Five Revered Ladies of their time

FEATURING FIVE REVERED LADIES OF THEIR TIME

1. Lady Godiva

Lady Godiva was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia. She is mainly remembered for a legend dating back to at least the 13th century, in which she rode naked – covered only in her long hair – through the streets of Coventry to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation that her husband imposed on his tenants.

Lady of the Lake

The Lady of the Lake is a name or a title used by several fairy-like enchantresses in the Matter of Britain, the body of medieval literature and mythology associated with the legend of King Arthur. She provided Arthur with the sword Excalibur, eliminated Merlin, raised Lancelot after the death of his father, and helped by taking the dying Arthur to Avalon.

Lady of Shalott

‘The Lady of Shalott’ is a lyrical ballad by the English poet Alfred Tennyson. Inspired by the 13th-century short prose text Donna di Scalotta, it tells the tragic story of Elaine of Astolat, a young noblewoman stranded in a tower up the river from Camelot.

Lady of the Tower - Lady Jane Grey

The Tower of London has seen many executions and more than one or two ghosts are said to haunt the castle. One such resident was Lady Jane Grey, also known as ‘The Nine Day Queen.’

Pushed onto the throne by an ambitious father-in-law, she watched from an upstairs window on 12 February, 1554, as her husband, Guildford Dudley, was led, sobbing, to his execution. Later that same day, the sixteen-year-old girl walked bravely to her own death. Ever since, her ghost has appeared on the anniversary of her execution as a white shimmering figure that floats from the rolling river mists, strolls sadly around the green or glides along the battlements, then withers slowly away.

Our Lady of Miraculous Medal.

Our Lady, Queen of Heaven

When Our Lady appeared in Fatima in 1917, the Miraculous Medal was well-established in the Church, having been revealed at the 19^th century apparition to St. Catherine Labouré in the chapel at the Rue du Bac convent in Paris.

Catherine was given a mission and she spoke of the upheavals that would afflict the Church and society in France and even said that the “whole world will be plunged into gloom.” But despite that, people should come to the foot of the altar in the Rue du Bac chapel, because there, “graces will be poured out on all those, small, or great, who ask for them with confidence and fervour. Graces will be poured out especially on those who ask for them.”