Why was lady godiva famous?

Answer 1

She Is Actually My Ancestor:)she Was Famous For Riding Bare Throught he Town so her husbnd,Leofric,Earl of Mercia would cut taxes.she told everyone to close there doors and not to go outside,but legend had it that one Man Looked(PERV!!)Named Tom And Was Instantly Struck Blind,Well There You Go

Answer 2

Lady Godiva was the lady, wife of Leofric, the Earl of Mercia. Earl Leofric was one of the all-powerful lords who ruled England under the Danish King Canute. Lady Godiva was a rich landowner in her own right and one of her most valuable properties was Coventry. Leofric was a tyrant, he tyrannized the Church and did not hold the same religious convictions as his wife, nor her fondness for the Midlands and its population. He demanded from the people of Coventry an oppressive tax called the Heregeld. the tax paid for King Canute's bodyguard and Leofric made sure that the people of Coventry paid it! Lady Godiva pleaded with Leofric to stop this hated tax and he is reputed to have said, "You will have to ride naked through Coventry before I will change my ways". He was quite sure that his demure, modest wife would never do such a thing. One version of the story said that before her 'ride', Godiva sent out messengers to go throughout the town insisting that all the people stay indoors with their windows shuttered on the day. As she was very popular with the people (unlike her husband) and every taxpayer realized that they stood to gain from her 'heroic act', they did as she requested. Lady Godiva took him at his word, and on Market Day in Coventry she rode naked, veiled only by her long golden hair. As her hair was long enough to cover all her body, only her face and legs could be seen. Leofric was so stunned by the whole incident that he believed it was a miracle that no one had seen his wife's naked body, and he immediately "freed" the town from paying the hated Heregeld, and at the same time ceased his persecution of the Church he also appears to have undergone a religious conversion after this incident and he and Godiva funded a Benedictine monastery in Coventry where they were both reportedly buried. Unfortunately all traces of this monastery have long since disappeared. The annual Coventry Fair kept alive the Godiva story until the Reformation when the festival was banned and it was not revived until 1678. From this time on Godiva rode through the streets on a snow-white horse, The Godiva Procession has been revived in recent years and takes place annually in June.