Ask anyone: "What is Valentine's Day" and you will receive two answers. The day we celebrate love and the day we honor St. Valentine. The second one is actually the original correct answer but who exactly is St. Valentine and just what did he do to cause a holiday centered around love?
In the history of the holiday there are actually two St. Valentines. The first one was a priest in ancient Rome named Valentinus de Roma (Valentine of Rome). The second Valentine was named Valentinus de Intermna (Valentine of Terni) who was a bishop in Rome. So who's actions do we celebrate on Valentine's Day? Unfortunately no one really knows. Both the priest and the bishop were both recorded simply as Valentine and the distinction between the two was lost before Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity. Since Roman records had one of the Valentines listed as buried on the 14th of February, that was the day established as The Feast of St. Valentine to honor both men.
Now, according to historical facts and religious accounts, One of the Valentines was arrested by Roman Emperor Claudius II for marrying Christian couples during the time Christians were persecuted. Claudius interrogated Valentine personally and became impressed with his character and tried to convert Valentine to paganism to save his life but Valentine refused and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity instead so he was executed.
So what does Valentine have to do with love? Well, There truly is no historical association between St. Valentine and romantic love but recent legend has skewed the true story to include the modern holiday. According to one urban legend, Claudius II believed married men made terrible soldiers so he wrote laws forbidding his men to marry. In steps the hero St. Valentine to secretly marry the soldiers which caused him to be arrested and executed by the evil Emperor. The second modern legend was created by the American Greetings Card company. Apparently, while in jail, St. Valentine performed a miracle and cured the jailer's daughter, who he formed a friendship with and loved, of her blindness. On the day he was to be executed, he sent her a letter signed "From your Valentine". This legend has no historical fact of any kind to back it up.
But Xena! Where do the cards, hearts, and roses come in!?!
For that we can thank good 'ol famous writer Geoffrey Chaucer with his Parlement of Foules. Upon the marriage of King Richard II, Chaucer wrote a poem for the wedding. In the poem he writes Valentine's day as the day birds find their mates (the king and his wife being "love birds"). When he wrote this, Chaucer did not actually mean February 14th, he was actually writing about another St. Valentine who was celebrated on May 2! but once again the meaning was lost through history.
It wasn't until the 1400s that the day became cemented with love. The concept of Courtly Love took seed in Europe in which men and women of status chose to marry the ones they love, breaking away from the traditional arranged marriages. In Paris, on Feb. 14 the High Court of Love was established. Courts of Love were tribunals lead by 10 or more women who would hear cases of "Love" and make rulings on them based on the "rules of love". At such tribunals, lovers often exchanged sonnets, poetry, and gifts proclaiming their love to prove it was true.
From there on Valentine's Day became entirely associated with love and through the corruptive power of commercialism, it's original meaning became lost to cupids and roses in much the same way Easter and Christmas are being lost the bunnies and elves. Sometime at the end of the 18th century, English printing companies produced pre-made cards for young men to give to their ladies. By the 19th century, the cards became known as valentines and got fancier and fancier with hearts, pictures, lace, ect. . .and jewelry and chocolate companies capitalized on the success of the cards and marketed their products as "the perfect valentine gift for your loved one."
heart
In the history of the holiday there are actually two St. Valentines. The first one was a priest in ancient Rome named Valentinus de Roma (Valentine of Rome). The second Valentine was named Valentinus de Intermna (Valentine of Terni) who was a bishop in Rome. So who's actions do we celebrate on Valentine's Day? Unfortunately no one really knows. Both the priest and the bishop were both recorded simply as Valentine and the distinction between the two was lost before Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity. Since Roman records had one of the Valentines listed as buried on the 14th of February, that was the day established as The Feast of St. Valentine to honor both men.
Now, according to historical facts and religious accounts, One of the Valentines was arrested by Roman Emperor Claudius II for marrying Christian couples during the time Christians were persecuted. Claudius interrogated Valentine personally and became impressed with his character and tried to convert Valentine to paganism to save his life but Valentine refused and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity instead so he was executed.
So what does Valentine have to do with love? Well, There truly is no historical association between St. Valentine and romantic love but recent legend has skewed the true story to include the modern holiday. According to one urban legend, Claudius II believed married men made terrible soldiers so he wrote laws forbidding his men to marry. In steps the hero St. Valentine to secretly marry the soldiers which caused him to be arrested and executed by the evil Emperor. The second modern legend was created by the American Greetings Card company. Apparently, while in jail, St. Valentine performed a miracle and cured the jailer's daughter, who he formed a friendship with and loved, of her blindness. On the day he was to be executed, he sent her a letter signed "From your Valentine". This legend has no historical fact of any kind to back it up.
But Xena! Where do the cards, hearts, and roses come in!?!
For that we can thank good 'ol famous writer Geoffrey Chaucer with his Parlement of Foules. Upon the marriage of King Richard II, Chaucer wrote a poem for the wedding. In the poem he writes Valentine's day as the day birds find their mates (the king and his wife being "love birds"). When he wrote this, Chaucer did not actually mean February 14th, he was actually writing about another St. Valentine who was celebrated on May 2! but once again the meaning was lost through history.
It wasn't until the 1400s that the day became cemented with love. The concept of Courtly Love took seed in Europe in which men and women of status chose to marry the ones they love, breaking away from the traditional arranged marriages. In Paris, on Feb. 14 the High Court of Love was established. Courts of Love were tribunals lead by 10 or more women who would hear cases of "Love" and make rulings on them based on the "rules of love". At such tribunals, lovers often exchanged sonnets, poetry, and gifts proclaiming their love to prove it was true.
From there on Valentine's Day became entirely associated with love and through the corruptive power of commercialism, it's original meaning became lost to cupids and roses in much the same way Easter and Christmas are being lost the bunnies and elves. Sometime at the end of the 18th century, English printing companies produced pre-made cards for young men to give to their ladies. By the 19th century, the cards became known as valentines and got fancier and fancier with hearts, pictures, lace, ect. . .and jewelry and chocolate companies capitalized on the success of the cards and marketed their products as "the perfect valentine gift for your loved one."
heart