An English friend of a flippant turn of mind once remarked to the writer
that the three most famous rides in English history were undoubtedly the
Charge of the Light Brigade, John Gilpin's famous infringement of speed
regulations, and Lady Godiva's effort on behalf of the citizens of
Coventry--and that the last was the most praiseworthy, because it had
really accomplished something! Viewed in this light, the episode of Lady
Godiva passes from a matter of local interest to the higher plane of
national pride;--upon the equity of this promotion it is certain that
every citizen of quaint Coventry will agree. If, peradventure, there
shall have intruded into our company any who love not glass, let us
protest with Falstaff, "I'll not march through Coventry with them,
that's flat." The distant prospect of that Warwickshire city is
beautified by the three famous spires that proudly thrust their red
sandstone peaks high above the huddled housetops. The ancient flavour of
the place is preserved for us by the numerous old houses, one of which
has in its topmost window a wooden figure, "Peeping Tom," that wicked
exception who proved the rule that the worthy citizens could be relied
upon to be loyal and true even under the application of that most
searching test, curiosity. One of the three great spires rises from St.
Michael's Church, a building of very great size, about whose spacious
interior are disposed many Perpendicular fragments, some arranged in
bands along the clerestory, and others filling two windows (each of four
lancets) that face each other in the chancel. These panels afford a
useful part of the decoration, even in their present kaleidoscopic
condition, and their colours put to shame those of the modern windows
near them.
[Illustration: GUILDHALL, COVENTRY
Splendid row of ancient English Kings, and below, a great
tapestry. In the centre of the window and again on the tapestry
appears Henry VI, who was a member of the Guild. Handsome
example of mediaeval hall]
Just across the narrow street is one of the finest examples in England
of stained glass used to decorate a municipal building devoted to
secular purposes. It is to be found at the north end of St. Mary's Hall,
and is as admirably placed as it is excellently composed. Across that
entire end of the spacious hall is a great window occupying the whole
upper half of the wall, and broken up into nine wide lancets surmounted
by tracery lights of the usual Perpendicular form. Across the entire
lower half of the wall is suspended a long tapestry, which we shall see
accords with the subjects appearing in the glass above it. Nowhere can
there be found a great window and a large tapestry used with such
harmony of purpose and result. History tells us that Henry VI. took so
pronounced an interest in the Guild of Coventry that he was regularly
inducted into its membership in 1450, and therefore we are not surprised
that his effigy occupies the middle lancet of the window. Inspection
reveals that he is the central figure of a gallery of kings, for he is
flanked on the left by Henry III., Richard Coeur de Lion, William the
Conqueror, and King Arthur; and on the right by Edward III., Henry IV.,
Henry V., and the Emperor Constantine (who was born in Britain). All
these royalties are in full armour, except their crowned heads, and they
all stand firmly poised with their feet well apart. The backgrounds are
unusually interesting, and consist of upright strips of red and blue
separated by narrow lines of yellow, the strips being sprinkled over
with the letter M, because St. Mary is the patron saint of the hall.
These figures all stand beneath canopies, and in the traceries above is
still other canopy work, serving as background for gaily tinctured coats
of arms. One, displaying a black eagle upon a yellow field, is said to
be the blazon of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, Lady Godiva's husband, "that
grim Earl who ruled in Coventry." This hall was finished in 1414, and
the glazier is said to have been the same Thornton to whom we are
indebted for the east window at York Minster. Henry VI. appears again
in the tapestry below, this time attended by his wife, Queen Margaret of
Anjou, who shared his interest in Coventry. Nor were these the only
royalties to feel a kindly interest in this city, for we also read that
Henry VII. and Elizabeth of York were enrolled as members of the Guild
in 1499. Upon this tapestry there is gathered a numerous company of
individuals attending upon Henry VI. and his wife, who are kneeling in
their midst, while between them is a female figure labelled "Justitia."
Local tradition says this label is a later substitute for a religious
name, but whether that be true or not, a tapestry made for a Guild Hall
in which justice was administered might well have originally had
"Justitia" as its central figure. The harmony between the splendid
window and the adjoining tapestry finds an answering note in the ancient
wooden ceiling with its quaintly carved bosses, and also in the fine
wooden gallery at the south end, against which are arranged many suits
of armour. Our visit will not be complete without a peep into the
spacious kitchen below, and also into a small muniment-room above, which
is proved by a carefully preserved letter, bearing Queen Elizabeth's
signature, to have once served as a prison for Mary Queen of Scots.