July 10, 2017 -- Godiva, Countess of Mercia, in Old English Godgifu, was an English noblewoman who, according to a legend dating at least to the 13th century, rode naked – covered only in her long hair – through the streets of Coventry to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation that her husband imposed on his tenants.
The Reader’s Notebook: Lady Godiva
