Many of us have heard the Christmas Carol “Good King Wenceslas” written for St Stephen’s Day, celebrated today on the 26th December, but do not often know much about Wenceslas or his dramatic family history.
Firstly. Wenceslas I was not actually a king; he was the Duke of Bohemia and was posthumously given the title of King and also made a saint. Wenceslas was a chaste and pious ruler in the late 10th century, remembered for his good deeds and devout Christian faith.
Now that we understand the context of today’s story, we can look further back in time to our main subject, the murder of Ludmila of Bohemia, which was ordered by her daughter-in-law, Duchess Drahomíra of Stodor. Drahomíra was Wenceslas’s mother, and Ludmila was his grandmother.
Drahomíra was married to Vratislaus I, Duke of Bohemia, who was the son of Ludmila of Bohemia and Bořivoj I of Bohemia. Bořivoj I of Bohemia and Ludmila were known for bringing Christianity to Bohemia and remained true to their faith even under extreme persecution by Pagan nobles. When Bořivoj I died, his son Vratislaus I reigned over Bohemia, though his mother Ludmila was still very much on the scene.
Vratislaus I and his wife, Drahomíra, had six children, including the future dukes Wenceslas and Boleslav. When her husband died suddenly, Drahomíra became regent and was given rule over Bohemia. The nobles, however, decided that a share in power would also be given to Ludmila, her mother-in-law, who was awarded custody of her grandsons. Ludmila then took over the upbringing and education of her grandsons, including the young Duke Wenceslas, who was raised under strict Christian teaching- much to the dismay of his Pagan mother.
From this time onwards, it seems that both women had their own supporting factions, and both wished to keep a firm grip on their own power, creating a lot of tension between the pair, and there were often disputes over the raising of Wenceslas and Boleslav. Adding to this, the fact that both women clashed constantly over political matters made the whole setup a recipe for disaster.
Eventually, Ludmila left Prague and headed about 25km to a castle in Tetín, removing herself from court to avoid the wrath of her daughter-in-law, Drahomíra. This should have eased the troubles between the women and given them some breathing space, but Drahomíra wanted total power over her sons and hatched a plan to rid herself of Ludmila once and for all.
On 15th September 921, two assassins, Tunna and Gommon, broke into the castle of Tetín at the order of Drahomíra. Stories vary widely about what happened, but it is believed that Ludmila was strangled with her own veil. In other versions, Ludmila was killed while praying in the chapel or by her bedside and pleaded with her assassins to be stabbed or beheaded in order to be martyred. We do not know how true any of that is, but she was killed and hastily buried near the walls of the castle.
After her death, Duke Wenceslas took control from his mother and moved his grandmother’s remains to St George’s Basilica in Prague. Wenceslas had Ludmila canonised as a Saint, and she is considered the Patron saint of Bohemia. As for Drahomíra, she was exiled by her son.
It seems that Boleslav took after his mother as he murdered his brother Wenceslas in 935, running him through with a lance while Wenceslas was on his way to church and took Bohemia for himself.
It is unclear what happened to Drahomíra, though her death is dated between 934 and 936. Legend has it that due to a pact with the devil, Drahomíra and her carriage were taken down through the gates of hell when a hole opened up in the centre of Prague. This site was marked by a column, which was removed in 1788. Today, the spot is outside the Černín Palace.1
- Sources
* David Kalhouse- Anatomy of a Duchy, The Political and Ecclesiastical Structures of Early Přemyslid Bohemia- Chapter Two
* www.prague.eu – Foremother of the Premyslid dynasty
* www.magicbohemia.com/drahomira-and-the-gateway-to-hell
* www.britannica.com/biography pages on Saint-Ludmila, Wenceslas I, Prince of Bohemia and Drahomíra
* www.christianhistoryinstitute.org/dailystory/permalink/ludmila-died-a-martyr-for-having-too-much-christian-influence
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