Note 164 — Chapter I · THE GODLINGS OF NATURE.
Reading edition
The Godiva legend has been admirably illustrated by Mr. Hartland,164 who comes to the conclusion that it is the survival of an annual rite in honour of a heathen goddess, and closely connected with those nudity observances which we are discussing. The difficulty is, however, to account for the nudity part of the ceremony. It may possibly be based on the theory that spirits dread indecency, or rather the male and female principles.165