honor of the generous lady, the protector of the city. The festival includes an obligatory parade of people dressed in 11th century costumes, supposedly repeating the legendary route. The highlight of the program is the competition for the best lady Godiva. Participants are not forced to undress, but a prerequisite for participation is the presence of long golden hair, behind which you can hide. Everything ends with fireworks.
Victor BANEV