Editing Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia (section)

===Assassination===
[[File:Ermordung Wenzels (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Wenceslaus flees from his brother who is wielding a sword, but the priest closes the door of the church (from Gumpold's Codex)]]

In September 935, a group of nobles allied with Wenceslaus's younger brother Boleslav plotted to kill him. After Boleslav invited Wenceslaus to a celebration of the feast of [[Sts. Cosmas and Damian|Saints Cosmas and Damian]] in [[Stará Boleslav]], three of Boleslav's companions (Tira, Česta, and Hněvsa) fell on the duke and stabbed him to death.<ref name=Newton>[https://books.google.com/books?id=F4-dAwAAQBAJ&dq=wenceslaus+i+duke+of+bohemia&pg=PA628 Newton, Michael. "Wenceslaus I (907–935)", ABC-CLIO, 2014] {{ISBN|9781610692861}}</ref> As the duke fell, Boleslav ran him through with a lance.<ref name=Butler/>

According to [[Cosmas of Prague]], in his ''Chronica Boëmorum'' of the early 12th century, one of Boleslav's sons was born on the day of Wenceslaus's death. Because of the ominous circumstance of his birth, the infant was named [[Strachkvas]], which means "a dreadful feast".<ref name=Newton/>

There is also a tradition that Wenceslaus's loyal servant [[Podevin]] avenged his death by killing one of the chief conspirators, an act for which he was executed by Boleslav.<ref name=gibbs>[https://www.ubishops.ca/wp-content/uploads/1929-1930-Issue3.pdf Gibbs, C.H., "Good King Wenceslaus", ''The Mitre'', Volume XXXVII, No. 3, December 1929, p. 8, University of Bishop's College, Lennoxville, Quebec]</ref>

The assassination of Wenceslaus has been characterized as an important turning point in early Bohemian history, as the rule of Boleslav I saw him renounce the Franks, centralize power in Bohemia and expand the territory of the polity.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Štefan |first1=Ivo |last2=Stránská |first2=Petra |last3=Vondrová |first3=Hana |date=2016 |title=The archaeology of early medieval violence: the mass grave at Budeč, Czech Republic |journal=Antiquity |language=en |volume=90 |issue=351 |pages=759–776 |doi=10.15184/aqy.2016.29 |s2cid=164175193 |issn=0003-598X|doi-access=free }}</ref>