Historical Figures
Lady Godiva
Lady Godiva was an 11th century noblewoman of Coventry, England who protested her husband’s excessive taxation of his subjects. He agreed to alleviate his taxation policy if she would ride a horse through the streets of Coventry naked. She willingly did so and used the ride to provocatively demonstrate the poverty and vulnerability of her subjects. While the factual basis of the story remains debatable, Godiva’s virtuous and compassionate nature would make her an appealing subject for artists and writers. She was especially popular during the 19th century, when radical changes resulting from modernization and massive immigration provoked a cultural nostalgia in Europe and America for the seemingly simpler era of the Middle Ages. Godiva’s sense of social justice would also find sympathy with 19th-century reformers.
Adapted from
Olivier Meslay, DMA unpublished material, 2011
Web Resources
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Lady Godiva, Historic UK
Learn more about Lady Godiva at the Historic UK website. -
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Lady Godiva
Read the poem that inspired this sculpture. -
John Collier's Lady Godiva
View a painting of Lady Godiva on Wikiart. -
Lady Godiva Wikipedia
Learn more about Lady Godiva on Wikipedia. -
Dictionary of National Biography, Godiva
Read more in depth about Lady Godiva on Wikisource.