St. Wenceslas

"Good King Wenceslas" I. M. Neale's famous carol has made this good man a household name, but although it is typical of what we know of him the contents of this hymn seem not to be based on any known incident in his life,

Wenceslas or Wenzel became Duke of Bohemia in 922 following the death of his father Duke Wratislaw. Born in 902, Wenceslas was educated mainly by his grandmother Ludmilla, a pious and holy woman who instilled in him the Christian faith, a faith he strongly adhered to for his tragically short life,

Wenceslas was in every way a good leader of his people, working with the clergy to improve their religious and educational lives, Realising his people needed closer contact with the rest of the Christian world Wenceslas allied Bohemia with the German Empire, whose king, Henry the Fowler he recognised as his overlord, but more importantly as the successor of Charlemagne.

These politics brought out a strong pagan reaction against this good Christian king and led to his assassination, in 929. at the hands of his brother Boleslav's followers. Although implicated in Wenceslas's murder Boleslav honoured his late brother enough to have his relics buried in the church of St. Vitus in Prague where they became the centre of a cult and a place of pilgrimage.

Within a hundred years Wenceslas had become the patron saint of Bohemia, his image was engraved on the coins and the crown of Wenceslas became the symbol of Czech independence and nationalism.

There are no ancient churches dedicated to him in England, but his charity and sacrifice popularised Victorian Christian ideals of social benevolence and practical almsgiving.

John Hayward