Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia

Wenceslaus became Prince of Bohemia in 921, ruling a realm still finding its footing in central Europe. On 28 September 935, he was killed — legend says his younger brother Boleslaus the Cruel orchestrated the assassination. The martyrdom stuck. Several biographies circulated, each burnishing his reputation for heroic virtue, and sainthood followed. Posthumously he was declared a king, an upgrade in title if not in fact, and named patron saint of the Czech state. Centuries later he landed in a different kind of immortality: as the protagonist of "Good King Wenceslas", a Saint Stephen's Day car…