Lady Godiva by John Collier, ca 1897

Godiva (or Godgifu) (fl. 1040-1080) was an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who, according to legend, rode naked through the streets of Coventry in England in order to gain a remission of the oppressive toll imposed by her husband on his tenants. The name "peeping Tom" for a voyeur comes from later versions of this legend in which a man named Tom watched her ride and was struck blind. Godiva may refer to more than one article: Lady Godiva, an 11th century Anglo-Saxon noble Godiva (poem), a poem written by Alfred Tennyson Godiva (chocolatier), an Belgian chocolate maker GODIVA, a Swiss heavy metal band 3018 Godiva, an asteroid Lady Godivas Operation is a song by The Velvet... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 571 pixelsFull resolution (900 × 642 pixel, file size: 54 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Lady Godiva by John Collier, c. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 571 pixelsFull resolution (900 × 642 pixel, file size: 54 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Lady Godiva by John Collier, c. ... In the Venusberg Tannhauser (1901), oil John Maler Collier (January 27, 1850–April 11, 1934) was a British writer and painter in the Pre-Raphaelite style. ... For other uses, see Anglo-Saxon. ... “Clothes free” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Coventry (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Peeping Tom may refer to: A person in the legend of Lady Godiva A person who engages in voyeurism Peeping Tom (film), a 1960 film directed by Michael Powell Peeping Tom (song), a song by the band Placebo from their album Black Market Music Peeping Tom (Rockwell song), a song... Voyeurism is a practice in which an individual derives sexual pleasure from observing other people. ...

The historical figure

Godiva was the wife of Leofric (968 – 1057), Earl of Mercia. Her name occurs in charters and the Domesday survey, though the spelling varies. The Anglo-Saxon name Godgifu or Godgyfu meant "gift of God"; Godiva was the Latinised version. Since the name was a popular one, there are contemporaries of the same name.^[1] Leofric (born 968, died 31 August or 30 September 1057) was the Earl of Mercia and founded monasteries at Coventry and Much Wenlock. ... Events Births Emperor Kazan of Japan Ethelred II of England Romanus Argyrus, later Romanus III of the Eastern Roman Empire. ... Events King Macbeth I of Scotland is killed in battle against Malcolm Canmore. ... The Kingdom of Mercia at its greatest extent (7th to 9th centuries) is shown in green, with the original core area (6th century) given a darker tint. ... A line drawing entitled Domesday Book from Andrew Williamss Historic Byways and Highways of Old England. ...

If she is the same Godgifu who appears in the chronicles of Ely, Liber Eliensis (end of 12th century), then she was a widow when Leofric married her. Both Leofric and Godiva were generous benefactors to religious houses. In 1043 Leofric founded and endowed a Benedictine monastery at Coventry.^[2] Writing in the 12th century, Roger of Wendover credits Godiva as the persuasive force behind this act. In the 1050s, her name is coupled with that of her husband on a grant of land to the monastery of St Mary, Worcester and the endowment of the minster at Stow St Mary, Lincolnshire.^[3][4] She and her husband are commemorated as benefactors of other monasteries at Leominster, Chester, Much Wenlock and Evesham.^[5] (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... // Events Edward the Confessor crowned King of England at Winchester Cathedral. ... St Benedict of Nursia (c. ... Roger of Wendover (d. ... The city of Worcester (pronounced Wuh-ster) is the county town of Worcestershire in England; the river Severn runs through the middle, with the citys large Worcester Cathedral overlooking the river. ... For other places with the same name, see Lincolnshire (disambiguation). ... , For the Leominster in the United States, see Leominster, Massachusetts. ... This article is about Chester in England. ... Much Wenlock is a town in Shropshire, England. ... Location within the British Isles The Market Place in Evesham, circa 1904 Evesham (or the Sham as it is known to its inhabitants) is a middle-sized, rural market town in Worcestershire, England. ...

The manor of Woolhope in Herefordshire, along with three others, was given to the cathedral at Hereford before the Norman Conquest by the benefactresses Wulviva and Godiva - usually held to be this Godiva and her sister. The church there has a 20th C stained glass window showing them (you can see it at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mymuk/1097578497). Woolhope is a village in Herefordshire, England, about 7 miles east of Hereford. ... Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county and unitary district (known as County of Herefordshire) in the West Midlands region of England. ... , Hereford (pronounced or ) Welsh: (pronounced Henforth) is a city and civil parish in the West Midlands of England, close to the border with Wales and on the River Wye. ... Bayeux Tapestry depicting events leading to the Battle of Hastings The Norman Conquest of England was the conquest of the Kingdom of England by William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy), in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings and the subsequent Norman control of England. ... Anglo-saxon noblewoman. ... Strictly speaking, stained glass is glass that has been painted with silver stain and then fired. ...

Her mark, "di Ego Godiva Comitissa diu istud desideravi", appears on a charter purportedly given by Thorold of Bucknall to the Benedictine monastery of Spalding. However, this charter is considered spurious by many historians.^[6] Even so it is possibly that Thorold, who appears in the Domesday Book as sheriff of Lincolnshire, was her brother. Spalding Priory was a small Benedictine house in the town of Spalding, Lincolnshire. ... A line drawing entitled Domesday Book from Andrew Williamss Historic Byways and Highways of Old England. ...

After Leofric's death in 1057, his widow lived on until sometime between the Norman Conquest of 1066 and 1086. She is mentioned in the Domesday survey as one of the few Anglo-Saxons and the only woman to remain a major landholder shortly after the conquest. By the time of this great survey in 1086, Godiva had died, but her former lands are listed, although now held by others.^[7] Thus, Godiva apparently died between 1066 and 1086. One web-page, without specifying its source, states that she died on September 10, 1067.^[8] Bayeux Tapestry depicting events leading to the Battle of Hastings The Norman Conquest of England was the conquest of the Kingdom of England by William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy), in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings and the subsequent Norman control of England. ... Events January 6 - Harold II is crowned September 20 - Battle of Fulford September 25 - Battle of Stamford Bridge September 29 - William of Normandy lands in England at Pevensey. ... Events Domesday Book is completed in England Emperor Shirakawa of Japan starts his cloistered rule Imam Ali Mosque is rebuilt by the Seljuk Malik Shah I after being destroyed by fire. ... is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events Constantine X emperor of the Byzantine Empire dies. ...

The place where Godiva was buried is a matter of debate. According to one source, she was probably buried at the Church of the Blessed Trinity at Evesham,^[9] which is no longer standing. However, the novelist Octavia Randolph says that Godiva was buried next to her husband at the priory church in Coventry.^[10] The old and new cathedrals The exterior of the new cathedral Coventry Cathedral, also known as St. ...

Dugdale (1656) says that a window with representations of Leofric and Godiva was placed in Trinity Church, Coventry, about the time of Richard II. Sir William Dugdale (September 12, 1605 - February 10, 1686) was an English antiquary. ... Richard II (January 6, 1367 – February 14, 1400) was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan The Fair Maid of Kent. He was born in Bordeaux and became his fathers successor when his elder brother died in infancy. ...

The legend

A statue of Lady Godiva in central Coventry

According to the popular story, the beautiful Lady Godiva took pity on the people of Coventry, who were suffering grievously under her husband's oppressive taxation. Lady Godiva appealed again and again to her husband, who obstinately refused to remit the tolls. At last, weary of her entreaties, he said he would grant her request if she would ride naked through the streets of the town. Lady Godiva took him at his word and, after issuing a proclamation that all persons should keep within doors or shut their windows, she rode through, clothed only in her long hair. Only one person in the town, a tailor ever afterwards known as Peeping Tom, disobeyed her proclamation in one of the most famous instances of voyeurism.^[11] In the story, Tom bores a hole in his shutters so that he might see Godiva pass, and is struck blind.^[12] In the end, Godiva's husband keeps his word and abolishes the onerous taxes. Download high resolution version (545x699, 181 KB)Statue of Lady Godiva in Coventry city centre. ... Download high resolution version (545x699, 181 KB)Statue of Lady Godiva in Coventry city centre. ... For other uses, see Coventry (disambiguation). ... Peeping Tom may refer to: A person in the legend of Lady Godiva A person who engages in voyeurism Peeping Tom (film), a 1960 film directed by Michael Powell Peeping Tom (song), a song by the band Placebo from their album Black Market Music Peeping Tom (Rockwell song), a song... “Voyeur” redirects here. ...

The oldest form of the legend has Godiva passing through Coventry market from one end to the other while the people were assembled, attended only by two knights.^[13] This version is given in Flores Historiarum by Roger of Wendover (died 1236), a somewhat gullible collector of anecdotes, who quoted from an earlier writer. The later story, with its episode of "Peeping Tom", appeared first among 17th century chroniclers. The Flores Historiarum (Flowers of History) is a Latin chronicle dealing with English history from the creation to 1326 (although some of the earlier manuscripts end at 1306). ... Roger of Wendover (d. ... // Events May 6 - Roger of Wendover, Benedictine monk and chronicler of St Albanss Abbey dies. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ...

At the time, it was customary for penitents to make a public procession in only their shift, a sleeveless white garment similar to a slip today and one which was certainly considered "underwear". Thus, some scholars speculate, Godiva may have actually travelled through town as a penitent, in her shift. Godiva's story may have passed into folk history to be recorded in a romanticised version. Another theory has it that Lady Godiva's "nakedness" may refer to her riding through the streets stripped of her jewellery, the trademark of her upper class rank. However, both these attempts to reconcile known facts with legend are weak; there is no known use of the word "naked" in the era of the earliest accounts to mean anything other than "without any clothing whatsoever".^[14] Fashionable young men in early 16th century Germany showed a lot of fine linen in a studied negligence. ... Upper class refers to the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. ...

Moreover, there is no trace of any version of the story in sources contemporary with Godiva, a story that would certainly have been recorded even in its most tame interpretations. Additionally, with the founding of Coventry circa 1043, there was little opportunity for the city to have developed to an extent that would have supported such a noble gesture. Lastly, the only recorded tolls were on horses. Thus, it remains doubtful whether there is any historical basis for the famous ride.

Like the story of Peeping Tom, the claim that Godiva's long hair effectively hid her nakedness from sight is generally believed to have been a later addition (compare Rapunzel). Certain other thematic elements are familiar in myth and fable: the resistant Lord (Esther and Ahasuerus), the exacted promise, the stringent condition and the test of chastity. Even if Peeping Tom is a late addition, his being struck blind demonstrates the closely knit themes of the violated mystery and the punished intruder (compare Diana and Actaeon). Illustration by Johnny Gruelle Rapunzel is a German fairy tale in the collection assembled by the Brothers Grimm, and first published in 1812 as part of Childrens and Household Tales. ... The word mythology (from the Greek μυολογία mythología, from mythologein to relate myths, from mythos, meaning a narrative, and logos, meaning speech or argument) literally means the (oral) retelling of myths – stories that a particular culture believes to be true and that use the supernatural to interpret natural events and... For a comparison of fable with other kinds of stories, see Myth, legend, fairy tale, and fable. ... Esther (1865), by John Everett Millais Esther (Hebrew: , Standard  Tiberian ), born Hadassah, was a woman in the Hebrew Bible, the queen of Ahasuerus (commonly identified with either Xerxes I or Artaxerxes II), and heroine of the Biblical Book of Esther which is named after her. ... Ahasuerus or Ahasverus (Hebrew אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ, Standard Hebrew AḥaÅ¡veroÅ¡, Tiberian Hebrew ʾĂḫaÅ¡wÄ“rôš) is a name used several times in the Hebrew Bible and related legends and apocrypha. ... Diana was the equivalent in Roman mythology of the Greek Artemis (see Roman/Greek equivalency in mythology for more details). ... Actaeon, sculpture group in the cascade at Caserta In Greek mythology, Actaeon (or Aktaion), son of Aristaeus and Autonoe in Boeotia, was a famous Theban hero, trained by the centaur Cheiron, who suffered the fatal wrath of Artemis (or her Roman counterpart Diana). ...

Popular culture

• The Godiva procession—a commemoration of the legendary ride instituted on May 31, 1678, as part of Coventry fair—was celebrated at intervals until 1826. From 1848 to 1887, it was revived and continued into the 21st century.
• The wooden effigy of Peeping Tom which, from 1812 until World War II, looked out on the world from a hotel at the northwest corner of Hertford Street, Coventry, can now be found in Cathedral Lanes Shopping Centre. It represents a man in armour and was probably an image of Saint George. Nearby, in the 1950s rebuilt Broadgate, an animated Peeping Tom watches over Lady Godiva as she makes her hourly ride around the Godiva Clock.^[15]
• From the mid 1980s a Coventry resident, Pru Porretta, has adopted a Lady Godiva role to promote community events and good works in the city. In 1999 Coventry councillors considered eliminating Godiva from the city's public identity.^[16] As of 2005, Porretta retains the status of Coventry's unofficial ambassador. Each September Poretta marks the occasion of Lady Godiva's birthday by leading a local pageant focusing on world peace and unity known as The Godiva Sisters. In August 2007, the Godiva Sisters was performed in front of 900 delegates from 69 countries attending the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children Biennial Conference held at the University of Warwick.
• Godiva was immortalized anew in the poem Godiva by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.
• Dr. Seuss wrote a short illustrated novel in 1939 entitled The Seven Lady Godivas: The True Facts Concerning History's Barest Family based on the character.
• Godiva, the chocolatier, was named after Lady Godiva.

is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events August 10 - Treaty of Nijmegen ends the Dutch War. ... The oldest surviving photograph, Nicéphore Niépce, circa 1826 1826 (MDCCCXXVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1848 (MDCCCXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. ... 20XX redirects here. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Saint-George is a municipality with 695 inhabitants (as of 2003) in the district of Aubonne in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. ... Godiva is a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. ... Lord Tennyson, Poet Laureate Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (August 6, 1809 - October 6, 1892) is generally regarded as one of the greatest English poets. ... Theodor Seuss Geisel (March 2, 1904 – September 24, 1991) was an American writer and cartoonist best known for his classic childrens books under the pen name Dr. Seuss, including The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and One Fish Two Fish Red... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Seven Lady Godivas is a 1939 childrens book by Dr. Seuss. ... Godiva is a chocolate manufacturer, founded in 1926 in Brussels, Belgium and introduced in the United States in 1966. ...

Engineering mascot

In many^{[attribution needed]} university engineering faculties, military engineering corps and other engineering organisations, Lady Godiva is regarded as a mascot and called the "Patron Saint of Engineers" or "Goddess of Engineering". The origin is unclear, although it probably developed in Britain, where several early engineering schools were founded during the industrial revolution. The practice migrated to North America through Canadian schools, such as the University of Toronto which today holds an annual "Godiva Week" in January consisting of events intended to engender school spirit. By the mid-20th century, the practice of engineering organisations associating themselves with Lady Godiva was well established in the United States. Representation of a university class, 1350s. ... Engineering is the applied science of acquiring and applying knowledge to design, analysis, and/or construction of works for practical purposes. ... A military engineer is primarily responsible for the design and construction of offensive, defensive and logistical structures for warfare. ... A Watt steam engine, the steam engine that propelled the Industrial Revolution in Britain and the world. ... The University of Toronto (U of T) is a public research university in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ...

A particular tradition associated with this is that of drinking songs, which make reference to Lady Godiva, particularly Godiva's Hymn. A drinking song is a song sung while drinking, that is, consuming alcohol. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Historically, certain college organisations staged an annual "Godiva Ride" in which a naked female (or a costumed male) rode a horse across campus.^[17] This practice may have declined with the advent of modern feminist attitudes.^[18] Feminism is a social theory and political movement primarily informed and motivated by the experience of women. ...

Music

Several popular songs make contemporary usage of the Lady Godiva image. These include:

• The Velvet Underground's "Lady Godiva's Operation" on their 1968 LP, White Light/White Heat, referring to a transwoman who dies at the hands of her surgeons during a sexual reassignment-turned-lobotomy.
• Peter and Gordon's "Lady Godiva" (1966) is about a woman who becomes involved in a burlesque show. Like Coventry's Lady Godiva, the Lady Godiva of the song has long flowing hair that covers her body. However, the song has her hair cut as a condition to her performing in the burlesque show.
• Grant Lee Buffalo's song "Lady Godiva and Me" from their 1994 album, Mighty Joe Moon, includes references to Peeping Tom.
• Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show recorded the song "Hey, Lady Godiva".
• Mother Love Bone recorded a song, "Lady Godiva Blues", on their 1992 self-titled album.
• Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" sees Freddie Mercury "passing by like Lady Godiva".
• Simply Red recorded "Lady Godiva’s Room" on their 1992 EP Montreux
• Aerosmith's song "My Girl" from their album, Pump, contains the line, "My girl's a Lady Godiva."
• In Peter Gabriel's song "Modern Love" off his self-titled 1977 album, he states "For Lady Godiva I came incognito".
• In the theme song to the situation comedy Maude, the opening lines were, "Lady Godiva was a Freedom Rider,/ She didn't care if the whole world looked..."
• Boney M's song "Lady Godiva" was released in 1993 on the album Boney M. More Gold.

This article is about the rock band. ... Lady Godivas Operation is a song by Avant-garde American rock band The Velvet Underground, appearing on their second album, White Light/White Heat (1968). ... A gramophone record, (also phonograph record - often simply record) is an analog sound recording medium: a flat disc rotating at a constant angular velocity, with inscribed spiral grooves in which a stylus or needle rides. ... White Light/White Heat is The Velvet Undergrounds second album. ... “MTF” redirects here. ... Sex reassignment surgery (SRS) includes the surgical procedures by which a persons physical appearance and function of their existing sexual characteristics are changed to that of the other sex. ... A human brain that has undergone lobotomy. ... Peter & Gordon were a British Invasion-era performing duo, formed by Peter Asher and Gordon Waller, that rocketed to fame with 1964s A World Without Love. Peter Ashers sister (the actress Jane Asher) was dating Paul McCartney (of the Beatles), and so Peter & Gordon recorded several songs written... Photograph of Sally Rand, 1934. ... Grant Lee Buffalo was a Los Angeles-based rock band, consisting of Grant-Lee Phillips (vocals and guitar), Paul Kimble (bass) and Joey Peters (drums). ... Second album by alternative rock group Grant Lee Buffalo, released in 1994. ... Gerry Gerstens illustration of Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show on the cover of Rolling Stone #131 (March 29, 1973) Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show was a pop-country rock band formed around Union City, New Jersey in 1968. ... Mother Love Bone was a Seattle based rock band active from 1988 to 1990. ... Queen are an English rock band formed in 1970 in London by guitarist Brian May, singer Freddie Mercury and drummer Roger Taylor, with bassist John Deacon joining the following year. ... Dont Stop Me Now ( ) is a 1979 hit single by Queen, from their 1978 album Jazz. ... Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British musician, best known as the lead singer of the rock band Queen (inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001). ... Simply Red are an English pop band. ... Montreux is a resort town in the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland, on Lake Geneva with a population of 22,897. ... This article is about the band Aerosmith. ... Pump is the tenth studio album by American hard rock band Aerosmith, released in 1989 (see 1989 in music). ... Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950, in Chobham,[1] Surrey, England) is an English musician. ... Maude is a half-hour American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 12, 1972 until April 29, 1978. ... The Freedom Rides were a series of student political protests performed in 1961 as part of the US civil rights movement. ... Boney M was a Eurodance, pop, and disco group, comprising four West Indian singers and dancers and masterminded by West German record producer Frank Farian, and who were successful during the 1970s. ...

Television

• In the Charmed episode "The Bare Witch Project", a student in Magic School accidentally conjures Lady Godiva and Lord Dyson out of a history book. Later, Phoebe, inspired by Lady Godiva, decides to ride naked through a crowded street in support of women's liberation.
• In an episode of Dad's Army, women in the town of Warmington-on-Sea compete for the part of Lady Godiva in a recreation staged by the town.
• The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling featured a character named Godiva who rode to the ring on a horse and wore a sheer bodysuit.
• The Histeria! episode "Tribute to Tyrants" featured a sketch about the legend of Lady Godiva, portrayed by the World's Oldest Woman.
• In one Frasier episode, a girl is wearing a Lady Godiva costume.
• The Maude theme song begins with the words, "Lady Godiva was a freedom rider; she didn't care if the whole world looked!".
• In the Blackadder Goes Forth episode "Private Plane", Captain Blackadder (Rowan Atkinson) describes the Royal Flying Corps as "the biggest show-offs since Lady Godiva entered the royal enclosure at Ascot claiming she had literally nothing to wear".
• In the Round the Twist episode "Linda Godiva", Linda helps Pete win a cross-country horse race by being invisible, she is later turned visible and is seen riding the horse naked.
• In the first episode of The Vicar of Dibley, several characters reminisce about when Letitia Cropley rode through Dibley stark naked in a Lady Godiva reenactment.
• In the Seinfeld episode "The Apology", Jerry's girlfriend regularly walks around in his apartment naked, and at one point he refers to her as "Lady Godiva".
• In an episode of Time Squad Larry showed Otto videos of previous missions and in one of these missions Lady Godiva was riding her horse naked while Tuddrussel ran after her, trying to persuade her to wear some clothes.

For other uses, see charm. ... Lord Dyson shows his demonic side in The Bare Witch Project // Episode of the popular U.S. television series, Charmed Episode Number: 2 Season: 7 First Aired: September 19, 2004 on The WB in the United States of America Production Code: 4301136 Writer: Jeannine Renshaw Director: John Kretchner Cast: Alyssa... Dad’s Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard in the Second World War, written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. ... Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, also known as GLOW or G.L.O.W., was a professional wrestling promotion for women, began in 1986 (the pilot was filmed in December of 1985) and continued in various forms after it left television. ... Histeria! was an animated television series of the late-1990s, created by Tom Ruegger (who also created Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, and Pinky and the Brain) at Warner Bros. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... Frasier was an American sitcom starring Kelsey Grammer as psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane. ... Maude is a version of Matilda and may refer to: Empress Matilda (1101–1167), also called Empress Maud or Maude, first female ruler of England, mother of Henry II Maude is a surname, and may refer to Angus Maude, British politician Aylmer Maude with Louise Maude, British Tolstoyans Caitlín... Blackadder Goes Forth was the fourth and final series of the BBC situation comedy Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Ben Elton, which aired from 28 September to 2 November 1989. ... Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is an English comedian, actor and writer, famous for his title roles in the British television comedies Blackadder and Mr. ... The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of World War I. // Formed by Royal Warrant on 13 May 1912, the RFC superseded the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers. ... Round the Bend is an unrelated British television series. ... The Vicar of Dibley is a British sitcom created by Richard Curtis and written for its lead actress, Dawn French, by Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer, with contributions from Kit Hesketh-Harvey. ... This article is about the sitcom. ... The Apology is the one-hundred and sixty-fifth episode of the hit NBC television series Seinfeld. ... The tone or style of this article may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ...

Film

• Lady Godiva is the name of a 1955 film starring Irish actress Maureen O'Hara.^[19]
• A 1949 Three Stooges short film, The Ghost Talks, featured one of the boys playing Peeping Tom in a slapstick send-up of the Lady Godiva legend. Inspired by an encounter between the stooges and a haunted, empty suit of armour occupied by Tom's spirit, the film changes key elements of the legend, eliminating Tom's blindness as his penalty and inventing a relationship between the tailor and the Lady. The Stooges act out the ghost's narrative of the events of the famous day in costumes based on the clothing of a period many years later than the life of the historic Godiva.
• In the 1988 film High Spirits with Peter O'Toole, the character Eamon, when trying to get two of the castle's female employees to pose as ghosts, tells Patricia he can see her as a mermaid, or the 'Lady Godiva'.

Maureen OHara Maureen OHara (born Maureen FitzSimons) on August 17, 1920 is an Irish film actress. ... The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the mid 20th century best known for their numerous short subject films. ...

Notes

Dr Katharine S. B. Keats-Rohan is a history researcher at the University of Oxford specialising in prosopography. ...

See also

• Asteroid 3018 Godiva, named after Lady Godiva
• Clothes free people
• Godiva Chocolates, a Chocolate Company named after and featuring artwork of Godiva on their boxes
• Lady Godiva syndrome
• Public nudity
• The Seven Lady Godivas, an early Dr. Seuss book

3018 Godiva is a small main belt asteroid, which was discovered by Edward L. G. Bowell in 1982. ... Andrew Martinez reading the paper in a park in Berkeley, California. ... Godiva is a chocolate manufacturer, founded in 1926 in Brussels, Belgium and introduced in the United States in 1966. ... An exhibitionist exposing himself at a soccer game. ... Fashion line Imitation of Christ incorporated toplessness in its public fashion show, which brought comparisons to Vanessa Beecrofts art. ... The Seven Lady Godivas is a 1939 childrens book by Dr. Seuss. ... Theodor Seuss Geisel (March 2, 1904 – September 24, 1991) was an American writer and cartoonist best known for his classic childrens books under the pen name Dr. Seuss, including The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and One Fish Two Fish Red...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Lady Godiva

• Cecilia Parsons, "Countess Godiva", 1999, revised 2004: biography and developing legend
• BBC News – the unearthing of a stained glass window identified with Lady Godiva
• James Grout: Lady Godiva, part of the Encyclopædia Romana
• How Lady Godiva Got a Tax Break