Talk:Lady Godiva

Another Literature Note
Edward Rutherfurd also wrote about her in one of his books. The problem is that I can't remember which one. I'd have to check. I'm fairly certain that it's Sarum, but just not 100%. In any case, her story is told and it uses her original name. MagnoliaSouth (talk) 19:05, 21 April 2009 (UTC)

More Info Needed
The article states: "Her mark, 'di Ego Godiva Comitissa diu istud desideravi', appears on a charter purportedly given by Thorold of Bucknall to the Benedictine monastery of Spalding. However, this charter is considered spurious by many historians.[8]"

It is apparent that mark = charter, but what is this, and what is the purpose and cultural significance.

Also, what does the latin actually translate to?

Pvtbuddie (talk) 06:20, 20 April 2008 (UTC)pvtbuddie

Patroness of Engineers
Lady Godiva is also the patron saint of engineers - does anyone know more about where this comes from and care to add it to the article? -lommer 23:58, 14 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Actually shouldent this be moved to Lady Godiva? G-Man 00:14, 15 Mar 2004 (UTC)

She is not the patron saint of engineers. She is not a saint. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.208.114.13 (talk) 08:40, 29 August 2008 (UTC)


 * She should be a saint.--Jack Upland (talk) 23:40, 9 January 2020 (UTC)


 * Perhaps she escaped the notice of the Popes even in the early mediaeval period. No miracles were ascribed to her, the usual basis for canonisation.Cloptonson (talk) 18:12, 4 February 2024 (UTC)

Domesday Book women
Godiva wasn't the only female landowner mentioned in the Domesday Book. There are two Anglo Saxon woman mentioned together in Wiltshire. Leofgyth, who was the widow of a citizen of London and later married Otto the goldsmith held Knook and another widow,Aelfhild, held Hartham.I'm sure there are others.


 * Queen Edith, Einarr's stepmother, Countess Judith, Queen (Matilda?), Siward the Priest's wife, Wulfgeat's wife, Wulfgeat's wife's mother and Wulffaed - Wulfgeat's mother, for example. This is without looking for feminine names such as Gytha and Leodflæd, or leaving Lincolnshire. (RJP 10:10, 26 July 2005 (UTC))

Is there actually more than one Godiva being discussed in this article? Surely the same Godiva who is alive in 1085 is not the same as the naked horse-riding Lady Godiva...I mean, "Godgifu" is probably not a rare name. Maybe I'm just confused by all the birth- and death-dates that currently appear in various places. Adam Bishop 05:29, 10 Dec 2004 (UTC)


 * I too, have trouble with the dates. Chambers Biographical Dictionary gives her date of death as 1080. Hereward, who was not her youngest son, was born about 1035, which would make her about 55 at the time, if she was born in c.980. (RJP 10:10, 26 July 2005 (UTC))


 * Godiva did not die in 1080, nor in 1067. Her death date is not recorded.  As far as Domesday, I have rephrased the article.  Godiva is mentioned, *not living* in Domesday as someone who *had* held property here and there (without dates).  At the time of Domesday, that property was in the hands of other people, so we do not quite know when she gave it up or when they took it, so we cannot say when she died.  And she wasn't alive.  I believe the original editor meant something closer to "she held the land *through* the Conquest" in order words it wasn't seized in 1066.  That implies only that she lived then, not that she lived at Domesday, which she clearly didn't. Wjhonson 23:44, 22 August 2007 (UTC)


 * Higham and Ryan say that the Domesday Book lists her as a landowner in 1086. FangoFuficius (talk) 10:42, 24 January 2023 (UTC)

Godiva did not have a son called Hereward, (I'm guessing you are referring to Hereward the Wake), she had a son Ælfgar and a daughter, (I have never been able to find conclusive evidence for her name). (Saliaria 21:35, 10 August 2006 (UTC))

Could anyone tell me the source for a daughter? Thanks.Liam guilar 23:29, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

Historical Importance
Where is the historical importance of Lady Godiva? This should be a necessary part of the article. 12/21/05

Apart from her role as benefactress, wouldn't that be two fold? 1) In the family politics of Eleventh century England, although lacking the flamboyant dysfunction of the Godwines, her family played a crucial part in the events leading up to 1066. Her Grandaughter is the last Queen of Anglo-Saxon England, though Harold is thought to have married her to keep her brothers on his side and their inactivity (Godiva's Grandsons) after Hastings probably contributed significantly to the Norman take over. 2) The earliest latin version of the story of her ride could be used as evidence for how quickly Anglo-Saxon assumptions about the legal and financial rights of women had not only disapeared from the writer's culture, but were unknown to him. (The story of the ride makes no sense in the light of what is known about Godgifu's historical legal situation.)Liam guilar 23:44, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

Somebody edited this stating that in 1043 Leofric founded and endowed a monastery and how Roger of Wendover credits Godiva as a force behind it ..How is this possible if she was born in 1040? She would have had to be 3 years old then ...Somebody needs to correct this.. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.125.195.25 (talk) 04:18, 24 November 2009 (UTC)

Patroness of Engineers?
What? Is this something particularly Eurpean or something? RJFJR 14:50, 9 November 2005 (UTC)


 * Many Canadian engineering faculties use the Lady Godiva song (U of A and Waterloo for example).

Music Section
I notice a number of recent edits to to the music section of this article. Many of these are unclear, unspecific or sentence fragments. I also wonder how noteworthy a number of them are. An article probably shouldn't consist of a catalog of every time a mythological figure is mentioned.

Since a number of the citations appear to be very minor mentions of Godiva within a song, I would like to propose a removal of all songs other than ones which make major use of the Lady Godiva imagery. At this time this Appears only to be the Velvet Underground and the Peter and Gordon songs. (If any of the other songs are more significant, someone would have to elaborate to make their significance clear).

Thoughts? ~CS 22:27, 5 December 2005 (UTC)

A week and a half later and there have been no objections -- I'm going to be bold and go ahead and remove them. ~CS 01:50, 16 December 2005 (UTC)

Looks like they're starting to creep back in :-/ --Co149 17:18, 31 May 2006 (UTC)
 * It's pretty difficult to discourage people from adding bits of trivia like this. I think that a bulleted list is an acceptable format; if it's unacceptably long it can be put into two columns or even broken out into a "List of musical references to ..." article. Think more in terms of channeling water, than damming it. ;-) --Dhartung | Talk 22:40, 31 May 2006 (UTC)
 * No, no, the real solution is to stop making songs about Lady Godiva :-) Seriously, I'm with you on the rechanneling idea.  Maybe we can let it go for six more months or so to see how it develops, and just try to keep the punctuation in line.  Godiva's pretty popular, maybe we'll get enough material to branch out by then.  There's more than just music, too, and not yet any mention of a famous Dr. Seuss book.  --Co149 03:09, 1 June 2006 (UTC)
 * ...Except under "See also", where it might not belong. --Dhartung | Talk 04:00, 1 June 2006 (UTC)
 * I put it there because I recalled it was more of an original story than a retelling of the (one) Lady Godiva tale. I could be wrong.  Powers 11:18, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

Think it's time for another cull here? not only is the music section bloated again, but the other misceleny are filled with non-notible one-line references to the character. This article shouldn't be a depository for every reference ever made to Lady Godiva. ~CS 17:57, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

"Godiva ride"
What specifically does the École Polytechnique massacre have to do with the decline of "Godiva rides"? If I understand correctly, the perpetrator simply went into a building and started shooting. There is no indication (at least in the École Polytechnique massacre article) that this was during such a ride, that the EP ever held such rides, or that the resulting rise in Canadian feminism led to any specific action against such rides, either at the EP or elsewhere. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 151.204.105.10 (talk • contribs).

Essentially, the Godiva Ride is seen as anti-feminist, which in the wake of an anti-feminist killing spree, does not go over well. Engineering societies themselves therefore backed down on the tradition to avoid some bad publicity.  I don't know much about this personally as I hadn't heard of a Godiva ride before coming to this page (despite studying engineering), but maybe that just goes to show how much it's declined? 65.95.10.216 (talk) 01:13, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

Giddyap!
I actually thought of putting this picture in there, as an example of a "Godiva ride", but it appears someone else beat me to the point with a painting of Godiva herself. &mdash; Rickyrab | Talk 00:49, 14 December 2006 (UTC)
 * Where's Peeping Tom? Colin4C (talk) 20:48, 5 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Holding the camera? :P —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.197.27.152 (talk) 11:12, 16 May 2010 (UTC)

Lady Godiva's Horse
Does anyone know the name of Lady Godiva's horse? This question appears in a crossword puzzle and we have not found the answer. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 208.251.36.2 (talk) 21:38, 25 January 2007 (UTC).


 * Aethenoth ClemMcGann 09:15, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Death
What is the source for the exact death date in this article? I'm tagging it, because I believe it's legendary or perhaps unsourced entirely. Wjhonson 17:58, 14 August 2007 (UTC)


 * Since no one has entered a source, I have reverted her life-dates back to what the DNB shows which is "fl 1040-1080". These aren't dates of birth and death, only a range in which she lived.  Doesn't imply exactly when she was born or died. Wjhonson 23:46, 22 August 2007 (UTC)

Exposure, I presume? --78.159.146.26 (talk) 06:08, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

According to www.FamilySearch.org Lady Godiva was born about 980 and died Sep 10, 1067 you need to search for last name Mercia first name Godiva. She had children born in 1002 and 1004. Godiva Countess Of MERCIA B: Abt 0980 Of, Mercia,, England D: 10 Sep 1067 M:  1030 This death date also matches the story of her living in 1066. Legend is that the ride took place in the second half of the 11th century which would have made her a senior citizen at the time of her ride. Peeping Tom must have been very perverse to want to see the old lady make her ride. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Lookinhere (talk • contribs) 10:52, 12 September 2008 (UTC)
 * That sounds reasonable, but what are their sources? MagnoliaSouth (talk) 19:10, 21 April 2009 (UTC)


 * Since the only sources presented for her exact death, are a personal website by an amateur writer, and two books on folklore, I have again reverted her birth and death date information to what the DNB is showing.Wjhonson (talk) 02:25, 19 May 2009 (UTC)


 * Anyone wishing to again state that she died exactly in 1067, or even with an exact date, should review again, what we do and don't know at this link where *all* the primary statements about her have been collected.Wjhonson (talk) 23:14, 19 May 2009 (UTC)

Rise of the Legend
When did the legend arise with her in it? The article now states that the famous ride was not documented in her time. So when DID it arise? My WAG would be about the time of Mallory and other such revival/revisionists. But that is blatant speculation. --Wolfram.Tungsten (talk) 19:19, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

good sources
I have added the Oxford DNB, which is the bbest general source and some books. I have removed some non authoritative blogs and web sites. DGG (talk) 15:07, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

Legends sharing related themes
I advise adding such a section. I haven't done any exploration but I know by chance an example of a legend from the Balkans sharing some similar themes. The legend is about a peasant’s daughter who is very intelligent and beautiful and helps him pass a set of hard trials imposed to him by the landlord. In the last trial the landlord finds out that it his daughter who helped the peasant and asks from him as a last trial to send her to his palace while she will have to arrive nor riding neither walking and nor clothed neither naked. She arrives the next day, parading trough the town riding a goat and wearing only a fisherman’s net as clothes. Finally the landlord marries her. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.68.139.108 (talk) 09:40, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

OE Translation of "Godgifu"
This is just a very minor detail, but as noted in your second citation "The Historical Godiva" by Octavia Randolph and in Sweet's Anglo-Sixon Primer (Ninth Edition), the word "god" in OE can mean either "god" or "good." "Godgifu" can mean either "god's gift" or "good gift." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.215.181.113 (talk) 04:31, 12 November 2008 (UTC)

Degree of nakedness
I thought it was a very interesting point that — if there's an historical basis to the legend — Godiva might have ridden in her shift as a penitent. That seems so plausible. The article goes on to say that, however, "naked" never means anything but stark naked. I wonder, though, how many of the sources are in Latin; the gullible and anecdotal Roger produced his work in Latin. In Latin "naked" is nudus (or in Godiva's case, nuda), which can mean "stripped" or "stripped down" as well as, well, buck-nekkid. Nudus in reference to a warrior can mean fighting without armor, and not necessarily balls-to-the-breezes. Nudus can also mean "unadorned," left plain, which may have contributed to the notion that she rode without jewelry, though that seems a little pointless, undramatic and lame. You'd have to compare Latin usage in various sources for the time period in which the Godiva sources were written, and that would require dauntingly specialized knowledge. It would be interesting, though, for someone with access to check the OED on the historical usage of "naked," to see whether it's true that during the time of the earliest English sources "naked" can only mean completely in the buff. Cynwolfe (talk) 03:29, 14 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Wearing a shift wouldn't be memorable. But since you ask, the OED says: Having no clothing on the body, stripped to the skin; unclothed, nude. Formerly also: †wearing only an undergarment (obsolete). So there you go.--Jack Upland (talk) 05:26, 6 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Thanks - you realize you are adding to a 15-yo thread? One rather wonders how the Victorian lexicographers could get that sort of detail from very old mentions! Johnbod (talk) 17:15, 6 August 2023 (UTC)
 * I think if a thread is here there's nothing wrong with replying to it. OED isn't Victorian. It was published in 1989.--Jack Upland (talk) 03:56, 7 August 2023 (UTC)
 * You think? Read OED - most of it is unchanged since the original edition. "N" was in fact published in 1908, but the research had been going on since the 1860s. Johnbod (talk) 04:24, 7 August 2023 (UTC)
 * The entry that I copied from was actually the online version. It is updated from the 1989 version. I don't know what the original version was like, but the entry has obviously revised, for what it's worth.--Jack Upland (talk) 02:39, 10 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Why "obviously"? Usually when they say some meaning is "obselete", they mean it stopped being used in 1700 or so. Now you've made me look it up, & in 1908 it was: "Unclothed, having no clothing on the body, stripped to the skin, nude. Also occas †having only an under-garment on." Johnbod (talk) 03:12, 10 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Well, it doesn't matter anyway. There is no source as far as I know that says Godiva was wearing a shift.--Jack Upland (talk) 03:31, 10 August 2023 (UTC)

Coventry City Council
Is it worth mentioning their logo? It's a silhouette of the faces of a female and a horse, appearing not only on official documents and their website but also all the 'gateway' road signs - presumably intended to be representative of Lady Godiva... Mittfh (talk) 11:34, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

Trivia inaccuracy, sort of
In the firstly mentioned Frasier episode, the lady was actually wearing an Eve costume, and Frasier started a conversation with her, asking if she was Lady Godiva. Since both costumes would not include clothes in the traditional sense, the factoid may actually be correct (:

The name "Peeping Tom" for a voyeur originates from later versions of this legend[?]
"The name "Peeping Tom" for a voyeur originates from later versions of this legend in which a man named Tom had watched her ride and was struck blind or dead."

This strikes me as unlikely. "Tom" is one of several names used in English to denote everyman, any man, and often a common, lower-class, or working man. Compare "every/any Tom, Dick, and/or Harry", "every man Jack" and so on. In this case, I think we can safely conjecture that the legend was backformed from a stock phrase describing a voyeur. That the name Tom became attached to this activity might have been influenced by the sexual connotations from the use of tom to denote a male cat. (Compare our current use of "tomcatting" to describe the behavior of men on the sexual prowl.) The addition to the legend seems likelier to have arisen from the phrase than the other way around.

Someone who can address this question with more authority might want to qualify the present assertion.

Michael (talk) 21:09, 6 December 2009 (UTC)


 * For many years I have understood Peeping Tom to have been (a) a nameless male as you say and (b) a punishment by the Church. The article says he was struck blind as if it were fact not myth yet does not say how. My understanding is that the ride goes much much further back into legend and myth and like the myths of Arthur and Merlin the most recent accounts are just that - the most recent. The ride was that of the May Queen on Mayday and could have happened in many places but in Coventry the church took a dim view and forbade anyone to look. "Tom" was caught and blinded as an example, or else it never happened and was just a threat. I am very skeptical about this being anything to do with local taxes as the article claims and I can't find any evidence this was so.

Robotics1 (talk) 13:00, 11 December 2010 (UTC)

Moved trivia to here for now
Not sure how much of this, if any, is appropriate for an encyclopedia article. --Malleus Fatuorum 03:30, 25 January 2010 (UTC)

Trivia, including references to the subject of an article in popular culture (i.e. television and music) are often included in the article on Wikipedia. As you can see at Trivia_sections, it is not necessary to completely remove the trivia section from the article. I've added the trivia section back - it's an interesting part of the article. While that may not be relevant, I don't see any good reason for it to be moved to the talk page. --AF1990 (talk) 16:53, 1 February 2010 (UTC)


 * I, however, disagree. I feel it's better on the talk page. It totally overwhelms the actual facts about Godiva and little of it contributes to any understanding of Godiva. If you want, you could always create a Lady Godiva in Popular Culture article, as there are so many mentions. Ealdgyth - Talk 16:57, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

Good suggestion, I'll create the article and place the trivia there, with a link on the article, similar to Hercules. --AF1990 (talk) 17:04, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

Oh well, the Lady Godiva in popular culture page was mysteriously deleted but it seemed like a perfectly good article. I was just trying to help improve wikipedia but I'll just go off and do something else now :) --AF1990 (talk) 17:18, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

Disregard that, apparently I was on a different page, different capitalization = different page? --AF1990 (talk) 17:23, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

Music
Several popular songs make contemporary usage of the Lady Godiva image. These include:
 * Eartha Kitt's "Champagne Taste" from her 1961 live album, In Person At The Plaza, includes the lyrics "And it wouldn't surprise me if a lady like Godiva had someone like you to give her the stole/For with her champagne taste and your beer bottle pocket/when she couldn't get those dresses she just let down all her tresses and forgot she was a lady after all."
 * The Velvet Underground's "Lady Godiva's Operation" on their 1968 LP, White Light/White Heat, referring to a transwoman who dies at the hands of her surgeons during a sexual reassignment-turned-lobotomy.
 * Peter and Gordon's "Lady Godiva" (UK: single Columbia DB 8003 P.1966, best place in British Charts: # 16, 22.09.1966 ;US: LP "Lady Godiva" (S) T 2664 Capitol Records-EMI P. 1967; FRANCE: EP "Lady Godiva" Columbia ESRF 1824 P. 1967) sing this about a woman who becomes involved in a burlesque show. Like Coventry's Lady Godiva, the Lady Godiva of the song has long flowing hair that covers her body. However, the song has her hair cut, as she "doesn't need it long any more."
 * Grant Lee Buffalo's song "Lady Godiva and Me" from their 1994 album, Mighty Joe Moon, includes references to Peeping Tom.
 * Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show recorded the song "Hey, Lady Godiva."
 * Mother Love Bone recorded a song, "Lady Godiva Blues," on their 1992 self-titled album and on the reissue of Apple.
 * Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" sees Freddie Mercury "passing by like Lady Godiva."
 * Simply Red recorded "Lady Godiva’s Room" on their 1992 EP Montreux
 * Aerosmith's song "My Girl" from their album, Pump, contains the line, "My girl's a Lady Godiva."
 * In Peter Gabriel's song "Modern Love" from his self-titled 1977 album, he states "For Lady Godiva I came incognito."
 * Boney M's song "Lady Godiva" was released in 1993 on the album Boney M. More Gold.
 * Groucho Marx's song "Lydia the Tattooed Lady" mentions one of the tattoos being "there's Godiva but with her pyjamas on"
 * Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass had a 1967 hit, "Lady Godiva."
 * Toots & the Maytals recorded the song "Peeping Tom" in 1970 on the album Monkey Man
 * Mother Love Bone has a song called "Lady Godiva Blues" as a bonus track on their 1990 studio album Apple
 * King Khan & The Shrines' song 'The Ballad of Lady Godiva' is the last track on their 2007 album 'What Is?!'

Classical music and opera
The plot of Mascagni's opera Isabeau is based on the story of Lady Godiva.

Vitezslav Novak composed an overture for a play based on the story of Lady Godiva in Prague in 1907.

Literature

 * "Godiva" (1842), a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.
 * Hereward the Wake (1866), a novel by Charles Kingsley, features Lady Godiva as a character.
 * "Women in Love" (1916), a novel by [DH Lawrence] features a sculpture entitled Lady Godiva; a character refers the name to "the middle-aged wife of some Earl or other, who covered herself with her long hair," and is mocked.
 * Guli ("The Heart"), a poem by Galaktion Tabidze, includes a mention of Lady Godiva.
 * "Boston" (1928) a novel by Upton Sinclair, references Lady Godiva on page 652.
 * The Seven Lady Godivas: The True Facts Concerning History's Barest Family (1939), a short illustrated novel by Dr. Seuss.
 * Kaputt (1944), a novel by Curzio Malaparte, includes a mention of Lady Godiva.
 * "Ariel" (1965), a poem by Sylvia Plath includes a mention of Lady Godiva.
 * "Nicotine," a poem by Ezra Pound mentions Lady Godiva.
 * King Hereafter (1982), a novel by Dorothy Dunnett features Lady Godiva as a character.
 * Inshalla (1992), a novel by Oriana Fallaci has a small subplot centered on the purchase of a sex doll called Lady Godiva.
 * "Godiva: The Viking Sagas" (2004), a novel by David Rose.
 * "Godiva" (2008), a historical novel by Nerys Jones, who died while the book was in press, relates the tumultuous events of 1042 culminating in the events of the legend and features Lady Godiva as the heroine.
 * "Naked" (2008), a short story by Louise Hawes, part of her book of retold fairytales; "Black Pearls, A Faerie Strand."

Television

 * Dorothy Reynolds portrayed Lady Godiva in the BBC TV series Hereward the Wake (1965).
 * In the Charmed episode "The Bare Witch Project," a student in Magic School accidentally conjures Lady Godiva and Lord Dyson out of a history book. Later, Phoebe, inspired by Lady Godiva, decides to ride naked through a crowded street in support of women's liberation.
 * In an episode "The Godiva Affair" of the British sitcom Dad's Army, women in the town of Walmington-on-Sea compete for the part of Lady Godiva to head a carnival procession in the town, ultimately performed by Elizabeth, the wife of Captain Mainwaring, causing him to collapse in astonishment and shame.
 * The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling featured a character named Godiva who rode to the ring on a horse and wore a sheer bodysuit.
 * The Histeria! episode "Tribute to Tyrants" featured a sketch about the legend of Lady Godiva, portrayed by the World's Oldest Woman.
 * In one Frasier episode, a costume party is held with the theme of characters from literature. Frasier (played by Kelsey Grammer), dressed as the Bishop of Bath from The Canterbury Tales, sees a woman in a flesh-colored bodystocking (played by Grammer's real-life wife, Camille Donatacci), and guesses that she's Lady Godiva.  She says she's Eve from the Bible, leading Fraiser to say, "Now I know why it's called the Good Book!"
 * In another Frasier episode, the character of Maris was involved in an unfortunate chemical bonding incident while performing a Lady Godiva impression on a horse saddle her husband Niles Crane had bought her.
 * In the 'Twelve Hungry Men' episode of Hancock's Half Hour, a spoof of Twelve Angry Men, Hancock demonstrates his mangled view of the Godiva legend by comparing it to the case in hand: "Take the case of Doubting Thomas who was sent to Coventry for staring through a keyhole at Lady Godiva. Can anybody prove he was looking at her? Can anybody prove it was he who shouted 'Get your hair cut!'?"
 * In the Blackadder Goes Forth episode "Private Plane," Captain Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson) describes the Royal Flying Corps as "the biggest show-offs since Lady Godiva entered the royal enclosure at Ascot claiming she had literally nothing to wear."
 * In the Round the Twist episode "Linda Godiva," Linda helps Pete win a cross-country horse race by being invisible, she is later turned visible and is seen riding the horse naked.
 * In the first episode of The Vicar of Dibley, several characters reminisce about when Letitia Cropley rode through Dibley stark naked in a Lady Godiva reenactment.
 * In the Seinfeld episode "The Apology," Jerry's girlfriend regularly walks around in his apartment naked, and at one point he refers to her as "Lady Godiva."
 * The title of Canadian comedy-drama series Godiva's is an allusion to Lady Godiva.
 * In an episode of Time Squad Larry showed Otto videos of previous missions and in one of these missions Lady Godiva was riding her horse naked while Tuddrussel ran after her, trying to persuade her to wear some clothes.
 * In an episode of Spin City, the mayor's rebellious daughter rides naked though Central Park,New York City in protest.
 * In the 1970s TV series Maude, the opening song, sung by Donny Hathaway, includes the lyrics, "...Lady Godiva was a freedom rider, she didn't care if the whole world looked."
 * In the episode "Dead Uncles and Vegetables" from the second season of Gilmore Girls, the grocer Taylor Doose refers to the rejected troubador running the farmer's market as Lady Godiva because of his long hair.
 * In the 3-hour pilot episode "Oil" from the first season of Dynasty, Blake Carrington complains that his headstrong and flirtatious daughter Fallon "thinks she's some kind of Lady Godiva."
 * In the Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman episode "The Race" Hank, the saloon keeper, suggests that if Dr. Quinn rides like Lady Godiva in the race "folks might go for it". In other words, she would be allowed to compete in the males only horse race.

Film

 * Lady Godiva (1911) the first film telling of the story starring Julia Swayne Gordon and produced by the Vitagraph company.
 * Lady Godiva (1928), a British silent short with Gladys Jennings in the title role.
 * The Ghost Talks (1949), a short film featuring the Three Stooges in a slapstick send-up of the Lady Godiva legend. The film changes key elements of the legend, eliminating Tom's blindness as his penalty and inventing a relationship between the tailor and the Lady. After an encounter between the Stooges and a haunted, empty suit of armour occupied by the spirit of Peeping Tom, the Stooges act out the ghost's narrative of the events of the famous day in costumes based on the clothing of a period many years later than the life of the historic Godiva.
 * Lady Godiva of Coventry (1955) starring Irish actress Maureen O'Hara in the title role.

Sports

 * Lady Godiva is the name of a women's Ultimate team from Boston, Massachusetts.

Video games

 * The title "Lady Godiva" can be obtained in the game Warhammer Online when a player summons their mount in a capital city while not wearing any armor.


 * In FIFA: Road to World Cup 98, commentator Andy Gray refers to a goalkeeper who is left exposed by his defenders: "Lady Godiva had more cover than he's had!"

Charmed TV show episode...
This is a trivial mention of Godiva, if we listed every time something mentioned Godiva, it'd overwhelm the article with mentions. See WP:TRIVA and WP:POPCULTURE Ealdgyth - Talk 16:51, 1 February 2010 (UTC)

What "mention"? She was a featured character in the episode. Dimadick (talk) 08:38, 3 February 2010 (UTC)


 * And what information does that add to our understanding of Lady Godiva? None. That's why it's not appropriate for this article, which is about Lady Godiva, not an episode of some TV serial. --Malleus Fatuorum 14:16, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

I am not suggesting we add an extensive summary of the episode. Just mention it among "depictions in fiction" Dimadick (talk) 07:35, 4 February 2010 (UTC)


 * What do her depictions in fiction tell us about Lady Godiva? The correct place for this material is the Lady Godiva in popular culture article. --Malleus Fatuorum 15:20, 4 February 2010 (UTC)

What did "Naked" mean?
I visited Coventry today (October 1 2011) and saw information there on Lady Godiva said something about what "Naked" really meant. It said that it probably did not mean that she had literally no clothes on. Perhaps the disputes about what "naked" means in Lady Godiva's case could go in the article. ACEOREVIVED (talk) 21:34, 1 October 2011 (UTC)
 * There is some details in the "Legend" section on the different theories. If you have more sources to back up these or another one then by all means add to the section. Keith D (talk) 23:53, 1 October 2011 (UTC)

Salic law is not the only reason a husband ends up dominating a highborn wife
Even though the Saxons didn't follow Salic law that doesn't mean they were wide open to women disobeying their husbands. Like the rest of Christendom, a man got to tell his wife what to do. So the idea that a Countess in her own right could disobey her husband's edicts is quite faulty and should be omitted from this article.

Godiva was the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia. He would have set taxes in Coventry and elsewhere, not her Salic law is irrelevant. Godiva had not inherited power, she married the Earl.Royalcourtier (talk) 07:03, 19 March 2014 (UTC)

several citation tags long not answered - also, this article goes to far treating this as fact rather than legend
I know of NO mainstream reputable historian that treats this as any more than legend based on very scrappy evidence. I would like to see the names of 'scholars' that put forth she actually rode around nude on a horse, let alone actually existed.HammerFilmFan (talk) 23:07, 28 October 2012 (UTC)
 * Bullshit. The article clearly distinguishes between the undoubted historical figure - name one historian who DOESN'T believe she existed - and what is clearly said to be the legend. Johnbod (talk) 01:35, 29 October 2012 (UTC)

Requested move 03 December 2013

 * The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section. 

The result of the move request was: not moved Armbrust The Homunculus 19:05, 10 December 2013 (UTC)

Lady Godiva → Godiva – This article is about a historical person and should be treated like one. It is not about a legend that is based on historical person (possibly King Arthur), but about a person who is the subject of legend (like Roderic). Making an exception to WP:HONORIFIC in this case confuses the lady and the legend. Srnec (talk) 15:53, 3 December 2013 (UTC)

Survey

 * Feel free to state your position on the renaming proposal by beginning a new line in this section with  or  , then sign your comment with  . Since polling is not a substitute for discussion, please explain your reasons, taking into account Wikipedia's policy on article titles.


 * Oppose per WP:COMMONAME. Most reliable English language sources seem to refer to her as "Lady Godiva". This is basically also listed as one of the exceptions of WP:HONORIFIC: "when a honorific is so commonly attached to a name that the name is rarely found in English reliable sources without it, it should be included." Under Wikipedia's policies on article titles, I fail to understand the rationales to move the page on grounds that we should treat the article primarily has a historical figure (when most reliable sources seem to primarily talk about the legend first, and the real person as secondary); and on grounds to prevent possible confusion between the legend and the actual person. IMO, that seems to be more based on editors' opinion or original research than what the reliable sources say. The story and legend of Lady Godiva has evolved through the centuries quite differently than Roderic (who appears to not have a honorific in his most common name), and the current practices of the latter's article do not necessarily apply to the former's page (see also Other stuff exists).Zzyzx11 (talk) 04:42, 4 December 2013 (UTC)
 * "Godiva" on its own is enough to identify the figure of legend in most cases. "Lady Godiva", while common, is not necessary even to identify the legendy. So why treat her differently than all other Anglo-Saxon ladies? The article as it stands has almost as much history as legend. The ODNB titles its article "Godgifu". Srnec (talk) 03:50, 5 December 2013 (UTC)


 * Oppose. Overwhelmingly her WP:COMMONNAME. Historical or not, she's entered mythology under this name. -- Necrothesp (talk) 15:13, 4 December 2013 (UTC)
 * Oppose per others. Godgifu would be the correct alternative, but who knows her as that? The use of "lady" in the text should be drastically reduced though. Johnbod (talk) 15:58, 4 December 2013 (UTC)
 * Godiva/Godeva is a contemporary Latinisation, I believe. The ODNB titles its article "Godgifu". Srnec (talk) 03:50, 5 December 2013 (UTC)

Discussion

 * Any additional comments:
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

Mother of Hereward the Wake?
Godiva and Leofric are often reported to have been the parents of Hereward the Wake, the Saxon who led a long and celebrated rearguard fight/rebellion against William the Conqueror. It may not be historically true, but it is part of the legend of both Godiva and Hereward and so is worth recording. Cassandra. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.12.107.7 (talk) 15:22, 24 June 2014 (UTC)


 * Lady Godiva is mentioned with a speaking part, as an old woman, in Charles Kingsley's novel, Hereward the Wake. I recall reading that book but not thoroughly enough to see if it retrospectively mentioned her past ride ('past' at the time of the novel's post-1066 setting) in Coventry. However, Hereward's rebellion was surely later than the 1067 Leofric's widow is said to have died in?Cloptonson (talk) 20:56, 29 July 2016 (UTC)

Peeping Tom and Actaeon - any published account linking their legends?
Twice in the section on Peeping Tom I see documented references to him being alternatively identified as someone named "Action" allegedly pronounced Actaeon. I wonder if any published accounts have suggested links between the legends of Lady Godiva's ride and the death of Actaeon in Greek mythology? (The latter sometimes portraying Actaeon as seeing the goddess Artemis (the Roman Diana) in her al fresco bath and being punished by her by being turned into a stag and hunted to death by his own hounds.) Both have connotations with voyeurism and both feature a male supernaturally punished for looking upon a naked female.Cloptonson (talk) 21:13, 29 July 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 2 external links on Lady Godiva. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20060622104755/http://itsa.ucsf.edu/~snlrc/britannia/flowers/godgifu.html to http://itsa.ucsf.edu/~snlrc/britannia/flowers/godgifu.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20100522061144/http://www.parsons55.net/godiva/ to http://www.parsons55.net/godiva

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 00:36, 20 May 2017 (UTC)

1066 and all that
Godiva is described as "English" in the introduction. Perhaps it would be better to describe her as "Anglo-Saxon", to emphasise the point that she was a noblewoman from before the Norman Conquest. It is important to recognise that, when it is said that no contemporary records of the ride exist, shortly after the ride allegedly happened her country ceased to exist.--Jack Upland (talk) 00:00, 10 January 2020 (UTC)

"Lady Godiva syndrome" listed at Redirects for discussion
The redirect [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lady_Godiva_syndrome&redirect=no Lady Godiva syndrome] has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at  until a consensus is reached. Jay 💬 14:32, 3 May 2024 (UTC)