Abstract
The study focuses on the literary image of Blessed Podiven, the servant of St. Wenceslaus.
It follows the development of this character from the first documents in the 10th century until the end of the 18th century; be it in legends, chronicles, hymns, sermons and (selectively) also in iconographic sources. The transformations of the Podiven's story make a perfect starting point for research on the criteria placed on a saint in the (Early) Middle Ages, after the Council of Trent and in the Enlightenment.