As part of the Hearts Through History Blog Hop, I thought today that we would take a closer look at the man who became known as St. Valentine.

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The Legend of St. Valentine

Valentine’s Day holds the vestiges of both Christian and Roman traditions. But who was St. Valentine?

Catholics recognize three different saints named “Valentine” or “Valentinus.” Each were martyred. One of the “Valentines” was Roman priest of the 3rd Century. According to the legend, Emperor Claudius II banned marriage for young men because Claudius believed single men made better soldiers than those who held loyalties to a wife and children. The priest Valentine defied Claudius by performing marriages in secret. When discovered, Claudius ordered Valentine be put to death.

Another story says Valentine was killed in his attempts to assist Christians escape from Roman prisons. Valentine supposedly sent the first “valentine” to a young girl he fancied, possibly his jailer’s daughter. It is alleged that he wrote the girl a letter and signed it “From your Valentine.”

Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories all emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic and–most importantly–romantic figure. By the Middle Ages,  perhaps thanks to this reputation, Valentine would become one of the most popular saints in England and France.

Beliefs exist that Valentine’s Day began with a mid February celebration to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine’s death or burial, which probably occurred around A.D. 270.  Others believe the Christian church likely chose to “Christianize” the pagan celebration of Lupercalia with a mid February feast. A fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, a Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus, the ides of February celebration fell on or around February 15.

“To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at a sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification. They would then strip the goat’s hide into strips, dip them into the sacrificial blood and take to the streets, gently slapping both women and crop fields with the goat hide. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed the touch of the hides because it was believed to make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city’s bachelors would each choose a name and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage.”

Lupercalia was outlawed as a pagan celebration at the end of the 5th Century when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 as St. Valentine’s Day. During the Middle Ages, people considered February 14 the beginning of the bird mating season, which translated into the idea of “love beginnings.” Written Valentines did not appear until after 1400 (obviously, most were not literate enough to send written Valentines).

“The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. (The greeting is now part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England.) Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.”

“In addition to the United States, Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. In Great Britain, Valentine’s Day began to be popularly celebrated around the 17th century. By the middle of the 18th, it was common for friends and lovers of all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes, and by 1900 printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one’s feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine’s Day greetings.”

Hand made valentines were exchanged in the early 1700s by Americans. A creation of Ester A. Howland, the first mass produced valentines appeared in the 1840s.

“Today, according to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year, making Valentine’s Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.) Women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines.”

The direct quotes found in this post come from the History Channel.

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