Godiva (Old English: Godgifu, "god gift"), often referred to as Lady Godiva, was an 11th-century Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who, according to a legend dating back at least to the 13th century, rode naked through the streets of Coventry in order to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation imposed by her husband on his tenants. The name "Peeping Tom" for a voyeur originates from later versions of this legend in which a man named Tom had watched her ride and was struck blind or dead.
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Famous quotes containing the word lady:
“But Lancelot mused a little space;
He said, She has a lovely face;
God in his mercy lend her grace,
The Lady of Shalott.”
—Alfred Tennyson (18091892)