It’s been a chocolate kind of week here at The Chronicle. We typically have a bit of a lull in the schedule in the middle of the summer, so we’ve all been busy catching up on projects and trying to stay ahead of the game in preparation for our incredibly busy fall season.

I took a break today to have a bit of chocolate, and much to my surprise, there was a horse on it! Now, I’ve never really paid attention to chocolate logos, but this one intrigued me.

After getting totally sidetracked by the drool-worthy photos of Godiva chocolates and liquors on their website, I discovered that Godiva Chocolatier was named after one Lady Godiva and her brave ride.

According to legend, Lady Godiva and her husband Leofric, the Earl of Mercia, ruled over Coventry, England, in the 11th century. Leofric was a powerful ruler who was pretty mean to his people. Lady Godiva didn’t necessarily like how unsympathetic he was, and she protested when he started heavily taxing his residents.

She continued asking him to stop taxing his people even after he’d repeatedly said no, and finally, he told her that he would lower the taxes if she rode a horse naked through the streets. I don’t imagine Leofric believed his wife would take him up on his bet.

While Lady Godiva was regarded as a modest lady, she was generous in spirit, so she mounted her horse and rode him through the streets, down to the market and back to her husband. He kept his bargain and lowered taxes.

Another folk tale evolved from the story of Godiva: the legend of Peeping Tom. In the revised version, Lady Godiva asked the citizens to stay in their homes while she rode through the town, and all of them obliged her except for Tom.

Tom drilled a hole in his shutters and peered through when she rode by. According to different stories, he was either struck blind or killed for his actions.

The oldest version of this story appears in Roger of Wendover’s Flores Historiarum, and he claimed the ride occurred in 1057. The addition of Peeping Tom to the story does not appear until the 17th century, nearly 600 years later.

The interesting thing about Lady Godiva’s ride is that most historians agree it never happened. Lady Godiva was a real historical figure, but since Coventry wasn’t founded until 1043, it probably wasn’t populated enough in 1057 for such a story to be fact.

In all likelihood, Godiva was actually a woman named Godgifu, who was married to an English nobleman and died in 1067. No account of her ride existed until more than 150 years after her death when Roger of Wendover, a monk in the Benedictine abbey of St. Albans, included it in Flores Historiarum. No one really knows the true origin of the story or why it was connected with Godgifu, other than it functions as the tale of origin for the town of Coventry.

While the legend of Lady Godiva is shrouded in mystery, her story is entwined with generosity and bravery. I doubt she inspired many people to ride naked through the streets in protest, but she certainly inspired the founder of Godiva, Joseph Draps.

According to Godiva Chocolatier’s history page, Draps “created a line of chocolates with extraordinary richness and design, a collection of passion and purity. He sought a name that embodied the timeless qualities of passion, style, sensuality and modern boldness. His choice? Godiva.”

So next time you’re having a chocolate kind of day, you can thank a lady on a horse.

One of web writer Coree Reuter’s favorite parts of working at The Chronicle of the Horse is adventuring up into the attic. While it’s occasionally a journey that requires a head lamp, GPS unit and dust mask, nearly 75 years of the equine industry is documented in the old issues and photographs that live above the offices, and Coree is determined to unearth the great stories of the past. Inspired by the saying: “History was written on the back of a horse,” she hopes to demystify the legends, find new ones and honor the horses who have changed the scope of everyday life with this blog.

Curious about anything in particular? Have a question or an interesting topic? Please e-mail Coree, she’d love to hear from you!