The story of Lady Godiva galloping naked on a horse through the streets of Coventry — is one of the most popular English legends. The old English city is flooded with postcards, souvenirs and statues with this plot.
According to legend, Lady Godiva, the beautiful wife of the local Lord Leofric, Earl of Mercia, was struck by the surrounding poverty and begged her husband to abolish the merciless taxes he imposed on the people of his county. However, Leofric said that he would fulfill her wish, but only on one condition: she must ride naked on a horse across the city. The cunning count was sure that a woman of her rank would never agree to this.
However, Godiva did not back down. On the appointed day, she ordered the city residents to lock themselves at home, closing all the shutters. Only one guy named Tom dared to disobey. The sky punished the insolent man, and he went blind before he saw Lady Godiva in Eva's outfit. After this ordeal, the woman returned to her husband, who kept his word and lowered taxes.
The story first appeared in 1188, while its heroes lived a century and a half earlier. Leofric was an Anglo-Saxon earl who built a Benedictine monastery in 1043, which soon transformed Coventry from a small settlement into the fourth largest medieval city in England. His wife, Godiva, survived him by 10 years. She was very pious and donated lands and money to the church.
The legend of Lady Godiva is believed to have originated from pagan fertility rituals that remained in Europe for a long time and were sometimes mixed with Christian traditions. She was popularized in the writings of the 13th century Norman chronicler Roger Windover. Although many historians doubt that this case existed in history.
However, Coventry residents established an annual celebration in honor of Lady Godiva back in 1678. In addition, grateful descendants erected a monument to Lady Godiva in Coventry and still celebrate this day as a holiday. And since 1998, Coventry Memorial Park has annually hosted a grand three-day festival with free concerts, entertainment and mass celebrations, during which city residents celebrate its historical connection with Lady Godiva.
Among the traditional events of the — festival are the procession of scantily clad Godives, a colorful carnival in 11th century costumes, live music, many songs and, of course, fireworks.
In general, the image of Lady Godiva is quite popular in art and work — poems and novels are dedicated to her, the image is recreated in marble, on tapestries, on paintings by painters, in cinema, etc. The asteroid 3018 Godiva is even named after Lady Godiva.
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