What was Good King Wenceslas king of?
Wenceslaus or Wenceslas (Czech: Vclavlisten; German: Wenzel), styled Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia (b. 907, d. September 28, 935 or 929 see death controversy below) was the son of Vratislav I, Duke of Bohemia. His father was raised in a Christian milieu through his father, Borivoj’s, who was converted by Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius, the “apostles to the Slavs”. His mother Drahomra, however, was the daughter of a pagan tribal chief who held on to the pagan belief system, as did many Czech nobles at the time, fearing that the arrival of Christian bishops would threaten their authority. Wenceslaus himself is venerated as Saint Wenceslaus. He is best known outside the Czech Republic as the subject of the Christmas carol “Good King Wenceslas”.
