Fact, Fiction, Myth or Legend?

They had a reputation of gifting money to religious causes and founded a priory in Coventry. I was proud to be one of the volunteers digging the site as a child.

Another one, Dante. Funnily enough, he literally wrote his own legend lol. He's the author who wrote his own story about how he went through the seven layers of hell

It's sort of like King Arthur. He was real, Guinevere (or rather, Gunhumura, her historically accurate name) was real, perhaps The Knights of the Round Table may have been based on some kind of truth as well, but Merlin and Excalibur and the lady of the lake and all that certainly weren't

Originally Godgifu, 'God-gift' and her husband Leofric, 'Love-ruler'.

I had a search and found sources and accounts of the historical and mythical narratives within this. The earliest accounts known are 100 or so years after the said event so there is no reliable evidence of the processional ride. 

https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol8/pp242-247#fnn1

The University of Surrey has in interesting piece on its blog. I like the sonnet at the end.

https://blogs.surrey.ac.uk/medievalwomen/2016/10/17/lady-godiva-gift-of-god/

There are accounts of later Godiva processions staged in Coventry in the seventeenth and early eighteenth century. Regarding these later processions, the historian Daniel Donoghue says folklorists turn to fertility goddesses while other scholars suggest a lost text where Godiva figuratively strips herself of rank.

She was a real person. I'm from Coventry and this was an important part of our medieval history. True or not, the 'naked ride' spawned a lovely bronze statue and a wonderful clock with 'peeping Tom,' both of which enhanced the city centre in my childhood. 

I could if I remember them, I came across Godivas story when doing my degree and can't remember everyone of the hundreds of books and articles I read.

TheCatWoman said:

The part about the naked ride is true,

Can you share your sources on this please?

All I have read on the subject make no mention about this aspect until approx 150 years after her death so it is widely considered to be journalistic license and not fact.

If you have a more authoritative source then I would be interested to see it.

One apparently well researched source is: https://historyfacts.com/world-history/article/was-lady-godiva-real/  

The part about the naked ride is true, although the Victorians mangled it. Part of the role of queen or the lady of the manor was being a peaceweaver, the chief diplomat and last resort of appeal against injustice. The intercession of the Lady of the Manor or Queen, gave the king or lord of the manor an honourable way to grant mercy and not lose face, it also put the the other party under final warning. 

Godiva's ride was shocking to her own people, that her husband Leofric hadn't listened to her and was acing rashly and against custom had forced her to take such extreme measures, to publically humiliate him, show him as tyranical and without mercy or, and just as importantly lacking respect for her and her role as peaceweaver.

Peace weavers are an interesting thing to look at in more depth and have a long history going back to Roman times among Germanic tribes. You can see the echo's of this role in medieval manuscripts, that show a queen on her knees, one arm raised, before the King, this is a formal pose, in demanding to be heard and ask for mercy or a change of mind, it wasn't always granted, but it could show the king was resolute in his path and all paths to a peaceful resolution had been followed. It seems ot have fallen out of practice by the end of the Norman period and early Plantagenets.

I used to love mythology and bought a copy of Larousse World Mythology as a child. Now you've mentioned it, I might buy a copy to riffle through. Lady Godive was real but the 'naked' ride is part myth. It's interesting how myths reflect partial reality. There was a great documentary on this with Bettany Hughes - or was it Ben Fogle. I can't recall!