a town of Warwickshire in England, situated in W. Long. 1° 26' N. Lat. 52° 25'. It is an ancient place, and is supposed to derive its name from a convent formerly situated here. Hither Robert de Limetey, bishop of Litchfield and Chester, removed his see, tempted, as it is said, by the wealth of the convent; however, the see returned in a short time to Litchfield again; but with this condition, that the bishop should be styled of Litchfield and Coventry. Leofric, earl of Mercia, who rebuilt the religious house after it had been destroyed by the Danes, and was lord of the place about the year 1040, is said, upon some provocation, to have loaded them with heavy taxes. Being importuned by his lady, Godiva, to remit them, he consented, upon condition that she should ride naked through the town, which she little imagined she would ever comply with. But he found himself mistaken: for she accepted the offer, and rode through the town with her long hair scattered all over her body; having first enjoined the citizens not to venture, on pain of death, to look out as she passed. It is said, however, that a certain taylor could not help peeping; and to this day there is an effigy of him at the window whence he looked. To commemorate this extraordinary transaction, and out of respect to the memory of their patroness, the citizens make a procession every year, with the figure of a naked woman on horseback. After Leofric's death, the earls of Chester became lords of the city, and granted it many privileges. At length it was annexed to the earldom of Cornwall; and growing considerable, had divers immunities and privileges conferred upon it by several kings, particularly that of a mayor and two bailiffs by Edward III.; and Henry VI. made it, in conjunction with some other towns and villages, a distinct county, independent of the county of Warwick. But afterwards Edward IV., for their disloyalty, deprived them of their liberties, which were not restored, till they had paid a fine of 500 marks. By a charter from James James I. an alderman is allotted to each ward, with the powers of the justices of the peace within the city and its liberties. The walls were ordered to be demolished at the restoration; and now nothing remains of them but the gates, which are very lofty. Coventry is noted for the two parliaments which were held in it; the one called the parliament of Dunces, and the other of Devils. The former was so called on account of the exclusion of the lawyers; and the attainders of the duke of York, the earls of Salisbury, Warwick, and March, procured the other the epithet of Devil.

The town-houle of Coventry is much admired for its painted windows representing several kings and others that have been benefactors to the city. The chief manufactures carried on here are tennies and ribbands.