Good King Wenceslas

Just who was Good King Wenceslas anyway?

Have you ever wondered about Good King Wenceslas, the ruler who has been sung about since the famous hymn was written by John Neale in 1853?  Just who was this man, why do we call him “king” and why do we call him “good”?

Good King Wenceslas

Good King Wenceslas

Since it is Christmas time, we are pleased to give you this sample biography from our book of medieval biographies entitled What Really Happened During the Middle Ages.  We hope that you will take some time out of your busy schedule to read a timeless tale to your children about Wenceslas, a man who exhibited character qualities that truly matter – compassion, selflessness and courage.

Pick up your free historical biography here:

http://www.knowledgequestmaps.com/wenceslas.htm

Enjoy!

Also, if you would like to be included in our drawing to win 1 of 5 free copies of What Really Happened During the Middle Ages, please post a comment here below with your thoughts on the Wenceslas biography.  Just tell us if you like it or not and why.  Please be sure to leave contact information so that we can contact you if you win (email or blog address is great). The drawing will be held on December 11th.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 at 3:26 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

26 Responses to “Good King Wenceslas”

Christine Freeman December 3rd, 2009 at 3:48 pm

Love it – it’s good to learn more about this. Thanks.

Lynne Botha December 3rd, 2009 at 3:52 pm

A bittersweet story, artistically written.

Kathleen December 3rd, 2009 at 5:06 pm

I love to find out the stories behind the songs I love to sing, thank you, this holiday season I will sing this song with much more feeling…Thanks to you. *U* Kathleen

Wendy Abel December 3rd, 2009 at 7:04 pm

We love to sing Christmas songs at our house and have already been listening to our Christmas CDs for a month now. As with other hymns, I like to share the history of the songs with my children, so this little gem is a wonderful way to help bring life to the music we’re singing. We also love the Medieval period. Thank you for the free sampler gift!

Heather December 4th, 2009 at 1:04 am

I love learning about people that share the same heritage as my family. I also like that it’s conversational instead of just a research paper full of facts – thank you!

Ennis December 8th, 2009 at 10:46 pm

This was a great read aloud story–it was comprehensive yet could be accomplished in one sitting. My 12 year old, who usually doesn’t read anything that is not required, volunteered, “I’d like to read the rest of that book!”. Thanks for sharing!

Beth December 10th, 2009 at 1:03 am

I love that the story is beautifully written, and really brings history to life.

Dawn December 10th, 2009 at 7:41 am

WE loved it! I have a 12year old and 10year old and we are studying the middle ages now. So this fit right in, I loved it because both of my kids took something from the story. It gives them examples of true Christian leaders and heroes to look up to. They are both ready to go into the cold and spread the word of God!

Cynthia Babecka December 10th, 2009 at 8:31 am

I’ve always liked the song. It’s nice to know the history behind it. I will make sure that my family sings this on the Feast of St. Stephen. Thanks you for the story.

jen December 10th, 2009 at 8:40 am

Lovely story! Very well done!

Kris December 10th, 2009 at 8:49 am

Wow! What a neat story to share with my kids. This is my dd’s favorite carol and now it has even more meaning. Thanks for sharing! :)

Toshi December 10th, 2009 at 8:52 am

What great timing! A 5 year old in my Children’s Churc Class loves the song and it’s going to be great sharing with him and his parents about King Wenceslas.

Susan December 10th, 2009 at 9:05 am

Very informative, captivating, and artfully-written story of Good King Wenceslas. My children are studying the history of the Middle Ages currently, and with it being Christmastime, this story will make a very enriching read-aloud supplement. Thank you!

Linda December 10th, 2009 at 9:20 am

Thanks so much. It was a great read! I love learning about the ‘real’ people behind the the myth.

Pam December 10th, 2009 at 10:00 am

I have always liked the carol Good KIng Wenceslas. It is great to know the stories behind the songs. I have read several of the stories from this book. They are all well written and hard to put down.

Ruth Heath December 10th, 2009 at 10:13 am

Great story! This held my children’s attention as we read it outloud for worship time. Thank you so much!

Rachel Quebedeaux December 10th, 2009 at 3:06 pm

Thanks for the history lesson!!

Michelle December 10th, 2009 at 3:55 pm

Thank you so much for providing this story online! Histories are so much more interesting than make believe, I think. If the rest of the book is written as well and as informatively as this (I really liked those footnotes, by the way), then this would be a wonderful book to have in any library!

Isabelle December 10th, 2009 at 3:58 pm

Quite interesting that you would offer this and we had just read a bit about him recently.

Very interesting story.

Tweets that mention Terri’s Take… » Blog Archive » Good King Wenceslas -- Topsy.com December 10th, 2009 at 5:11 pm

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Terri Johnson, Terri Johnson. Terri Johnson said: Win a print copy of Middle Ages biography collection AND pick up free bio today – http://tiny.cc/Leu2E – Retweets get entered multi-times! [...]

Natasha December 10th, 2009 at 5:14 pm

A very interesting story, and very well written. I enjoyed it very much!

Linda December 10th, 2009 at 6:48 pm

I really enjoyed learning about King Wenceslas, especially since my dad’s family immigrated from Bohemia…this carol holds a special place for me in my heart.

PS – Shared on my FB page too.

JenniLyn December 10th, 2009 at 11:44 pm

It is great to be able to learn the history of some of these ill forgotten about things.

JenniLyn December 11th, 2009 at 12:11 am

shared on my Facebook page as well

Beth December 11th, 2009 at 12:27 am

Great story (right down to the lovely fonts and illustration). My seven year old has been loving hearing the stories of the saints, from another wonderful book we’ve been reading, and I think she will likely enjoy this one as a read-aloud. We’re studying medieval history this year, so it’s also fitting that way! I’d love to see the rest of the book too!

I shared about this on my Facebook page as well.

Jennifer December 11th, 2009 at 8:44 am

Thanks! This is a wonderful addition to our Christmas piano/music lessons this month.

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