Hymn Guide: Good King Wenceslas
“Good King Wenceslas” is a Christmas Carol that celebrates generosity, sacrifice, and the power of holy imitation. Although it is adapted from a legend about Saint Wenceslas, a 10th-century Bohemian duke (not a king!), the story is more fundamentally a parable of Jesus’ sacrifice and his call to Christian service and martyrdom. That’s why the song is linked to the feast of Stephen, which celebrates the deacon and first martyr of the church.
Anglican priest and author John Mason Neale wrote the hymn in 1853, drawing from a Czech poem by Václav Alois Svoboda. The tune, TEMPUS ADEST FLORIDUM, had previously been used in a medieval hymn to spring. Some scholars have criticized its pairing with a Christmas text. But only adult critics could be so Scrooge-like. In my experience, children adore this carol both for its bouncy tune and the story it tells.
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Verse by Verse
The form of this carol is a ballad—a narrative set to verse. In fact, before he wrote this hymn, John Mason Neale published a prose account of Wenceslaus in his book, Deeds of Faith: Stories for Children from Church History.
Verse 1
Good King Wenceslas looked out,
on the Feast of Stephen,
When the snow lay round about,
deep and crisp and even;
Brightly shone the moon that night,
tho’ the frost was cruel,
When a poor man came in sight,
gath’ring winter fuel.
The first verse sets the scene and the atmosphere. A good King, warm in his castle, looks out to see deep snow, a bright moon, and cruel frost. Then the King sees a poor man, in the cold outdoors, gathering wood to burn.
At first, the Feast of Stephen seems merely to be a marker of time and season. Since the Feast of Stephen is on December 26th, it makes sense that the story has a winter setting. But what unfolds in the subsequent verses is a story of service to the poor and personal sacrifice, precisely the qualities of Stephen, a deacon and the Church’s first martyr.
Verse 2
“Hither, page, and stand by me,
if thou know’st it, telling,
Yonder peasant, who is he?
Where and what his dwelling?”
“Sire, he lives a good league hence,
underneath the mountain;
Right against the forest fence,
by Saint Agnes’ fountain.”
The second verse records a conversation between Wenceslas and his page. Wenceslas asks after the poor man, his identity, and where he lives. Evidentl,y the King is considering some act of generosity.
The page explains that the poor man lives “a good league hence,” which is to say, far away. Moreover, he lives near Saint Agnes’ fountain, a convent that should be generous to its own neighbors. In other words, the page gives the King permission to forgo any generosity because of the distance and his nearer neighbors.
Verse 3
But the King comes to a dramatic decision.
“Bring me flesh, and bring me wine,
bring me pine logs hither:
Thou and I shall see him dine,
when we bear them thither.”
Page and monarch, forth they went,
forth they went together;
Through the rude wind’s wild lament
and the bitter weather.
Not only does the king decide that he will give the poor man both warmth and sustenance, he decides to do so personally. When he could send the page to go alone, this verse emphasizes that the King and the page go out together. This shows how generosity creates the conditions for social solidarity.
In the background here is the letter of James, which exhorts the wealthy to generosity and emphasizes the works of faith:
If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
James 2:15-16
Verse 4
This is where the story takes an especially interesting turn. We expect the next verse to narrate the arrival of the King and the page at the house of the poor man, but instead, we find them still on their journey:
“Sire, the night is darker now,
and the wind blows stronger;
Fails my heart, I know not how;
I can go no longer.”
“Mark my footsteps, good my page;
Tread thou in them boldly:
Thou shalt find the winter’s rage
Freeze thy blood less coldly.
The King and the page are still on their journey (the page was right about the distance!), and now the page has grown cold. The allegorical point is that the Christian walk is not always easy to sustain. Like a cold and windy night, the way of the cross tests us and takes us beyond our limits.
The King responds that the page should follow behind him, walking in his footsteps. Taken literally, this is good advice since the King’s body will block the wind, his feet compress the snow, and his rhythm sets a pace to follow. Allegorically, Christ has already walked the way of the cross, and now we follow in his footsteps.
Verse 5
In his master’s steps he trod,
where the snow lay dinted;
Heat was in the very sod
which the saint had printed.
Therefore, Christian men, be sure,
wealth or rank possessing,
Ye who now will bless the poor,
shall yourselves find blessing.
Obediently, the page follows after the king, and to his delight and ours, he discovers heat emerging from the King’s footsteps. And that’s where the story ends; the King and the page never arrive at the home of the poor man. But I think that is because the page has become the poor man. The King gives the page what he needs so that they both can do the work of generosity in the world.
Taken literally, the carol recounts the story of a King who, inspired by Stephen, takes his page on a winter journey to give to the poor. But allegorically, the King represents King Jesus, who left the warm castle of heaven to enter the cold night of our world. There, he walked the way of the cross, and now he calls his servants to that same journey. But our King is always with us, encouraging us with his word, blocking the wind with his body the church, and warming us as we continue in his way. Thus, he turns us into Stephens, bringing food to the poor and enduring to the end.
Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Galatians 6:9-10
On Video
The first video is a stunning 1985 recording from Winchester Cathedral under the direction of David Hill. Note how the narrator, king, and page are sung respectively by boy choir, baritone, and boy soprano. Be sure to listen to the end; the last verse breaks out into brilliant polyphonic harmonies.
The second video features the classic recording by Bing Crosby, accompanied by orchestra and choir. I especially enjoy the repeated use of a muffled bell, which sounds like a church bell in the falling snow.
Image: Illustration from sheet music of “Good King Wenceslas” in a biscuit container from 1913, preserved at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
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