Key Takeaways

Diamondsmay be a girl ’s best champion , but most ladies wo n’t turn up their nose at a giving of exquisitechocolates . If you ’re on the receiving closing of a diamond or a chocolate - raspberry earth-ball , a mere glance of a certain gloomy loge or atomic number 79 foil parcel is enough to pique excitement . Of course , we ’re referring to the female parent load of jewels and confections : Tiffany and Godiva .

Since the film " Breakfast at Tiffany ’s " was give up in 1961 , Audrey Hepburn , who recreate the role of Manhattanite Holly Golightly , has been synonymous with the jeweler . ( Never bear in mind the fact that selling dynamo Letitia Baldrige , Tiffany ’s first female executive , was really responsible for ushering the caller into the spotlight . ) In the picture ’s opening scene , Holly Mus in front of a Tiffany storefront windowpane . She ’s eating breakfast from a old bag and wearing a floor - length Givenchy gown . Later on in the flick , Holly explains that Tiffany ’s is more than a purveyor of fine thing – it ’s a oasis .

Had Tiffany & Co. purposefully selected a face for its brand , perhaps no good than Ms. Hepburn could ’ve been found . Decades after the picture show was made , persona of the actress drape in gem endure . The ship’s company has no motive to stereotype her image on its packaging to prompt customers that Tiffany ’s is a Hellenic brand that withstands the tests of time and momentaneous trends . The publicity is incidental but priceless .

In the case of Godiva , it ’s a decidedly uncostumed and unaccessorized char with whom we associate the brand . It ’s no stroke that she comes to psyche when we cogitate of the multimillion - grossing Belgian chocolatier . Lady Godiva is both the namesake and brass ( body , really ) of that company . Joseph Draps choose her to symbolize his patronage ; harmonize to the Godiva entanglement site , he " seek a name that embody the timeless qualities of passion , style , sensualness and modern strikingness " [ source : Godiva ] .

Most of us cognise that Lady Godiva was a beautiful woman who ride raw on her horse through a city . But not all of us cognize why she did it . And given the fact thatwomendidn’t start riding sidesaddle onhorsesfor nearly four centuries after Lady Godiva ’s death , Draps ' assessment of her quality may elevate a few eyebrow .

It seems rather unstylish to straddle a gymnastic horse and parade through the center of townspeople . The act is no more sensual than a celebrity ’s regardless ( or cipher ) flash of underpinnings as she rise out of a railcar . So why would Lady Godiva have present herself like this ?

Stripping Away the Layers of Lady Godiva Lore

Many conflicting legend have masked the tangible Godiva for centuries . To begin with , " peeress " was n’t even her title . In 11th - hundred Anglo - Saxon England , that title was used solely to refer to the pouf . The best comparison we can make to her noble condition is countess , but that term did n’t be during Godiva ’s life-time . or else , she would ’ve been address as " the earl ’s married woman , " or " the earl ’s bed - partner . " commit that her husband ’s name wasEarl Leofric , this form of address translates to Leofric eorl and his gebedda [ source : Donoghue ] .

As if err her title were n’t a unfit enough historical evildoing , we ’ve in reality been calling her the amiss name . Born sometime between 979 and 1016 , the noblewoman ’s name wasGodgifu , which means " good gift . " Some informant look up to her as Godgiva , and she eventually became have intercourse as Godiva . Around 1035 , Godgifu married Leofric , Earl of Mercia . He was a pretty powerful man . The region of Mercia was at the very center of the island we know as modern - Clarence Shepard Day Jr. England , and it was just across the style from Wales . Leofric ’s office ray from near every key direction to tempt people all across Anglo - Saxon England .

But Godgifu was no slouch herself . She came into themarriagewith a considerable amount of wealth – and eight country that she called her very own . One of these was Coventry , the site of her legendary sawbuck drive . ( We ’ll return to that momentarily . ) Under Anglo - Saxon laws , women were entrusted with keep on their household valuables and finance secure . Godgifu took very severely the matter of manage her wealth . She and Leofric were also beneficent and the primary helper of monasteries in their domain . Godgifu gave generously to the Benedictine abbey in Coventry in 1043 , extend gold , silver and gem that were fashioned into crosse and bookplates . give the nature of diachronic record book from the Middle Ages , we do n’t have many details about Godgifu ’s personality but can infer that she was very pious [ source : Stephens ] .

Leofric was an enthusiastic supporter of his married woman ’s philanthropy . But concord to some accounts , his staunch refusal to lower taxis for the citizens of Coventry was the basis for Godgifu ’s famous ride . The first version of the Lady Godiva legend appear in the thirteenth century , nearly 200 years after her death . Roger of Wendover , a Benedictine monk and historiographer from St. Albans , wrote in the 1057 launching of his Chronica that the " Countess Godiva " ask Leofric to abolish the rather sizeable tax demanded of Coventry ’s citizens . Leofric say no , but Godiva prevail until he gave in – nearly . He call to revoke the tax if Godiva would sit naked on her horse through the marketplace and back . Godiva did n’t flinch at the suggestion ; she just control that she had Leofric ’s license to dispatch the challenge . Then she undressed , let slack her foresighted fuzz and arrange it over her body to continue herself . With her hair as a head covering , she rode through the town and back without being get a line . When she returned home , Leofric kept his promise and signalise a charter , thereby freeing Coventry ’s citizens of the taxation [ origin : Roger of Wendover ] .

The reverent noblewoman adventure her reputation to protect the town ’s citizens makes for a herculean tarradiddle . Too bad it ’s not true . On the next varlet , we ’ll take a closer look at the story and see why historians have discounted it .

The Hair, the Horse and the Legend: Godiva’s Ride

After the Norman Conquest , writers endeavored to record the traditional knowledge and story of England . Their goal seemed to be amount over quality – the accuracy of many of these accounts is debatable , and the Lady Godiva narrative is one superlative example of a pseudo - historical thread that was weave again and again through the centuries .

As we ’ve learned , Roger of Wendover is credited with the first instance of the Godiva caption . His monastery had been almost alone founded by Godgifu . Roger may have been trying to glorify the generous supporter : In his account , the Countess Godiva is infallibly pious ( Leofric is begrudgingly righteous in the end ) . Matthew Paris went on to paint her even more colorfully in Flores Historarium when he succeeded Roger in the former thirteenth century . Their interpretation were jolly similar , though Paris took more liberties with fleshing out the characters . In the fourteenth century , other historiographer impart that the drive occurred in the morning and that the townspeople continued to pay taxes on theirhorses .

But in the sixteenth one C , Grafton ’s " Chronicle " added a Modern spin to the story . He cite Gaufride as his generator – but no one is sure who Gaufride was . Scholastically verbalize , this make Grafton ’s version more flimsy , but it testify far more entertaining ( afterwards , it would inspire countless verse form and ballads about Godiva ) . According to Grafton , the townsfolk had been range to remain inside while Godiva ride through the townsfolk . One valet de chambre could n’t stand sneaking a peep as she processed down the streets . As he peered through the windowpane to the street below , a divine force step in to strike him dead , or in some versions unsighted . He became known asPeeping Tom . This tautness between the exhibitionist and thescopophiliac(one who finds delight in looking at thing ) was later a decisive point in Sigmund Freud ’s theories about human psychological science . For class , Lady Godiva and Peeping Tom were inextricably connected , though today we use the conversational expression " Peeping Tom " to pertain to someone – male person or distaff – who looks at things he or she is n’t supposed to .

By the 19th one C , the Godiva legend had take away on a new signification . The lower classes were at last able to afford private homes and come to know the luxury of personal space . citizenry take over that some things are better harbor from public middle , and they began to consider Godiva as a representative of modesty . In 20th 100 and mod pop civilization , these symbolic part of the story pop out to fade away , but concrete trope like the noblewoman ’s naked organic structure and her long hair still resonate with people – even if they do n’t know why Godiva took that defenseless horse ride .

So is it regretful to remember story inaccurately or not remember it at all ? We learn originally that Godgifu entered into hermarriagewith some property in her name and that Coventry was one of those places . Since she owned Coventry , Godgifu would ’ve made the call to scurvy or get rid of taxes . What ’s more , 11th - hundred Coventry was a provincial parcel of farmland [ source : Stephens ] . There were no taxes . And the land was n’t big enough or well-fixed enough to warrant a taxation system until the twelfth or perhaps 13th hundred . Therefore , Godiva ’s ride never fall out because there just was no indigence for her to testify anything .

That has n’t lay off people from lionize it . Beginning in 1678 , a Godiva Procession was hold in Coventry to record and recreate the event . Maidens rap to play the part of Godiva wore a flesh - discolour dead body stocking and were offered gratuitous liquor by the local pothouse – liquid courage for the drive . Today , Coventry carry on the custom . Even if it ’s just lore , the Lady Godiva story is part of the townspeople ’s personal identity .

To read more about Godgifu , alias Lady Godiva , peruse the link that observe .

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