Editing Coventry (section)

===Medieval===
[[File:St Mary's guildhall, Bayley Lane - geograph.org.uk - 886437.jpg|thumb|upright|[[St Mary's Guildhall]], dating from the 14th century, one of the surviving medieval buildings in Coventry]]

Around {{circa| AD&nbsp;700}} a Saxon nunnery was founded here by [[St Osburg's Church, Coventry|St Osburga]],<ref>[http://www.historiccoventry.co.uk/history/history.php#arden Coventry's beginnings in the Forest of Arden] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120101003627/http://www.historiccoventry.co.uk/history/history.php#arden |date=1 January 2012 }} Retrieved 29 September 2008</ref> which was later left in ruins by [[Canute the Great|King Canute]]'s invading [[Danes (Germanic tribe)|Danish]] army in 1016.{{sfn|Walters|2019|pp=11–14}} [[Leofric, Earl of Mercia]] and his wife [[Lady Godiva]] built on the remains of the nunnery and founded a [[Order of Saint Benedict|Benedictine]] [[monastery]] in 1043 dedicated to St Mary.<ref>{{harvnb|Fox|1957|p=3}}</ref><ref>[http://www.coventrycathedral.org.uk/History.html The history of Coventry Cathedral on the cathedral's website] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081014182646/http://www.coventrycathedral.org.uk/History.html |date=14 October 2008 }} Retrieved on 28 September 2008</ref> It was during this time that the [[Lady Godiva#Legend|legend]] of Lady Godiva riding naked on horseback through the streets of Coventry, to protest against unjust taxes levied on the citizens of Coventry by her husband, was alleged to have occurred. Although this story is regarded as a myth by modern historians, it has become an enduring part of Coventry's identity.{{sfn|Walters|2019|pp=16–20}}

A market was established at the abbey gates and the settlement expanded. At the time of the [[Norman Conquest]] in 1066, Coventry was probably a modest sized town of around 1,200 inhabitants, and its own [[Minster (church)|minster]] church.{{sfn|Walters|2019|pp=11–14}}

[[Coventry Castle]] was a [[motte and bailey castle]] in the city. It was built in the early 12th&nbsp;century by [[Ranulf de Gernon, 4th Earl of Chester]]. Its first known use was during [[The Anarchy]] when [[Robert Marmion (died 1144)|Robert Marmion]], a supporter of [[Stephen, King of England|King Stephen]], expelled the monks from the adjacent [[St Mary's Priory and Cathedral|priory of Saint Mary]] in 1144, and converted it into a fortress from which he waged a battle against the castle which was held by the Earl. Marmion perished in the battle.<ref>Davis, R. H. C., and Robert Bearman. "An Unknown Coventry Charter." The English Historical Review, vol. 86, no. 340, 1971, pp. 535. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/562717 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190824165206/https://www.jstor.org/stable/562717 |date=24 August 2019 }}.</ref> It was demolished in the late 12th&nbsp;century.{{sfn|Walters|2019|pp=28–34}} [[St Mary's Guildhall]] was built on part of the site. It is assumed the name "Broadgate" comes from the area around the castle gates.

The Bishops of [[Anglican Bishopric of Lichfield|Lichfield]] were often referred to as the Bishops of Coventry and Lichfield, or Lichfield and Coventry (from 1102 to 1541), and in the medieval period Coventry was a major centre of pilgrimage of religion.<ref>{{cite web |last=Berry |first=Karen |title=Coventry's history |url=https://www.coventry.gov.uk/local-history-heritage/coventrys-history |access-date=7 June 2024 |website=Coventry City Council }}</ref> The [[Benedictines]], [[Carthusians]], [[Carmelites]] and [[Franciscans]] all had religious houses in the city of Coventry. The [[Carthusians|Carthusian]] Priory of St Anne was built between 1381 and 1410 with royal patronage from [[Richard II of England|King Richard II]] and his queen [[Anne of Bohemia]]<ref>{{cite web |title=The story of Charterhouse |url=https://www.historiccoventrytrust.org.uk/visit/charterhouse/the-story-of-charterhouse/ |access-date=7 June 2024 |website=Historic Coventry Trust }}</ref> Coventry has some surviving religious artworks from this time, such as the [[doom painting]] at [[Holy Trinity Church, Coventry|Holy Trinity Church]] which features Christ in judgement, figures of the resurrected, and contrasting images of Heaven and Hell.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Doom painting – Medieval Coventry |url=https://medievalcoventry.co.uk/doom_painting/ |access-date=7 June 2024 }}</ref>

By the 13th&nbsp;century, Coventry had become an important centre of the cloth trade, especially blue cloth dyed with [[woad]] and known as [[Coventry blue]].<ref>{{cite web |title=First 'Coventry Blue' to be revealed at historic Weaver's House |url=https://coventryobserver.co.uk/news/first-coventry-blue-to-be-revealed-at-historic-weavers-house/ |access-date=15 September 2024 |website=Coventry Observer }}</ref> Throughout the [[Middle Ages]], it was one of the largest and most important cities in England, which at its Medieval height in the early 15th century had a population of up to 10,000, making it the most important city in the [[Midlands]], and possibly the fourth largest in England behind [[London]], [[York]] and [[Bristol]].<ref name="CovasCounty">{{cite web |title=Coventry as a County |url=http://www.historiccoventry.co.uk/history/history.php#county |publisher=Historic Coventry |access-date=10 September 2022}}</ref> Reflecting its importance, in around 1355, work began on a defensive [[History of Coventry#City walls|city wall]], which, when finally finished around 175 years later in 1530, measured {{convert|2.25|mi}} long, at least {{convert|12|ft}} high, and up to {{convert|9|ft}} thick, it had two towers and twelve gatehouses. Coventry's city walls were described as one of the wonders of the late Middle Ages.{{sfn|Walters|2019|pp=51, 110–111}} Today, Swanswell Gate and Cook Street Gate are the only surviving gatehouses and they stand in the city centre framed by [[Lady Herbert's Garden]].<ref>{{cite web |title=City Gates and Lady Herbert's Garden |url=https://www.historiccoventrytrust.org.uk/visit/city-gates/ |access-date=7 June 2024 |website=Historic Coventry Trust }}</ref>

Coventry claimed the [[city status in the United Kingdom|status of a city]] by [[time immemorial|ancient prescriptive usage]], and was granted a [[royal charter|charter of incorporation]] and [[coat of arms]] by [[Edward III of England|King Edward III]] in 1345. The motto "''Camera Principis''" (the Prince's Chamber) refers to [[Edward the Black Prince|Edward, the Black Prince]].<ref>{{cite web |date=30 January 2024 |title=Coat of arms (crest) of Coventry |url=https://www.heraldry-wiki.com/wiki/Coventry |access-date=7 June 2024 |website=Heraldry of the World }}</ref> In 1451 Coventry became a [[County of the City of Coventry|county in its own right]], a status it retained until 1842, when it was reincorporated into [[Warwickshire]].<ref>Home Office List of English Cities by Ancient Prescriptive Right, 1927, cited in {{cite book |title=City status in the British Isles, 1830–2002 |last=Beckett |first=J. V. |year=2005 |publisher=Ashgate |location=Aldershot |isbn=978-0-7546-5067-6 |page=12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=16033 |title=The City of Coventry: Local government and public services: Local government to 1451 |access-date=15 January 2009 |work=A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 8: The City of Coventry and Borough of Warwick |publisher=British History Online |year=1969 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525093659/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=16033 |archive-date=25 May 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Map of Coventry, cropped from Warwickshire - John Speed Map 1610.jpg|thumb|Map of Coventry by [[John Speed]], published around 1610, showing the street layout and the [[History of Coventry#City walls|city walls]].]]
Coventry's importance during the Middle Ages was such, that on a two occasions a national [[Parliament]] was held there, as well as a number of [[Great Council of England|Great Councils]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Short History – Medieval Coventry |url=https://medievalcoventry.co.uk/short-history/ |access-date=7 June 2024 }}</ref> In 1404, [[Henry IV of England|King Henry IV]] summoned a parliament in Coventry as he needed money to fight rebellion, which wealthy cities such as Coventry lent to him. During the [[Wars of the Roses]], the Royal Court was moved to Coventry by [[Margaret of Anjou]], the wife of [[Henry VI of England|Henry VI]], as she believed that London had become too unsafe. On several occasions between 1456 and 1459 parliament was held in Coventry, including the so-called [[Parliament of Devils]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Coventry's Medieval Timeline (1043–1547) – Medieval Coventry |url=https://medievalcoventry.co.uk/medieval-timeline/ |access-date=7 June 2024 }}</ref> For a while Coventry served as the effective seat of government, but this would come to an end in 1461 when [[Edward IV of England|Edward IV]] was installed on the throne.<ref>{{cite web |title=Coventry the 'Capital City'! |url=http://www.historiccoventry.co.uk/history/history.php#royalcov |publisher=Historic Coventry |access-date=1 September 2022}}</ref>{{sfn|Walters|2019|pp=57, 68–69}}