Q and A blurb

A weblog about my family search and genealogical journey. My ancestors and relatives, findings and wild goose chases, dead ends and brick walls, climbing trees and seeking dead people, sources and resources, and more...

WONDERFUL WIKITREER

WONDERFUL WIKITREER
BADGE

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Lady Godiva, Countess of Mercia #52ancestors

I thought she was just a myth, but this entry in my 52 weeks of ancestors theme is about the legendary Lady Godiva AKA Godgifu de Mercia an English noblewoman of whom you have heard.

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 or dead."              
Godiva was the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, one of the most powerful noblemen in 11th century England. The couple gave generously to religious establishments and in 1043 founded and endowed a monastery at Coventry. The chronicler Florence of Worcester mentions Leofric and Godiva, but does not describe her famous ride, and there is no firm evidence connecting the rider with the historical Godiva. Leofric died in 1057, and Godiva is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 (although she was almost certainly dead by then) as having held many estates in Warwickshire including Coventry, inherited from her husband.
The earliest surviving source for the legend is the 'Chronica of Roger of Wendover', written more than a century after Godiva's death. According to this account, Leofric became so exasperated by Godiva's endless appeals to reduce Coventry's heavy taxes that he declared he would do so if she rode naked through the crowded marketplace. She did so, with her hair covering all of her body except her legs. According to Ranulf Higden's 'Polychronicon', as a result Leofric freed the town from all tolls save those on horses. The story of the 'Peeping Tom' was added later. Godiva required the townsmen to remain indoors at the time of her ride but one man looked at her out of his window and was struck blind.    
Lady Godiva is my 31st great grandmother.  
You 
   →  Mom 
your mother →  Pvt. Garnett Hancock, WWII Veteran 
her father →  Burrell H Hancock 
his father →  Samuel Austin Hancock 
his father → Peter Hancock, CSA Soldier 
his father →  John Hancock 1785 
his father →  Benjamin Hancock 1759 
his father →  unknown 
his parent →  Benjamin Hancock 
his/her father → John Hancock 
his father →  William Hancock, III 
his father →  Elizabeth Hancock 
his mother →  William Nicholas Spencer, Sr 
her father →  Mary Spencer 
his mother → Thomas Elmes, Sir 
her father →  Alice St. John 
his mother →  Sir John St. John, Kt. 
her father →  Lady Sybil Verch St John 
his mother → Margred (Margaret) or Jane or Jonnet Mathew 
her mother →  Gwenllian verch Dafydd 
her mother →  Dafydd ap Gwilym 
her father →  Gwilym ap Jenken 
his father → Jenkin ap Adam 
his father →  Adam ap Cynhaethwy 
his father →  Sir Reginald FitzPiers, Lord of Brecnoc 
his father → Piers FitzHerbert, Lord of Brecknock, (signatory of the Magna Carta) 
his father →  Lucy FitzMiles de Gloucester and Hereford, Lady of Blaen 
his mother → Sybil de Neufmarché 
her mother →  Agnes (Nesta) FitzOsbern 
her mother →  Nesta verch Gruffydd 
her mother →  Ealdgyth of Mercia 
her mother → Ælfgar, Earl of Mercia 
her father →  Lady Godiva 
his mother


No comments:

Post a Comment

FAMILY HISTORY CHANNEL

TAGS

bloodline 52ancestors pedigree FamilyHistoryFriday DirectAncestor ancestor NICHOLS ancestorlist England MATERNAL genealogy male Virginia challenge family history DNA sources HANCOCK census SundaySource KING Scotland 2ndGG Magna Carta project 19thGG gen5 BARTLETT GEDMATCH gen6 AKERS FamilyTreeTuesday 3rdGG COLLINS KG KNIGHT OF THE GARTER 17thGG 18thGG CensusSunday BOURNE LINVILLE gen4 American Revolution MovieMonday gen20 gen22 12 ancestors in 12 months 16thGG BROWNE FOUNDERS AND PATRIOTS France Marriages POFF SAR WASHINGTON gen19 12in12 23rdGG DAR Ireland JONES NC PA. Rome VitalRecords WILLIAMS WednesdaysWall gen21 13thGG 25thGG 9thGG EDWARDS PATERNAL RICHARDS gen16 gen28 10thGG 22ndGG 26thGG 27thGG Italy Jamestown MACNICOL Maryland Normandy PAYNE RAKES Saint TAYLOR UPDATES VAUGHAN gen3 12thGG 21stGG 5thGG 6thGG 7thGG ALDRIDGE BOOTH BRENT Bedford Blogiversary Crusades Descendants HOLLAND House of TUDOR JOHNSON LAST WILL POETRY READING Roman Emperor SHOUT OUTS STEWART WILSON WRIGHT gen13 gen26 gen29 gen30 gen9 mentions 14thGG 20thGG 31stGG BORU Belgium Civil War DE NORMANDIE Denmark EBOOKS FotoFriday Germany HARRIS HATCHER HILL LAWRENCE Links MAYFLOWER MOORE Massachusetts NICHOLLS O'BRIAN O'BRYAN Quaker SCOTTISH CLANS YOUNG elder female gen12 gen17 gen34 gen8 gifts 10TH CENTURY 11TH CENTURY 2014 24thGG 33rdGG 36thGG 43rdGG 4thGG 51stGG. gen54 ALTIZER ANCESTORS ANCESTRY Aragon Awards BOLEYN BOND Bishop CAREY CHENEY Caesar Connecticut DEATH RECORD DUNCAN Earl Egypt Elisha Nichols FAMILY HISTORY FRIDAY Family Tree Thursday Floyd Co. Franklin GARRETT GENETIC COMMUNITIES GERARD GIBSON GORDON GRANT HERBERT HOWARD House of RURIK John Ezekiel Nichols Kiev LEONARD LIKENS LINCOLN Lt. John Nichols MALLORY MAYBERRY MONTGOMERY MORGAN Montgomery Co. NAPIER NATIONAL SOCIETY OF THE WASHINGTON FAMILY DESCENDANTS NICHOLS SURNAME PROJECT O'BRIEN PEAK PLANTAGENET PRINDLE PTOLEMY Poet Private Reverend Rurik Dynasty Russia SEYMOUR SINCLAIR SMYTHE SPENCER STUMP Site of the Month Spain Sponsors TUDOR UK Ukraine VA. WALLS WHITE Wales Y-DNA bloggers clergy family family detective gen15 gen2 gen36 gen39 gen46 militaryRecord poetry shop tbt throwback thursday 11thGG 12th century 14th century 15thGG 1stGG 2015 28thGG 47thGG 51stGG. 53rdGG 65thGG 67thGG 75thgg ADDAIR ASHTON AUDLEY Alba Alchemist Antonine Dynasty Archibald Nichols Award of Excellence BALDWIN BARLOW BEACH BEAUFORT BECKETT BERENGER BERENGUER BERKELEY BORUMA BRONAUGH BROWN BRUCE BUTLER BYRON Barcelona Barons Battle of Hastings Bavaria Berkeley Hundred Bluetooth CALLAHAN CARRICK CEO CHRISTLEY CIRCLES CLINTON COKAYNE CONSTABLE CONSTANTINUS COOK COOKE CT Cambridge Cardinal Carolingian Dynasty Chancellor Charlemagne Cherokee Colony Count Cumberland Customer DANVERS DE BOHUN DE LA FORCE DE METZ DESPENSER DEVEREUX DICKENS DOUGLAS DraftCard Drexel Hill EMLEN ESTRIDSSON ETHNICITY Edmonston FLYNT FORBES FRAY FamilyHistoreen Franklin County GA. GARAT GARRARD GILBERT GLEN GORGES GORMSSON GRAHAM GREEN GRENVILLE Greece HALDANE HART HAWLEY HIGHLANDERS HIGHLEY HODGES HOLDEN HOLT HUBBARD HUGEONOTS HYDE Hammer House of Barcelona House of CAPET House of NORMANDY Howe Howland IRISH ISLE OF SKYE Iowa JACKSON JAMESTOWN SOCIETY JEFFERSON James Bond John m Nichols Judge Justice KENNEDY King's Cove LESLIE LLOYD LONDON LORING LUDFORD LUNDIN Lineage Lundi Lykins MACARTHUR MAGNA CARTA SOCIETY MARTEL MARTIN MAYBURY MCCLANE MERCHANT MINITREE MOREHOUSE MP. Sheriff MURRAY Macedonia Maddox Memorial Day Memoirs Merovingian Family Military Monday Military Mondsy Minute Man Moesia NEWPORT NEWSPAPERS NJ NOREYS NORRIS Nancy Payne Nichols New Jersey Nobles and Notables North Carolina Norway Novgorod OBITUARIES OGILVY Octavian PARTRIDGE PATRILINEAGE PEMBRIDGE PENNSYLVANIA PERRIN PHILADELPHIA PINION PITZER POW POWELL POWHATAN PRESTON PRINGLE Pharaoh Plymouth Polly Updike Prince Provence Ptolemaic Dynasty Puritan RADCLIFFE REED RICHARDSON RUTTER Robertian Dynasty SAINT-CLAIR SAVAGE SAYE SC SETON SHERMAN SHINALL SHUFFIELD SIBILA SMITH SMYTH SPEARMAN STAMPER STANLEY STEPHENSON STEVENSON STUART SVIATOSLAVICH Scrope. 12thGG Serbia Sheriff Sheriffs Sicily SmallWorldSaturday Stoic Surry County TALBOT THARP THOMAS THOMPSON TILNEY TRAIL Tennessee Thornfield Tilley UA BRIAIN UPDIKE Underground Railroad VA VERNON VLADIMIROVICH WADHAM WENTWORTH WITT WOODWARD WROTHESLEY WV WW2 Wednesday Weblog Welsh What IF? Wittelbach blog books due diligence gen1 gen10 gen11 gen18 gen25 gen27 gen31 gen50 gen54 gen56 gen68 gen7 gen70 gen78 goals heraldry homework immigrant merchandise milestone mystery new england notes philosopher pilgrims quotes review tags ydna