Lady Godiva statue, thanks to Coventry City Council
Circa 1035AD Lady Godiva rode naked on her horse through Coventry at midday on market day to stop her husband, Leofric, collecting the Heregeld tax that funded King Canute’s guard.
Godiva was a sponsor of local arts who felt Leofric’s taxes hurt the people of Coventry and asked him to cease. Mocking her love of the arts, Leofric replied that as the Greek and Roman artists worshipped the nude his wife should ride through the city naked. Godiva surprised him when she did.
Her long blonde hair covered much of her body but she asked locals not to watch her. One man, a tailor, now called Peeping Tom, looked and was blinded.
Records show that tax collection, except for one levied on horses, ceased in Coventry at that time and Leofric became a keen funder of the church.
The players in this story: Godiva | Leofric | Peeping Tom | King Canute