A legend, a fire, a battle, and a tragedy

I was hoping to catch up on some of the historical events I missed while I was fighting the dragon, but July 10th turned out to be a very busy day in its own right. According to one of the more famous medieval legends, on this date in 1040, Lady Godiva rode naked through the streets of Coventry after her husband, the Earl of Mercia, dared her to do it if she wanted him to lessen the taxes imposed upon the townspeople. (Sounds like they had a very interesting marriage, doesn’t it?) We get the phrase “Peeping Tom” from the legend, for supposedly Lady Godiva warned the citizens to stay indoors during her ride, but a tailor disobeyed her, watched her naked ride, and was struck blind as a result. There really was a Lady Godiva, but historians discount the legend, which dates from the thirteenth century. Too bad; it’s a good story. Also on July 10th, 1212, much of London burned in a terrible fire; just about every medieval city suffered tragedies like this, which was why fire was so greatly feared in the MA. On this date in 1460, the Yorkists, led by the Earl of Warwick, won an important victory over the Lancastrians at the battle of Northampton and captured the king, Henry VI. And on July 10th, 1553, a reluctant Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed Queen of England. She ruled for nine days and would eventually pay for her family’s sins with her own life. Susan Higginbotham’s novel, Her Highness the Traitor, deals with this episode of English history.