The English city of Coventry has long been famous for its beautiful legend. She tells about the wonderful story of Lady Godiva (or Godgif, and there are also from 50 to a hundred different spellings of this name). Everything happened supposedly in the middle of the eleventh century. In those days, Edward the Confessor ruled England, known for his motivation and inability to farm. Since there was a shortage of money in the country, the king could not think of anything better than raising taxes. Residents of different regions of England began to resent because they already paid huge amounts of money. The titled persons had the right to charge them. In Coventry, it was the Earl of Mercia Leofric, the ruler of the city and the husband of Lady Godiva.
The legend also says that citizens for a long time begged their overlord not to make them beggars, but he was hard as a flint. In the end, the kind and pious wife of the count also began to beg him to pity his subjects in every possible way. After another request, Lady Godiva’s husband told her in his hearts that it was as impossible for him as she could ride a horse naked through the streets of the city, and that if the spouse decided to do such an act, then he would abolish cruel taxes. Unexpectedly for the husband, the woman agreed. She, as legend has it, sat naked on her beloved horse and rode through the streets of the city, and its inhabitants allegedly sat at home and did not appear outside. Only one of them, "peeking Tom," tried to look at this marvel in the crack , but then he went blind. After this, Count Leofrick, bound by the feudal word of honor, was supposed to reduce taxes.
But how much truth is there in this beautiful story? Does Lady Godiva’s efforts to reform the tax system in her hometown confirm? This story itself is based on only one source - the monastery chronicle, which was written by a brother Roger Wendrover after a hundred and a half years. No other information about the incident was found. As for the biography of the main character, Lady Godiva from Coventry really existed. Documents show that she first married at a very young age, and almost immediately became a widow. Around 1030, she became very ill and bequeathed her entire fortune to a monastery in the small town of Ili. But the woman managed to recover, and soon she married Earl Leofrick, already known to us. Since he was the lord of Coventry, the aristocrat moved there.
Historians also claim that both spouses were very pious and in every possible way donated funds to monasteries and churches. Some medievalists write that this was done disinterestedly. For example, in 1043, the Count and his wife laid a Benedictine monastery near Coventry . As a rule, in such cloisters there were relics to which pilgrims rushed. Indeed, after some time, the city became very prosperous and took fourth place in the country in economic development. Perhaps in connection with this, the count decided to raise taxes, also wanting to get his share of the total wealth? Moreover, the couple did not spare land and money for the monastery. They were buried in him after death.
Be that as it may, already in the 14th century the English kings tried to find out whether there is any truth in the legend, the heroine of which is Lady Godiva. Its history has become very popular, and therefore experts were convened to study various chronicles. They found confirmation that from 1057 to the seventeenth century the inhabitants of the city were indeed exempted from some burdensome taxes. But whether this was due to the beautiful horsewoman, or whether the reason for this phenomenon was something else, remains a mystery. On the other hand, the period of 11-12 centuries is a time in European history, when many events are mentioned exclusively in the monastery chronicles. Therefore, it is possible that the legend of Lady Godiva is believable. After all, why not?