Good King Wenceslas

Wenceslas was a real person, though he never was a King during his lifetime.

He was a duke of Bohemia in the 10th century who ruled a little over a decade but managed to acquire a great love of his people.

While Wenceslas was a good ruler, he is known not for his political decisions but rather for his good deeds. Today, Wenceslas I is considered a Christian martyr and saint.

The meaning of Good King Wenceslas is rather simple, promoting eternal values and referencing passages from the Bible.

It encourages us to care for others following Wenceslas’s example, be it the Christmas season or any other day.

Lyrics

Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the feast of Stephen
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even
Brightly shone the moon that night
Though the frost was cruel
When a poor man came in sight
Gath’ring winter fuel
 
“Hither, page, and stand by me
If thou knows it telling:
Yonder peasant, who is he?
Where and what his dwelling?”
“Sire, he lives a good league hence
Underneath the mountain
Right against the forest fence
By Saint Agnes’ fountain”
 
“Bring me flesh and bring me wine
Bring me pine logs hither
Thou and I will see him dine
When we bear the thither”
Page and monarch, forth they went
Forth they went together
Through the rude wind’s wild lament
And the bitter weather
“Sire, the night is darker now
And the wind blows stronger
Fails my heart, I know not how
I can go no longer”
“Ark my footsteps, my good page
Tread thou in them boldly
Thou shalt find the winter’s rage
Freeze thy blood less coldly”
 
In his master’s step he trod
Where the snow lay dented
Heat was in the very sod
Which the saint had printed
Therefore, Christian men, be sure
Wealth or rank possessing
Ye who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing

Who Is King Wenceslas?

Wenceslas, originally Wenceslaus I, was the duke of Bohemia that was a part of the Holy Roman Empire from 921 to 935. He acquired power at the young age of 13 when his father, Vratislaus I, died.

His grandmother, Ludmila of Bohemia, became a regent, but Wenceslas’s mother Drahomira didn’t like the influence she had or her son an arranged assassins to have her killed.

Drahomira was born in a pagan family but was baptized when she got married. However, after she had Ludmila killed and took over the regent’s place, she initiated measures against Christians in Bohemia.

When Wenceslaus turned 18 and became an independent ruler, he organized an uprising with local nobles. As a result, Drahomira was sent to exile.

Wenceslaus then divided Bohemia between himself and his younger brother Boleslaw to avoid disputes.

However, the exile of his own mother wasn’t the only deed that showcases Wenceslas’s great faith in Christian God. Legends say that Wenceslas would visit churches barefoot at night, giving alms to those in need.

The legend was later asserted as truth by Pope Pius ll. Over time, people started perceiving Wenceslas not simply as a duke but as a father of all the hopeless, lonely, and indigent.

Another legend narrates that Wenceslas had a unique custom of visiting each of his servants on Christmas Day and pressing a coin in their hands.

Afterward, he would go to the castle dungeons and give a coin to each prisoner.

While these legends are hard to prove, some of Wenceslas’s good deeds are supported by historical evidence.

For example, he has built numerous churches in Bohemia. Multiple cathedrals built after Wenceslas’s death were also named after him.

Wenceslas acquired the title of martyr and saint after he was assassinated by his brother in 935.

He was stabbed by Boleslaw and a group of nobles when he attended the celebration of the feast of Saints Comas and Damian by Boleslaw’s invitation.

Wenceslas was titled a saint right after his assassination, as he was widely known for his good deeds. The word of Wenceslas kindness and generosity grew and reached England.

Four biographies of Wenceslas were written within a few decades, which is quite a lot considering the speed of writing a book at that time.

Although Wenceslas was just a duke, Holy Roman Emperor Otto I posthumously granted him a royal title. That’s why in the famous Christmas carol, Wenceslas is referred to as King Wenceslas.

Interestingly, Wenceslas is the only saint of Czech origin who appears on the Roman Catholic Church calendar.

The Neale’s Carol

Good King Wenceslas is one of the earliest Christmas carols that is still sung today.

The lyrics of Good King Wenceslas were written in 1853 by British author John Mason Neale – as you already know, Wenceslas was famous for his good deeds even in England.

However, the music of the carol was much older, written in the 13th century. It was called Tempus Adest Floridum and was composed to praise the spring.

Naturally, a tune praising the spring was rather cheerful, as opposed to the story of Good King Wenceslas.

The carol was first published in Carols for Christmas-Tide book by Novello & Co.

But before the story of King Wenceslas became a Christmas carol, it was published as prose by the same author in the book Deeds of Faith: Stories for Children from Church History four years earlier.

Despite the carol’s polarity, it has received a wave of criticism in the following two centuries.

For instance, the Oxford Book of Carols published in 1928 states that Good King Wenceslas owns its popularity solely to the cheerful tune and not to the narrative.

English composer Elizabeth Poston, in turn, said that the carol is “a product of an unnatural marriage between Victorian whimsy and the thirteenth-century dance carol.” In other words, many found the tune unsuitable for such a narrative.

The Story of a Good King Wenceslas

The first stanza of the Good King Wenceslas carol observes Wenceslas standing next to the window on Saint Stephen’s Day, looking at a poor man collecting wood for his family on a cold night. He then asks one of his servants where the man lives.

After receiving an answer, Wenceslas commands his servants to gather food, drink, and wood for the poor man and carry it right to his home. The servants oblige, but the weather is windy and cold, and they start to lose their fortitude.

As Wenceslas calls one of the servants to walk right behind him, the boy miraculously starts feeling better. He then continues to follow Wenceslas’s footsteps until they reach the poor man’s house.

The carol concludes with an encouragement for all Christians to bless the poor, stating that they shall find a blessing for themselves this way.

The narrative of the carol aligns with one popular legend about Wenceslas, but historians can’t find evidence it really happened.

The carol’s ending resembles two passages from Scripture, with the first one being derived from Proverbs 19:17: “He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done.”

The second passage the carol references is from the Gospel of Matthew 25:31-46, narrating about Jesus calling on his disciples to help the poor and suffering. They then wonder:

“Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?”

To which Jesus replies with “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

In other words, Good King Wenceslas promotes eternal Christian values: kindness and generosity, encouraging us to help those in need without expecting anything in return.

This is the very embodiment of the Christmas spirit and the reason Wenceslas became a saint.

Good King Wenceslas Covers

Good King Wenceslas has been around for several centuries and has earned numerous covers throughout the time.

The earliest modern-era Good King Wenceslas cover was recorded by American band Mannheim Steamroller on an electronic synthesizer in 1984.

American jazz singer Mel Tomte included a cover to this carol in his 1992 album Christmas Songs.

In 2004, the carol received a classical cover by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and in 2006, a folk cover by British duo Blackmore’s Night.

Synthesizer and folk covers, however, weren’t the most surprising adaptations of this old carol. In 2019, heavy-metal band Judas Priest vocalist Rob Halford covered Good King Wenceslas on his album Celestial.

A year earlier, a punk-metal band from Detroit Child Bite covered the carol on their album Burnt Offerings.

Good King Wenceslas in Popular Culture

Apart from numerous covers, the Good King Wenceslas carol was often referenced in popular culture. On 1963 Christmas Record by The Beatles, the band members mentioned multiple renditions of the carol’s lyrics.

The popular series Doctor Who also made a reference to the carol. In the episode “Genesis of the Daleks,” the Doctor tells his companion Sarah Smith to follow in his footsteps, to which she replies with “Good King Wenceslas.”

In a musical comedy called The Muppet Christmas Carol with The Muppet Show characters, the carol is sung by Bean Bunny to Scrooge. Perhaps, this could be considered a proper cover rather than a cultural reference.

Everything you could possibly think of has already been mentioned in The Simpsons, and Good King Wenceslas is no exception.

The carol was sung by the family’s guests in White Christmas Blues episode. Marge then remarks that this carol creeps her out.

Continuing the series theme, in Big Bang Theory “The Santa Simulation” episode, Sheldon is asked to sing the carol as a task while playing a board game.

Although he is only asked to sing the first verse, he insists on singing the carol in full.

The carol has even inspired some works of culture dedicated specifically to account of Wenceslas’s life.

So, The Devil in a Forest is a novel entirely based on the carol, and the Good King Wenceslas 1994 film is a biography of the duke, though for the most part, fictional.

Sources