The National Insurance increase this week was a reminder of the inconvenience of taxes, leaving us with less money to spend on books about history (that we don't have time to read).
Throughout history, taxes have always squeezed the poorest in society. The population of 11th century Coventry was feeling the squeeze from their Lord, Leofric.
Leofric had brothers Edwine and Godwin, who were Vikings warring with him in Mercia - and as a result, he taxed his citizens. Leofric also founded monasteries in Coventry and Much Wenlock, and was Early of Mercia. However, Leofric is most famously remembered as the husband of Lady Godiva.
Lady Godiva was a noblewoman, and her story made her a legend in Old English folklore. She was sympathetic to the situation of the people of Coventry, who were troubled by high taxes, and she pressured her husband, as the Earl of Mercia, to reduce them. Leofric eventually agreed that he would, only if she undertook the humiliation of riding through the city on horseback naked.
Due to her determination to help the people of Coventry, she accepted this humiliation, galloping through the city, where today a statue stands in Broadgate to commemorate her act.
To preserve her dignity, she had asked the people of Coventry to stay indoors and not observe her. All agreed, apart from one who peered out from his window. This is where the phrase 'Peeping Tom' is said to have originated.
The tale was first recorded by monks in St Albans, possibly travelling down from the west midlands with people on their way to London, and it has since become folklore. In the 19th Century, interest again peaked, Lord Tennyson writing a poem about Godiva and John Collier painting a famous piece of her. Colliers painting can today be found in the Herbert Museum in Coventry.
Though 900-years old, with taxes rising the story of Lady Godiva's selfless act to help those in need, still feels as relevant as ever.
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