Wenceslaus I ( ; c. 907 – 28 September 935 or 929), Wenceslas I or Václav the Good was the Duke (kníže) of Bohemia from 921 until his death, probably in 935. According to the legend, he was assassinated by his younger brother, Boleslaus the Cruel. His martyrdom and the popularity of several biographies gave rise to a reputation for heroic virtue that resulted in his sainthood. He was posthumously declared to be a king and patron saint of the Czech state. He is the subject of the well-known "Good King Wenceslas", a carol for Saint Stephen's Day. Biography Wenceslaus was the son of Vratislaus I, Duke of Bohemia from the Přemyslid dynasty. His grandfather, Bořivoj I of Bohemia, was converted to Christianity by Cyril and Methodius. His mother, Drahomíra, was the daughter of a pagan tribal chief of the Havelli, but was baptized at the time of her marriage. His paternal grandmother, Ludmila of Bohemia, saw to it that he was educated in the Old Slavonic language and, at an early age, Wenceslaus was sent to the college at Budeč. In 921, when Wenceslaus was about thirteen, his father died and his grandmother became regent. Jealous of the influence that Ludmila wielded over Wenceslaus, Drahomíra arranged to have her killed. Ludmila was at Tetín Castle near Beroun when assassins murdered her on 15 September 921. She is said to have been strangled by them with her veil. She was at first buried in the church of St. Michael at Tetín, but her remains were later removed, probably by Wenceslaus, to the church of St. George in Prague, which had been built by his father. Drahomíra then assumed the role of regent and immediately initiated measures against Christians. When Wenceslaus was 18, those Christian nobles who remained rebelled against Drahomira. The uprising was successful, and Drahomira was sent into exile to Budeč. Reign With the support of the nobles, Wenceslaus took control of the government. He "...reined in the dependent dukes who had become restive under the regency and used Christianity to strengthen his state." After the fall of Great Moravia, the rulers of the Bohemian Duchy had to deal both with continuous raids by the Magyars and the forces of the Saxon and East Frankish king Henry the Fowler, who had started several eastern campaigns into the adjacent lands of the Polabian Slavs, homeland of Wenceslaus's mother. To withstand