God's gift: Godiva's body
A woman's body is rarely just that. The female form has long carried symbolism for good and evil, with images of revered madonnas and shunned temptresses, bodies to be cherished and used, rarely considered simply. Perhaps the day women achieve full equality will arrive only when such images can separate from lumps of tissue and bones.
Meanwhile Godiva remains best known not for her good works, but for her naked stroll. Ironically, the two are one.
The most popular imagery of legendary Lady Godiva shows her exaggerated locks of hair cascading along her unclothed body, as she rides a horse through Coventry in England. What day the famous ride actually occurred in 1057 is unknown, but the people of Coventry began to commemorate the event with a traditional procession beginning on May 31, 1678 and continuing well into the 20th century.
Godiva, or "Godgifu" (god gift), was a real Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who lived in Coventry. She was married to Leofric, Earl of Mercia and wealthy landowner. Together they are credited with considerable donations to monasteries and other religious causes, a practice she continued after her husband's death.
Legend has it that Leofric taxed the residents of his lands oppressively. Moved by their poverty and suffering, Godiva begged him to ease up. He refused, finally telling her in frustration he would do so when she rode naked through the streets.
She took him at his word. It's said when he learned of her sacrifice, he kept it.
What "naked" means has been debated. Penitents of that time were made to walk publicly in their shifts, basically underwear in the form of a thin, white tunic. Some say her "nakedness" may have been similar. Others say noblewomen were "naked" when they didn't wear jewelry or other adornments, the symbols of their class. However, according to BBC interviews with scholars, the word "naked" at the time generally meant the same thing it does today.
Another aspect to the legend brought us a modern idiom: Peeping Tom. As the story goes, before beginning her ride Lady Godiva issued a proclamation requesting all to stay indoors with shutters closed. Only a tailor named Tom peeked through a hole in his shutter to see her pass - perhaps the most famous of Western voyeurs.
Godiva's lead is still followed. This year's British "Nudity for Charity" experiment, now closed, featured volunteers who shared photos in exchange for charitable donations. The "Calendar Girls" movie (PG-13) starring Helen Mirren chronicled the poignant story of a group of older ladies who rather tastefully stripped for a cause, one of many such calendars here and abroad.
Renaissance philosopher and humanist Michel de Montaigne wrote that man is the sole animal whose nudity offends his own companions. Godiva was way ahead of him.
Sholeh Patrick is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Email [email protected]