Ludmila of Bohemia

Saint Ludmila the Martyr was duchess of Bohemia, wife of Bořivoj I, the first Christian duke of the country, and grandmother of Saint Wenceslaus. She was killed in 921 at Tetín on the orders of her daughter-⁠in-⁠law. She is a saint of the undivided Church, honoured by both the Orthodox and the Catholic Churches, and regarded as a patroness of the Czech lands. She is remembered on 16 September.

Family and conversion

She was born around 860 at Mělník, the daughter of Slavibor, a Slavic nobleman called a Sorbian prince in some sources. About 873 she married Bořivoj, duke of Bohemia. The two received holy Baptism from Saint Methodius, archbishop of Moravia and enlightener of the Slavs, according to tradition at the court in Moravia. The pagans of Bohemia did not welcome the new faith, and a revolt forced the duke to leave the country for a time. After his return he built churches and invited priests, and Christianity spread gradually.

Ludmila bore at least six children. Two of her sons, Spytihněv and Vratislav, became dukes in turn. After the death of Bořivoj, who was about thirty-⁠six, Ludmila lived as a widow at Tetín in a strict and pious way.

Grandmother of Wenceslaus

Vratislav married Drahomíra, who held to pagan customs. They had two sons, Wenceslaus and Boleslav. Ludmila took care of Wenceslaus's upbringing and taught him the Christian faith. When Vratislav died in 921, Wenceslaus was still young, and Drahomíra took the government. She began to remove Christians from power and grew to resent Ludmila's influence over her son.

Martyrdom

Drahomíra sent two nobles, Tunna and Gommon, to Tetín. They entered the house where Ludmila was praying and killed her. The accounts of her life say that she was strangled with her own veil. By the usual reckoning she died on 15 September 921. She was first buried at Tetín, by the wall of the church of Saint Michael.

Veneration

Healings were reported at her tomb. Her grandson Wenceslaus, by then duke, moved her relics in 925 to the church of Saint George in Prague, where they remain. She was honoured as a martyr soon after her death. The composer Antonín Dvořák dedicated an oratorio to her, "Saint Ludmila" (1885-1886). The Church remembers her on 16 September.