Authors: Eliza Redgold
Naked (31 page)
In this novel I have utilized an idiosyncratic poetic translation of
Beowulf
, lines 1–11, by Cheryl Hazama (2007, California State University) available at
http://www.csun.edu/~ceh24682/beowulf.html.
My thanks to Professor Scott Kleinman at California State University for his advice regarding this translation. He points out that “Awesome Earl” in line six corresponds to “egsode eorl” in the original, and “egsode” is a verb (literally, “awed”). For my purposes, “awesome” proved irresistible. Thank you, Cheryl Hazama. My thanks also to my fellow author, Carol Hoggart, for delving among dusty library shelves to find other versions.
I have included two Anglo-Saxon riddles, numbers 25 and 54 from the
Exeter Book of Riddles
(still hilarious after a millennium). The translations from Old English were kindly provided by Dr. Megan Cavell and Dr. Matthias Ammon. If you enjoyed these riddles do visit their “Riddle Ages” Web site at
http://theriddleages.wordpress.com/.
Over the centuries, there have been many versions of the Godiva legend (but that’s another story). I have utilized both primary and secondary historical sources. From my shelves,
inter alia
, I highly recommend:
Donoghue, Daniel. (2003).
Lady Godiva: A Literary History of the Legend
. Oxford: Blackwell. An inspiring nonfiction sourcebook about Godiva including where to see paintings and sculptures.
Giles, J.A. (Trans.) (1849).
Roger of Wendover’s Flowers of History, Comprising the history of England from the descent of the Saxons to A.D. 1235; formerly ascribed to Matthew Paris.
London: Bohn’s Antiquarian Library. A medieval source of the Godiva tale. [e-version].
Heaney, Seamus. (1999).
Beowulf.
London: Faber. An award-winning translation of the ancient poem.
Lacey, Robert, and Danziger, Danny. (1999).
The Year 1000: What Life Was Like in the First Millennium
. London and New York: Little, Brown and Company. An accessible month-by-month guide to the Anglo-Saxon year.
Swanton, Michael. (Ed. and Trans.) (1996).
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
. London: J.M. Dent. The old text that is central to our knowledge of English history.
• Historical Godiva
http://www.octavia.net/books/godgyfu/historicalgodiva.htm
• Coventry and Warwickshire
http://www.visitcoventryandwarwickshire.co.uk/
• Historic Coventry
http://www.historiccoventry.co.uk/
• Godiva Sisters/Tours
http://www.godivainspires.co.uk/
A Love Story to Change History
We all know the legend of Lady Godiva, who famously rode naked through the streets of Coventry, covered only by her long, flowing hair. Or have seen her portrait, even if adorning a box of Belgian chocolates. So the story goes, she begged her husband Lord Leofric of Mercia to lift a high tax on her people, who would starve if forced to pay. He cruelly demanded a forfeit: that Godiva ride naked on horseback through the town. It’s something many twenty-first-century women might balk at even for charity—calendar girls aside. There are various happy endings to Godiva’s ride: that all the townsfolk of Coventry closed their doors and refused to look upon their liege lady, and that her husband, in remorse, lifted the tax. Other additions to the tale include the famous Peeping Tom (who actually appeared in the sixteenth-century versions of the myth) the only one of the townsfolk who couldn’t resist a glance who was struck blind.
Though the legend has lasted for centuries, being revived periodically, often during periods of change and liberation in women’s lives, there’s dispute over exactly what, if anything, Godiva wore on her famous ride, or even if it occurred. Historical fact and a good story don’t always go hand in hand. Some historians certainly call it a myth. Yet there’s no doubt that Lady Godiva was a real person who lived in eleventh-century Anglo-Saxon Engla-lond. Whatever the facts, she has remained captivating.
Lady Godiva, or Countess
Godgyfu
in the Anglo-Saxon version of her name, spent some of her life in what is now called the British Midlands. The area surrounding Coventry is heavily industrialized and bears little resemblance to the largely rural land of her time when it would have been interspersed with villages huddled around common pastureland. Close by, the Forest of Arden would have stretched for many more wooded miles than it does today. As it was to Shakespeare, Arden would have been well known to Godiva.
In my telling of the story I’ve placed Godiva and Leofric in 1023, at a time not much is known about either of them. Leofric and Godiva’s names first appear entwined in records in 1035. Their marriage was believed to be some time before.
Anglo-Saxon Engla-lond was a tough time and place for a woman. Constant Danish invasion by those later called Vikings, though the Saxons called them Danes, occurred many times in the tenth and eleventh century. By Godiva’s lifetime, the Dane law was the rule in much of East Anglia and the English eastern coast. Records suggest that Godiva was more than equal to the challenges of her day. Her name appears in records as the only female landowner who retained her lands not only against the Danes but also later against the Norman invasion of 1066. Her status as a landowner indicates that she inherited her own estate. I have placed Godiva firmly as the heiress and defender of “the Middle Lands.” Saxon noblewomen could inherit and govern property and some were certainly warriors. Many were also peace weavers or in old Anglo-Saxon
fripwebba
. These women were known to marry a man from an opposing tribe to establish peace or end war. Queen Wealtheow, Godiva’s heroine in
Beowulf
, was such a woman. To be a peace weaver was a mantle of honor worn by any Saxon wife who kept the peace in her home, brave and loyal.
It was also the right of Saxon noblewomen to approve their own husband—upheld by a ruling of King Canute, the Danish king on the throne in England at the time I have set this story. Godiva may well have chosen Leofric. In his lifetime, he was a Saxon hero who fought hard against the Danish invasion. Godiva and Leofric’s enemy, Thurkill the Tall, was also a real person who at one stage took control of Mercia during Lord Leofric’s lifetime as part of a Danish attempt to quash the mighty Saxons. When and where he died is uncertain. But his name would certainly have been known and was probably a curse to Leofric and Godiva.
I have woven real historical events together with Leofric and Godiva’s fictional love story as well as embroidering the legend. However, ancient records suggest their marriage was a strong one, and may indeed have been a love match. By the end of their marriage, Leofric and Godiva together supported monasteries, built abbeys and churches, and aided the poor, with the help of Brother Aefic of Evesham. The original cathedral in Coventry was founded by Godiva and Leofric as a monastic site. Godiva also donated rich garments and jewelry to the city, including bequeathing a valuable silver necklace.
History has been hard on Lord Leofric. In most of the Godiva stories Leofric of Mercia is definitely the villain of the piece, ready to impose heavy taxes and to ignobly allow his wife to carry out her daring ride. Yet by the end of his life, historical documents reveal Lord Leofric was a changed man. My explanation: he fell in love.
My research revealed other interesting facts about Leofric—if facts they be at all. He had three brothers, the elder, Northman, and two younger, Godwin and Edwin. Rumors in the early eleventh century do imply he betrayed his brother Northman and aligned with King Canute but there is limited historical evidence of such a fraternal betrayal. It could easily have been propaganda. As I continued to investigate I became convinced such stories about him were unfounded. Leofric of Mercia was no
huscarl,
though there were many Saxon noblemen who joined King Canute’s secret mercenary force. In my view, Leofric of Mercia was not one of them. Was Edmund a
huscarl
? Did he exist? Was there someone else in Peeping Tom’s house? We’ll never know for sure.
We do know that Leofric and Godiva had a long marriage. They had one son, Elfgar, who became the Earl of Mercia after Leofric’s death in 1057. His daughter Eadlgyth—Godiva’s granddaughter—had two marriages, the second to Harold II, the King of Engla-lond who was killed in the Norman invasion of 1066 led by William the Conqueror. Godiva’s family became not merely Saxon nobility but Saxon royalty.
It’s the legend of Lady Godiva herself that has stood the test of time. Rides as penitents like the one Godiva undertook were practiced in that period—though Godiva’s nakedness was certainly unique. By all accounts, whether fact or fiction, she was a unique woman. Her courage continues to inspire us, her story to be told, even after a thousand years.
According to the
Domesday Book
, approximately seventy families lived in Coventry in Godiva’s lifetime. Today it has 300,000 inhabitants. In Coventry city center is Godiva’s Trail: the location of her famous ride. You can walk or ride the marked trail and there are plenty of delights to be found for the Godiva fan. Another Godiva tourist site is medieval Spon Street where Godiva is said to have completed her journey. On the site where she is believed to be at rest with her lord, not far from where she made her famous ride, Godiva’s spirit still lingers in the air with Leofric’s.
Loyalty. Self-sacrifice. Passion.
True love.
Laid bare.
Eliza Redgold
St. Agnes’
Eve, 2014 AD
ELIZA REDGOLD
is a pseudonym based upon the Gaelic meaning of Dr. Elizabeth Reid Boyd’s name. Dr. Boyd has presented academic papers on women and romance and is a contributor to the forthcoming
Encyclopedia of Romance Fiction
. She is coauthor of
Body Talk: A Power Guide for Girls
and
Stay-at-Home Mothers: Dialogues and Debates
. She was born in Irvine, Scotland, and currently lives in Australia. You can sign up for email updates
here
.
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