Kittredge atJesus in Love Blog has a Christmas treat for the followers of the queer saints that she and I both like to explore: “Gay King Wenceslas“. In a notable achievement, she is drawing on some unpublished research, and also has a great image of the famously “good” king – and his page. I don’t want to detract from Kitt’s work, so to see the picture, you will hvae to follow the link above and read it for yourself. Jus t ofr starters, I give you only the standard, soppy picture – and a teaser from the fascinating text:
Good King Wenceslas
There’s good reason to believe that Good King Wenceslas was gay. Yes, the king in the Christmas carol.
Saint Wenceslaus I (907–935) was duke of Bohemia (now the Czech Republic). The carol is based on a legend about Wenceslaus and his loyal page Podiven. According to the story, it was a bitterly cold night when they went out to give alms to the poor on the Feast of St. Stephen, Dec. 26. Podiven could not walk any farther on his bare, frozen feet, so Wenceslas urged him to follow in his footsteps. His footprints in the snow stayed miraculously warm, allowing the pair to continue safely together.
Many details in the Christmas carol are pious fiction, but the king and his page are both grounded in historical truth. Dennis O’Neill, author of “Passionate Holiness
,” shared with this blog his unpublished research about the loving relationship between Wenceslaus and Podiven.
