Life of Saint Wenceslas

Life of Saint Wenceslas

The triumphal march of Christianity had progressed greatly by the 10th century, but the extensive consequences of Christianization are still not known to us today. Since the only religious-seeming attitude of a ruling house lead inevitably to very worldly conflicts: in reality it was always about power, influence, and dependencies. St. Wenceslas is an ambassador for the devastating effects of Christianization in the then still small principality of Bohemia. He has lost none of his significance for Czechia today.

Resistance to the Christianization of Bohemia

Wenceslas of Bohemia was born ca. 908 and was the oldest son of his father Wratislav I and his wife Drahomíra. His father was a Christian. His mother, on the other hand, was not baptized, as was a large portion of the population of his principality. When Wratislav I died in 922, his mother Drahomíra assumed the reign for the still underage Wenceslas. Wenceslas was handed over to his very Christian grandmother Ludmilla and was educated to that effect. There naturally lay a high potential for conflict in this constellation: above all else, ** in Christianity, Drahomíra saw a loss of power** because Christianization would weaken the independence of the then small principality, in which they must bow to the kings of the Romans. In order to demonstrate her power and to make an example of the Bohemian Christians, Drahomíra took a drastic measure: she had her stepmother Ludmilla murdered and banished all missionaries. In this way, every external influence of a Christian monarch was to be hindered in the principality.

A New Christian Prince

Everything changed when Wenceslas came to power in the year 925. He provided for the return of the missionaries and with inter alia the construction of the so-called St. Veit’s Rotunda – over which the foundation walls of the famous St. Veit’s Cathedral today – made a clear sign to Christendom. Wenceslas' goal was the implementation of Christianity as the state religion within his realm. With his efforts, the young prince reversed the machinations of his mother. Now Boleslaw, the younger brother of Wenceslas, came into play: he too was suspicious of the new religion. To that effect, he wanted to take the place of his brother as sovereign, and so he forged a murder plot with his mother Drahomíra: he would be invited to Altbunzlau under the pretense of a family gathering, since Wenceslas was unassailable in Prague. On the way to morning prayers on September 28th in either 929 or 935, Wenceslas was killed by his brother and his henchmen in a struggle. Boleslaw achieved what he wanted. Nevertheless, he was not able to maintain the independence of his territory in the long run, even though he expanded and consolidated the position of Bohemia. Boleslaw had to submit to King Otto I in 950, and as a result the sought-after independence of the small principality could not be maintained.

Wenceslas the Saint

His brother Wenceslas already had a particular reputation as a Christian during his lifetime. Thus his grave has become a pilgrimage site, and Wenceslas was venerated as a saint shortly after his death. Miracles and cures are supposed to have occurred at his grave. The veneration of Wenceslas has remained unbroken since that time: Prague’s Wenceslas Plaza was used in recent history for special occasions and demonstrations, e.g. in the course of the so-called “Velvet Revolution” of 1989. Today, the 28th of September is solemnized as the official holiday of St. Wenceslas. Wenceslas is depicted as an exemplary Christian in his legends: he baptized children and saw personally to their Christian upbringing; soup kitchens and the freeing of prisoners demonstrate his brotherly love, the healing of the sick is supposed to indicate a particular proximity to God already during his lifetime. Historically documented military victories were justified in the legends by the appearance of angels. Wenceslas dispensed with the subjugation of his enemies. He left them with kind gestures and saw the true victory in the conversion of the opponents of Christianity.

The Manuscript

In 1585, Martin Hutský, Prague’s master of painting, dedicated this manuscript to his sponsor and patron Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol. The Archduke’s incredible, splendidly colored and designed escutcheon on fol. 1 introduces the manuscript. It is followed by a two-page dedication by Hutský to his patron. The historic life story of Wenceslas was written down before the legend with its miniatures. The legend of the saint is rendered on 23 pages as such: a thin gold strip forms the frame wherein image and text are interlinked, since what is depicted in the miniature is outlined underneath it. The artist not only designed the illumination, he also wrote the explanations in the manuscript himself.