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Ben Ashford Despite being entrenched in popular culture as a definitive event, this infamous ride probably didn’t take place. If it did, Lady Godiva wasn’t ‘naked’ in the modernday sense. According to historical documentation, Lady Godiva – named Godgifu in Old English – was an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman and wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, in the 11th century. This is a certified fact, with Godiva mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as one of a few women to remain significant landholders under the new Norman regime. Her legendary ride, however, isn’t certified. According to the story, due to her husband’s harsh taxation of the people of Coventry, Godiva appealed for him to remit the tolls until he agreed on the proviso that she ride naked through the city. She took her husband at his word. The first mention of this story originates in Roger of Wendover’s Flores Historiarum, a muchdisputed collection of anecdotes completed in the 14th century.