Wenceslaus I (also ''Wenceslas'', ''Venceslas'', ''Wenzel'', or ''Václav'', often called Wenceslaus of Bohemia in chronicles) (25 February 1337 – 7 December 1383) was the first

Duke of Luxembourg The territory of Luxembourg has been ruled successively by counts, dukes and grand dukes. It was part of the medieval Kingdom of Germany, and later the Holy Roman Empire until it became a sovereign state in 1815. Counts of Luxembourg House of Arde ...

from 1354. He was the son of John the Blind,

King of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia was established in 870 and raised to the Kingdom of Bohemia in Golden Bull of Sicily, 1198. Several Bohemian monarchs ruled as non-hereditary kings and first gained the title in 1085. From 1004 to 1806, Bohemia was part of th ...

, and Beatrice of Bourbon.

Life

The marriage contract of Wenceslaus' parents stipulated that if a son was born from the marriage, the

County of Luxembourg The County of Luxembourg (; ) was a Imperial State, State of the Holy Roman Empire. It arose from medieval ''Bock (Luxembourg), Lucilinburhuc'' ("Little Fortress") Castle in the present-day Luxembourg (city), City of Luxembourg, purchased by ...

(King John's paternal heritage), as well as lands belonging to it, would go to the child.''Luxemburg in the Middle Ages'', Brill Archive Beatrice of Bourbon, gave birth to her only child, Duke Wenceslaus I, on 25 February 1337, in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. In 1353 Charles IV King of Bohemia, Count of Luxembourg and elected Holy Roman King, entrusted the

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

y, their father's inheritance, to his half-brother Wenceslaus. In 1352, Wenceslaus married

Joanna Joanna is a feminine given name deriving from from . Variants in English include Joan, Joann, Joanne, and Johanna. Other forms of the name in English are Jan, Jane, Janet, Janice, Jean, and Jeanne. The earliest recorded occurrence of th ...

(1322 – 1406), daughter of

John III, Duke of Brabant John III (; 1300 – 5 December 1355) was Duke of Brabant, Duke of Lothier, Lothier (1312–1355) and List of rulers of Limburg, Limburg (1312–1347 then 1349–1355), the last Brabant male to rule them. Biography John was the son of John II, ...

and Limburg, and Marie d'Évreux. In 1354 Charles raised Luxembourg to the status of a duchy. In 1355, Joanna inherited Brabant and Limburg. In order to guarantee the indivisibility of Brabant, Wenceslaus signed the

Joyous Entry A Joyous Entry (; ) is a ceremonial event marking the entry into a city by a monarch, prince, duke, or governor in parts of modern-day Belgium. Originating in the Middle Ages, it generally coincided with the affirmation or extension of the city' ...

, but had to fight against his brother-in-law

Louis II of Flanders Louis II (; ) (25 October 1330, Male – 30 January 1384, Lille), also known as Louis of Male, a member of the House of Dampierre, was Count of Flanders, Count of Nevers, and Count of Rethel from 1346 to 1384, and also Count of Artois and C ...

, who asserted his share of the duchy. He failed to prevent the seizure of

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

by the

Flemings Flemish people or Flemings ( ) are a Germanic ethnic group native to Flanders, Belgium, who speak Flemish Dutch. Flemish people make up the majority of Belgians, at about 60%. ''Flemish'' was historically a geographical term, as all inhabita ...

, but a certain

Everard 't Serclaes Everard t'Serclaes, Lord of Kruikenburg (c. 1320 – 31 March 1388) was a citizen of Brussels who was made famous by his recovery of the city from the Flemings. His brother, Jean, was bishop of Cambrai. After the death of John III of Braban ...

succeeded by an audacious coup in driving them out of the city. Thereafter, Wenceslaus had to face primarily internal disorders. In 1371, he overestimated his military capacities and waged war with

William II, Duke of Jülich William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

, resulting in humiliating defeat at the Baesweiler, losing a part of his army, and several noblemen. He was captured and suffered 11 months of captivity. Wenceslas Crypt

Wenceslaus died in

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, leaving Joanna as sole ruler of Brabant, and was succeeded by

Wenceslaus II Wenceslaus II Přemyslid (; ; 27 SeptemberK. Charvátová, ''Václav II. Král český a polský'', Prague 2007, p. 18. 1271 – 21 June 1305) was King of Bohemia (1278–1305), Duke of Cracow (1291–1305), and King of Poland (1296–1305 ...

(Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia) as duke of Luxembourg. There are speculations that he might have died of

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...

. His last wish was his heart to be displaced from his dead body and sent to his wife (Joanna stayed in

). He is buried in a crypt at

Orval Abbey Orval Abbey (Abbaye Notre-Dame d'Orval) is a Cistercian monastery founded in 1132 in the Gaume region of Belgium, located in Villers-devant-Orval, part of Florenville, Wallonia in the province of Luxembourg. The abbey is well known for its hist ...

in Belgium. Wenceslaus I of Luxembourg wrote the lyric poetry interpolated in

Jean Froissart Jean Froissart ( Old and Middle French: ''Jehan''; sometimes known as John Froissart in English; – ) was a French-speaking medieval author and court historian from the Low Countries who wrote several works, including ''Chronicles'' and ''Meli ...

's ''Méliador'', which was identified as his by Auguste Longnon in the 1890s (Wenceslas was a

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

of this

chronicler A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events, ...

). His lyric output comprises 79 poems (11 ballades, 16

virelai A ''virelai'' is a form of medieval French verse used often in poetry and music. It is one of the three '' formes fixes'' (the others were the ballade and the rondeau) and was one of the most common verse forms set to music in Europe from the ...

Life

Ancestors

References

Sources

Further reading