Lady Godiva is a key figure in the history of Coventry. The 900-year-old story was first recorded in Latin by two monks at St Albans Abbey. It was assumed these monks had heard the story from travellers on their way from the Midlands to London. But what was it about the tale that meant it travelled not only the distance from the Midlands to London but the 900-years until now?
In the eleventh century, Lady Godiva reportedly rode a horse completely naked through the streets of Coventry on Market Day. According to legend, her husband, Leofric, demanded an oppressive tax from Coventry citizens. Lady Godiva, aiming to help Coventry citizens, pleaded him to stop and Leofric supposedly said, “You will have to ride naked through Coventry before I change my ways.”
Before beginning this quest to help Coventry, Godiva told everyone to stay in their homes to preserve her modesty. She then rode through the streets, her long hair draped so that it covered almost her whole body, allowing only her legs and eyes to remain visible. However, one man, now known as Peeping Tom, disobeyed her instructions and couldn’t help looking out at Godiva riding through Coventry on the horse. Upon doing so, the legend goes, he was instantly blinded.
Lady Godiva is a legitimate historical figure, having been born in 990 AD. It is unknown when she died, although it was assumed to be between 1066 and 1086. The real Godiva was known for being generous to the church. However, despite this historical legitimacy, there is little evidence that her ride through Coventry took place due to the lack of contemporary records about it. The story first appeared approximately one hundred years after her death and the monk, Roger of Wendover, who recorded it was known for stretching the truth in his writings.
The Peeping Tom character was added to the story in the sixteenth century. The character of ‘Peeping Tom’ is now a common parlance in the United Kingdom for a voyeur.
The Lady Godiva Clock Tower in Coventry depicts both Lady Godiva on her horse and Peeping Tom. Donald Gibson aided City Apprentices in the making of the Godiva Clock Tower. The sculptor, Trevor Tennat, carved the figures of Godiva and Peeping Tom from wood. At first, the clock did not have a good reception with many finding it crude, although it did prove to be popular with tourists and children. On the hour, the right door of the clock opens and Lady Godiva rides naked on her horse across the front of the clock before exiting through the left door. Meanwhile, the window above opens and reveals the face of Peeping Tom. The clock has been sculpted with detail as the doors which Godiva enters from have a black eagle on a yellow background – the symbol of the Earl of Leofric.
The clock was unfortunately broken in 1987 in the celebrations that followed Coventry’s FA Cup win. In the excitement, people climbed on things to get a good view of the processions, and the Clock Tower was apparently a good place to stand.
Further marks of Lady Godiva’s legendary ride through the streets live on in the statue, built by Sir Williain Reid Rick in 1949, in the city centre. It was built as a morale booster, symbolic of Coventry’s regeneration, after the wartime bombings.
The legend also lives on in the name of the local annual music festival, the Coventry Godiva Festival, which celebrates its twentieth anniversary this year. Origins tracing back to 1190, the story of Lady Godiva was told by monks in a procession through the streets. The first recorded Godiva Procession, originally named The Great Fair, was in 1678.
Lady Godiva has been the muse of many paintings. John Collier in 1897 painted her naked but covered by her long hair, on a white horse covered in a red cloth. However, Edmund Blair Leighton’s depiction in his 1892 painting was very different – she is completely covered in a white dress, suggestive of purity. Leighton’s depiction reflects her desire to preserve her modesty by asking the town not to look out their windows.
The Godiva legend has also spread far beyond Coventry in the name of the Godiva Chocolatier, a company founded in Brussels with now more than 450 stores worldwide. It also inspired a line in one of Queen’s most popular songs, ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’, namely the lyrics “I’m a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva”. With the song reaching platinum status in both the US and UK, it’s unlikely that this medieval legend will be forgotten any time soon.