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
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
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
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. 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
St. George's Basilica ( cz, Bazilika Sv. Jiří) is the oldest surviving church building within Prague Castle, Prague, Czech Republic. The basilica was founded by Vratislaus I of Bohemia in 920. It is dedicated to Saint George. Primarily Romanesq ...
.
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
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
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
Beroun (; german: Beraun) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. It lies at the confluence of the Berounka and Litavka rivers. Beroun creates a conurbation with Králův Dvůr, former par ...
.
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 m ...
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
St. George's Basilica ( cz, Bazilika Sv. Jiří) is the oldest surviving church building within Prague Castle, Prague, Czech Republic. The basilica was founded by Vratislaus I of Bohemia in 920. It is dedicated to Saint George. Primarily Romanesq ...
.[ 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 ranked ...
es, those with problems with in-laws, and widow
A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, 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 ...
s. Her feast day is celebrated on September 16th.
Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravian traditional music, Moravia and his native Bohemia, following t ...
composed his oratorio ''Saint Ludmila
Ludmila of Bohemia (c. 860 – 15 September 921) is a Czech saint and martyr venerated by the Orthodox and the Roman Catholics. She was born in Mělník as the daughter of the Sorbian prince Slavibor. Saint Ludmila was the grandmother ...
'' 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>
See also
*St. George's Basilica, Prague
St. George's Basilica ( cz, Bazilika Sv. Jiří) is the oldest surviving church building within Prague Castle, Prague, Czech Republic. The basilica was founded by Vratislaus I of Bohemia in 920. It is dedicated to Saint George. Primarily Romanesq ...
*House of Přemysl
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
*Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
* Statue of Saint Ludmila, Charles Bridge
The statue of Saint Ludmila is an outdoor sculpture by Matthias Braun, installed on the south side of the Charles Bridge in Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, ...
* Saint Ludmila, patron saint archive
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