You’ve probably heard the Christmas hymn:
“Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the Feast of Stephen”
Maybe you’ve even heard the joke about how he like his pizza cooked:
“Deep and crisp and even.”
But who was this guy, the patron saint of the Czech Republic, whose statue stands in Wenceslas Square in Prague? Legend holds that if the Czech homeland is ever threatened, the statue will come to life, summon the army that sleeps beneath Mount Blanik, ready to defend the homeland. Wenceslas will wield his sword, which is hidden under the stones of the Charles Bridge and is to be found by a child when peril from enemies looms for Prague.
Here’s the rest of the story. There was actually a Wenceslas – real name Václav the Good, as Wenceslas is the Latinized version. He wasn’t a king; rather, he was Duke of Bohemia. He apparently was a very nice guy. He was from a very dysfunctional family, and he died because of his opposition to slavery.
Yes, slavery. It wasn’t invented in the American South. They used to have it all over Europe. And Prague was the main market for slaves who were being moved overland from central Europe to the west and south.
Wenceslas was against slavery; he would buy slaves himself and set them free. But he ticked off three rich guys who had made big money in the slave trade. Their names were Tira, Česta, and Hněvsa; all three of them stabbed him before his own brother, Boleslas, ran him through with a lance.
Boleslas, the bad guy, took over the realm and knew where his bread was buttered. He, nominally Christian like Wenceslas, let the slavers make their money. He reigned for more than 35 years.
It didn’t matter that Boleslas already ruled over half the country at the time of the killing. It wasn’t enough for him, and it was the money that mattered.
According to “Christendom” by historian Peter Heather, Christianity was spreading throughout Europe in those years, driven largely by the political decrees and conquests in the long reigns of Charlemagne and his son, Louis the Pious.
Václav and Boleslas’s father, Vratislaus I, was the Duke of Bohemia and a Christian. Their mother Drahomíra, though baptized before the marriage, was aligned with Bohemia’s pagans. As a child, Václav was raised largely by his Christian paternal grandmother, Ludmila — who was later canonized as a saint in her own right.
When Václav was about 13, his father died in battle and Ludmila became regent. But the regency did not last long. His mother Drahomíra had Ludmila killed, and she then tried to suppress Bohemia’s Christians.
When Václav became Duke of Bohemia himself at age 18 and came of age, he banished his mother and foiled her suppression plans by working to spread Christianity. He commissioned the building of several churches including part of what is now St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. He also developed a reputation as a wise and compassionate ruler, known for his deeds of mercy.
But to try and avoid disputes, the country was split in two, and half was given to the younger brother, Boleslas. But Boleslas wanted the whole enchilada. He also remained the favored son of Drahomira. In September 935 he plotted with the slave-owning a group of noblemen to kill his brother. He did so by exploiting Wenceslas’s religious faith. He invited Václav to a church dedication on Sept. 27, 929. The next day, while Václav was on his way to prayer, Boleslas and his henchman attacked and killed him.
Only the good die young. Wenceslas was 22. On the base of his statue, the inscription reads “Saint Wenceslas, duke of the Czech land, prince of ours, do not let perish us nor our descendants.’”
I’m told by those who’ve visited that part of Europe that Prague is a particularly beautiful city and that the Charles Bridge is spectacular. That’s one place I’d love to visit. But I won’t be diving into the Vltava River and searching though the rocks for Wenceslas’s sword. As the legend tells us, that’s a job reserved for a child.
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