St. Vaclav (Wenceslas) and Boleslav the Cruel

A story to the likes of Cain and Abel, the brothers St. Vaclav and Boleslav the Cruel created a legend combining fratricide, foreign invasion, and polarizing opinion on religion that established the power of the Premyslid Dynasty over Bohemia.

Good King Wenceslas

“Good King Wenceslas looked out, on the Feast of St. Stephen,” said the 1853 Christmas Carol that immortalized the Bohemia Duke. St. Vaclav or in Latin Wenceslas. He came to the world in 903 in Stochov on the outskirts of Prague and a son of Duke Vratislav of Bohemia and Dragomira a member of an influential Bohemia clan. He also had for his grandparents the first documented Presmyslid Duke Borivoj and his wife the future St. Ludmilla. The future Saint Vaclav grew under the wings of his grandmother Ludmilla and from her castle of Tetin. He received education on the Christian faith and became fluent in Slavonic and Latin language. His education made him one of the most literate leaders in Europe with his father’s passing in 921.

Duke of Bohemia

Good King Wenceslas in fact on the age of 13 ruled as Duke of Bohemia in 921. He inherited a Duchy divided politically and religiously. In political matters, Bohemia faced the choice of supporting a faction fighting for the throne of East Francia, while in religious affairs, he faced the divide between Christianity and Paganism still prevailing among Bohemians.

The matter on the throne of the Kingdom of East Francia threatened the political independence of Bohemia. After the death of Charlemagne in 814, his successors failed to maintain the unity of the Holy Roman Empire. The 843 Treaty of Verdun made the situation certain as the Holy Roman Empire split into 3 Kingdoms: West Francia, Middle Francia, and East Francia. East Francia bordered Bohemia and its political instability poured over to the latter. Fight between King Henry the Fowler and Duke Arnulf of Bavaria forced Bohemia to choose between the 2 factions, choosing the wrong side potentially placed Bohemia’s future in crisis.

On the other hand, the rise of Christianity also spelled a division among the people of Bohemia. Many in Bohemia looked upon Christianity as a threat to their traditions. Part of the nobility only accepted Christianity for political reasons whether for advantages or fear of death and annihilation. Borivoj and Ludmilla accepted the faith whole-heartedly while Vaclav’s mother Dragomira only became a Christian by name and continued to support pagan elements within the country. This divide alongside the issue of East Francia became challenges defining the rule of Vaclav.

Only 13 with his father’s demise, Vaclav required a regency which his mother Dragomira took responsibility for. Anti-Christian factions then moved to undermine the young Duke attacking his capability fitting more for priesthood rather than governance. Tensions between Ludmilla and Dragomira further escalated on the issue of recognizing the rule of King Henry the Fowler of East Francia. Ludmilla’s faction then tried to convince the young Vaclav to plot against his mother. However, by September 921, Dragomira discovered the plot and attacked first. She ordered the assassination of Ludmilla on September 15, 921 with 2 nobles or servants strangling the devout Dowager to death. The tragic death of Ludmilla turned her into a martyr and eventually a Saint. The assassination further backfired as the violent act led to Dragomira’s fall from power. In 922, Vaclav began his direct rule ordering his mother’s exile until 925.

As a Duke, Vaclav showed tremendous devotion to his Christian faith. He vowed chastity and frugality. Moreover, he allowed to continued works of the German missionaries in the Duchy. His blunt support for proselytizing of Christianity failed to sit well with the pagans in the court. More so felt the same with the Duke’s foreign policy.

Vaclav decided to recognize the suzerainty of the Saxon King of Francia, Henry I the Fowler, in 929. He intended to maintain peace by bending the knee to Henry and paying the tribute of 500 silver pieces and 120 oxen. According to legend, the 2 leaders met and fostered mutual respect for their piety. Vaclav earned so much of Henry’s admiration that the Francian King granted the Bohemian Duke’s request for the arm of St. Vitus which he later interred to a Church dedicated to the relic. Many proud nobles scoffed over the subservience of Vaclav and began to plot.

Within the Christian factions that initially supported Vaclav, dissension also festered with the Duke’s reforms. The trigger of discontent laid in Vaclav’s decision to adopt the Latin liturgy at the expense of the vernacular Slavonic Liturgy introduced by Sts. Methodius and Constantine. The act stroke a core to Bohemian identity. Dissatisfaction also came from Vaclav’s reliance on the clergy for counsel rather than his lords. Vaclav’s growing centralization of power and weakening of the local Lords made things worst. Thus, a combination of cultural, religious, and political issues began to build up against Vaclav. Many of those dissatisfied rallied behind his brother Boleslav for support and even a substitute.

The Premyslid Cain

Born in 908 or 910, Boleslav was the younger brother of Vaclav. He also grew up educated by Ludmilla but developed a closer relationship with his mother Dragomira. As a result, he became a rallying point for pagans within the Bohemian court.

Either in 929 or 935, Bohemian lords approached him and hoped for his support against his brother Vaclav. On September 28, Boleslav invited Vaclav to his castle in Stara Boleslav to celebrate the feast of St. Cosmas and Damian. As Vaclav made his way to mass, Boleslav’s supporters attacked the Duke’s retinue. Amidst the melee, Vaclav fell and said to have uttered for his last words, “May God forgive you, brother.” Whether fully involved or only complicit, Boleslav shouldered the responsibility and became known as Boleslav the Cruel. On the other hand, Duke Vaclav’s virtues and devotion to Christianity made his fall a martyrdom and considered many Bohemians considered him a saint and by 984 the patron saint of Bohemia.

After the bloody transition from Vaclav to Boleslav, the new Duke hoped to heal the wounds. Boleslav repented over the events. As he heard stories of miracles on the tomb of his late brother in 932, he ordered his brother’s remains to be interred to the new Church of St. Vitus. He also allowed for Christian missionaries to continue their works. He supported the establishment of the Benedictine convent of St. George, which became the necropolis for the Presmyslid Dynasty. Later in his life, he worked for the establishment of an independent Bishopric in Prague which only came to fruition a year after his passing in 973.

Despite being labeled “the Cruel,” Boleslav proved to be an effective and strong Duke. He established Prague as the center of government and strengthened the central authority of the Presmyslid through military campaigns over powerful autonomous Bohemian nobility. He built castles and churches as administrative, economic, and military centers across Bohemia – a symbolic establishment of central authority over the lands. Thus, clerics and magistrates that manned these castles and churches served as agents of the duke. He expanded the finance of the Premyslid by collecting a tax to all freemen called the peace tax. Moreover, the rise of Rus principalities opened trade routes north that greatly benefited Bohemia. He imposed customs/protection fees of 1% to merchants to cash in the rising trade. He fostered mercantile activities further by issuing the Bohemian denarii based on the Bavarian model. By the end of his reign, Prague grew wealthy and popular for the trade of fur, slaves, and tin as stated by the Arab traveler Ibrahim ibn Jakub. The filing of the coffers allowed Boleslav to build his “great guard” composed of several thousands of men that served as the Premyslid’s armed wing. His “great guard” allowed him to expand his dominion over Moravia, Silesia, and modern day Slovakia.

In diplomacy, he continued his brother’s policy of peace with the Kings of East Francia. He recognized the rule and overlordship of the future Holy Roman Emperor Otto I. For his fealty, he exercised extreme autonomy and absence of interference from Otto I. Relations further strengthened when Bohemia joined Otto’s coalition forces to fight the Magyars in 955 in the historical battle of Lechfeld.

In other affairs, he established blood relations with the Piast Dynasty of Poland by marrying Dubrawka, daughter of Duke Mieszko I of Poland.

Demise
Boleslav passed away in 972 to his son who ruled as Boleslav II. Boleslav II continued his father’s policy of evangelization and loyalty towards the Holy Roman Emperors. The Premyslid rule cemented in Bohemia and lasted until its extinction in 1306.

Summing Up

The reigns of St. Vaclav and Boleslav cemented Premsylid rule in Medieval Age and engrained in Czech history for posterity. The sainthood of Vaclav created a legend that became a subject of embellishment and mythmaking. Nevertheless, it elevated the status of the Premyslid as a divinely ordained house that provided a justification for their rule over Bohemia. St. Vaclav became a symbol of protection for the Czech people. The square and his monument became sacred ground for resistance against foreign intervention. Boleslav, on the other, despite his bloody ascension strengthened the Bohemian state with centralization. It allowed Bohemia to survive and thrived until it became a Kingdom and great power by the end of the 13th century.


Bibliography:
Websites:
"Saint Wenceslaus." Franciscan Media. Accessed on February 13, 2021. URL: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-wenceslaus 

"Wenceslas." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Encyclopedia.com. Accessed on February 13, 2021. URL:  https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/czech-and-slovak-history-biographies/saint-wenceslaus 

Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. "Wenceslas I." Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed on February 13, 2021. URL: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wenceslas-I-prince-of-Bohemia 

Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. "Boleslav I." Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed on February 13, 2021. URL: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Boleslav-I   

Books:
Agnes, Hugh LeCaine. The Czechs and the Lands of the Bohemian Crown. Stanford, California: Hoover Institution Press, 2004.

Cornej, Petr & Jiri Polorny. A Brief History of the Czech Lands. Prague: Prah Press, 2003.

Mahoney, William. The History of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood Press, 2011.

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