Good King Wenceslaus
Dan Snow's History Hit
History Hit
4.7 • 13.7K Ratings
🗓️ 31 July 2023
⏱️ 36 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Who was the real good King Wenceslas? The Duke of Bohemia who was made famous by the Christmas carol was also a pivotal figure of European history. He was the first modern Christian Czech ruler who brought the region into being and established it within a developing Europe. He is revered as an Arthurian figure in the Czech Republic today and his importance and reputation extend far beyond the Christmas carol.
Dan is joined by Dr Eleanor Janega, a University lecturer and History Hit favourite. She is a lover of Czech and Bohemian history. We are very excited to be welcoming Eleanor to the History Hit family! She is joining Matt Lewis over on the Gone Medieval podcast as his new co-host from August 1st
Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Dan Snow's History It, to listen to all of our episodes ad-free, get bonus |
| 0:05.5 | content and watch hundreds of history documentaries. Download the History It app or go to historyit.com |
| 0:11.5 | slash subscribe. And if you're an Apple listener, you can subscribe for new ad-free episodes |
| 0:16.5 | within the Apple app. |
| 0:30.0 | Few of us know the true story behind the man that was Wenceslas. Not in fact a king, |
| 0:36.5 | but a Duke, a Duke of Bohemia. He may have been made famous by the Christmas Carol, |
| 0:41.4 | but in fact he's a pivotal figure in medieval European history who deserves to be remembered |
| 0:46.0 | beyond that popular song. I learned in this podcast these almost an Arthurian figure in the |
| 0:51.7 | Czech Republic today, the first modern Christian Czech ruler. You really forge what will become |
| 0:57.2 | the Kingdom of Bohemia and locked it into the European network of states that was developing |
| 1:03.0 | at the time. On this podcast I'm very pleased so we've got one of my favorite contributors, |
| 1:07.1 | Dr. Eleanor Jarniga. She is responsible for some of the biggest shows on history hit TV. |
| 1:12.8 | She's an academic, she's a historian who teaches in London and she is obsessed with Bohemia. |
| 1:18.3 | Rightly so, because it's fascinating, she's always on hand to remind us that the medieval |
| 1:23.5 | world stretched far beyond the white cliffs of Dover with its marvellous castle atop them. |
| 1:29.7 | Now the really exciting news, that Eleanor is joining us at history hit as Matt Lewis's new |
| 1:34.8 | co-host on Gone Medieval, a smash hit medieval history podcast, go and subscribe if you're not |
| 1:41.6 | already. Meet in the meantime, let's hear about the man who made Czechia. When's the slas? Enjoy! |
| 1:49.2 | And the thanks George coming on the pot. I'd like to be here as always thanks Dan. |
| 2:19.4 | But you've often tried to talk about Bohemia as much as possible and how England was |
| 2:23.7 | a medieval backwater and all the action was in Central Opera Bohemia. So on this episode, |
| 2:29.5 | I'm going to just give in. It's inevitable. But before we get onto Wenceslash, the man himself, |
... |
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