Today, she is mainly remembered for a legend dating back to at least the 13th century, in which she rode naked β covered only by her long hair β through the streets of Coventry to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation that her husband, Leofric, imposed on his tenants.
The name "Peeping Tom" for a voyeur originates from later versions of this legend, in which a man named Thomas watched her ride and was struck blind or dead. Godiva was the wife of Leofric , Earl of Mercia. Since the name was a popular one, there are contemporaries of the same name. A woman named Godiva was recorded in the 12th century history called " Liber Eliensis " of Ely Abbey.
If that "Godiva" were the same person as [the legendary figure ] 'Lady Godiva', then she would have been a widow when Leofric married her. Both Leofric and Godiva were generous benefactors to religious houses. In , Leofric founded and endowed a Benedictine monastery at Coventry [ 3 ] on the site of a nunnery destroyed by the Danes in Writing in the 13th century, Roger of Wendover credits Godiva as the persuasive force behind this act of generosity.
In the s, her name is coupled with that of her husband on a grant of land to the monastery of St. The manor of Woolhope in Herefordshire , along with four others, was given to the cathedral at Hereford before the Norman Conquest by the benefactresses Wulviva and Godivaβusually held to be the Godiva of legend and her sister. The church there has a 20th-century stained glass window representing them. Her signature, Ego Godiva Comitissa diu istud desideravi "I, The Countess Godiva, have desired this for a long time" , 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. After Leofric's death in , his widow lived on until her mid-fifties and died sometime between the Norman Conquest of and The place where Godiva was buried has been a matter of debate.
