[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Yes. She was the wife of Leofric (968–1057), Earl of Mercia.

The popular story about her -- that she was concerned about the way her husband was overtaxing the people of Coventry and begged him to take some pity, that he finally told her he would grant her wish if she would ride through the streets of Coventry naked, that she did so in order to help the people of Coventry, that all the people went inside and shut their doors and windows so as not to embarrass her (except for one Tom, who peeked through his shutters and became the first "peeping Tom"), and that her hsuband kept his promise and relaxed the taxes -- is probably just legend. It was, however, a common form of penance for women at the time to make a public procession in the equivalent of a modern slip. Godiva might have done that at some point, and that may have given rise to the legend, which appeared in writing as early as the 13th Century.

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