Editing Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia (section)

==Legacy==
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Wenceslaus is the subject of the popular [[Saint Stephen's Day]] (celebrated on December 26 in the West) carol "[[Good King Wenceslas]]". It was published by [[John Mason Neale]] in 1853, and may be a translation of a poem by Czech poet Václav Alois Svoboda{{fact|date=October 2021}}.
A supposed American spelling of the duke's name, "Wenceslaus," is occasionally encountered in later textual variants of the carol, although it was not used by Neale in his version, and in the U.S. the name usually is spelled Wenceslas, as in the [[Good King Wenceslas|carol]].<ref>''Wencesla-us'' is the [[Mediaeval Latin]] [[2nd declension|Second Declension]] form of the name.</ref> Wenceslaus is not to be confused with King [[Wenceslaus I of Bohemia]] (Wenceslaus I Premyslid), who lived more than three centuries later.

[[File:Wenceslas square statue daytime.JPG|thumb|[[Statue of Saint Wenceslas, Wenceslas Square|Statue of Saint Wenceslas]] on the eponymous square in Prague]]

At the beginning of the [[Hussite Wars]] Wenceslaus’s name was often invoked, and it was only later that he was overshadowed by Hussite warrior [[Jan Žižka]]. Later, even when the Hussites and Protestants gained the upper hand in Bohemia and the cult of Wenceslaus faded, he still remained a venerated figure throughout Bohemia, with [[Jan Hus]] himself often referencing Wenceslaus in his sermons.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4202365 | jstor=4202365 | last1=Odložilík | first1=Otakar | title=Good King Wenceslas: A Historical Sketch | journal=The Slavonic and East European Review | date=1929 | volume=8 | issue=22 | pages=120–130 }}</ref>  During the reign of [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles IV]], Wenceslaus’s image as a saint and martyr was often employed by Charles in his enterprises both at home and abroad, and in later years when the systematic Germanization of Bohemia began, Wenceslaus came to be considered a representation of the Czech national consciousness.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/central-european-history/article/wenceslas-looks-out-monarchy-locality-and-the-symbolism-of-power-in-fourteenthcentury-bavaria/6939CFE4F1AD7543B60E2B0602341707 | doi=10.1017/S0008938919000141 | title=Wenceslas Looks Out: Monarchy, Locality, and the Symbolism of Power in Fourteenth-Century Bavaria | date=2019 | last1=Scales | first1=Len | journal=Central European History | volume=52 | issue=2 | pages=179–210 | s2cid=165576967 }}</ref>

An [[Statue of Saint Wenceslas, Wenceslas Square|equestrian statue of Saint Wenceslaus]] and other patrons of Bohemia (St. Adalbert, St. Ludmila, St. Prokop and St. Agnes of Bohemia) are located on [[Wenceslaus Square]] in [[Prague]]. The statue is a popular meeting place in Prague. Demonstrations against the Communist regime were held there.<ref>[http://www.prague.cz/st-wenceslas-monument/ "St. Wenceslas Monument in Prague", Prague.cz]</ref>

His helmet and armour are on display inside Prague Castle.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://prague-castle.org/chapel.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080131140136/http://prague-castle.org/chapel.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=January 31, 2008 |title=Prague Castle: St Wenceslas Chapel |publisher=Prague Castle |access-date=2015-01-30}}</ref>

===In popular culture===
The lavish 1930 silent film [[St. Wenceslas (film)|''St. Wenceslas'']] was at the time the most expensive Czech film ever made.

[[Ogden Nash]] wrote a comic epic poem, "The Christmas that Almost Wasn't" (1957), in which a boy awakens Wenceslaus and his knights to save the kingdom of Lullapat from usurpers who have outlawed Christmas, with elements from the legend of Wenceslas.<ref>[[Ogden Nash]], ''The Christmas that Almost Wasn't'', [[Little, Brown and Company]], 1957 {{OCLC|1211904}}</ref>

The 1994 television film, ''Good King Wenceslas'', is a highly fictional account of his early life. The film stars [[Jonathan Brandis]] in the title role, supported by [[Leo McKern]], [[Stefanie Powers]], and [[Joan Fontaine]] as Ludmila.<ref>{{IMDb title|qid=Q1198889|id=tt0109919|title=Good King Wenceslas (1994)}}</ref>