Ludmila of Bohemia (c. 860 – 15 September 921) is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

saint and

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

venerated by the

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

and the Roman Catholics. She was born in

Mělník Mělník (; german: Melnik) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 19,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Mělník lies in one of the most im ...

as the daughter of the Sorbian prince Slavibor. Saint Ludmila was the grandmother of

Saint Wenceslaus Wenceslaus I ( cs, Václav ; c. 907 – 28 September 935 or 929), Wenceslas I or ''Václav the Good'' was the Duke ('' kníže'') of Bohemia from 921 until his death, probably in 935. According to the legend, he was assassinated by his younger ...

, who is widely referred to as Good King Wenceslaus. Saint Ludmila was canonized shortly after her death. As part of the process of canonization, in 925, Wenceslaus moved her remains to St. George's Basilica, Prague.

Marriage

Ludmila was married to Bořivoj I of Bohemia, the first Christian

Duke of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia was established in 870 and raised to the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198. Several Bohemian monarchs ruled as non-hereditary kings beforehand, first gaining the title in 1085. From 1004 to 1806, Bohemia was part of the Holy Roman ...

, in 873. The couple converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

through the efforts of Methodius.Ott, Michael. "St. Ludmilla." ''The Catholic Encyclopedia.'' Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 24 Feb. 2013
/ref> Their efforts to convert Bohemia to Christianity were initially not well received, and pagans drove them from their country for a time. Eventually the couple returned and ruled for several years before retiring to Tetín, near Beroun. Bořivoj was succeeded by their son Spytihněv. Spytihněv was succeeded by his brother Vratislav. When Vratislav died in 921, his son Wenceslas became the next ruler of Bohemia. It had been primarily Ludmila who raised her grandson, and she acted as regent for him.

Ludmila and Drahomíra

Wenceslaus' mother

Drahomíra Drahomíra of Stodor ( cs, Drahomíra ze Stodor; – died after 934 or 936) was Duchess consort of Bohemia from 915 to 921, wife of the Přemyslid duke Vratislaus I. She also acted as regent of the Duchy of Bohemia from 921 to 924 during the ...

became jealous of Ludmila's influence over Wenceslaus. She had two noblemen, Tunna and Gommon (probably of Frankish or Varangian descent) murder Ludmila in Tetín, and part of Ludmila's narrative states that she was strangled with her veil. Initially, Ludmila was buried at St. Michael's at Tetín. Ludmila was canonized shortly after her death. As part of the process of canonization, in 925 Wenceslaus moved her remains to St. George's Basilica, Prague. She is venerated as a patroness of Bohemia. She is considered to be a

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of Bohemia, converts,

duchess Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

es, those with problems with in-laws, and

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can so ...

s. Her feast day is celebrated on September 16th. Antonín Dvořák composed his oratorio '' Saint Ludmila'' between September 1885 and May 1886. The work was commissioned by the publisher Littleton for the

Leeds Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...

.Halstead, Susan. "St. Ludmila, patroness of Bohemia". British Library, 16 September 2013.
/ref>

References

Sources

* Pekar, J., ''Die Wenzels- und Ludmilla-Legenden und die Echtheit Christians'' (Prag, 1906). * Christianus Monachus, "Vita et Passio sancti Venceslai et sanctae Ludmilae avae eius," in ''Magnae Moraviae Fontes Historici'' (Brno, 1967), 186–199. * Ingham, N. W., "The Lost Church Slavonic Life of Saint Ludmila," in ''Studia Slavica Mediaevalia et Himanistica. Riccardo Piccio dicata''. T. 1-2 (Roma, 1986), 349–360. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ludmila of Bohemia 860s births 921 deaths Year of birth uncertain Converts to Christianity from pagan religions Early Sorbian people Czech Roman Catholic saints Czech murder victims Duchesses of Bohemia Roman Catholic royal saints Christian female saints of the Middle Ages 9th-century women 9th-century Bohemian people 10th-century Christian saints 10th-century Christian martyrs 10th-century women rulers Burials at St. George's Basilica, Prague

Marriage

Ludmila and Drahomíra

See also

References

Sources