A popular story told about the history of Saint Valentine, who inspired the same name holiday, goes something like this. Twenty-three hundred years ago, Rome was an empire under siege. In an effort to get men to enlist in the army, Emperor Claudius II put a ban on marriage reasoning that the reason men didn’t want to join was because they weren’t inclined to leave their wives and girlfriends.
Personally, I think those men just didn’t want to die in a senseless war but I wasn’t there so I’m only guessing. Anyway, as the legend of the history of Saint Valentine goes, a catholic priest by the name of Valentine refused to obey the new law thinking it to be ridiculous. He continued marrying young lovers in secret but eventually was caught. He was thrown in jail and sentenced to execution.
While languishing in jail and deciding if breaking the law was worth it, Valentine becomes friends with the daughter of the jailer. The story of Saint Valentine concludes with him sending the girl a love note, on the day of his execution, thanking her for being his friend and signing it, “Your Dear Valentine”.
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The trouble with legends is, while making for fun and inspiring stories, they usually only contain a modicum of truth and the legend of Saint Valentine is no exception. While it is true that three men existed in history that was named Valentinus, it is not clear exactly which one is being honored by the holiday.
What is clear is that the creation of the Saint Valentine holiday was motivated more by politics than an appreciation of love. The Romans loved all things Greek and adopted pretty much everything in their culture including their festivals. They chose February to celebrate Lupercalia where they devoted time to the cleansing of self and city. Some believe Lupercalia is associated with a Greek festival called Arcadian Lykaia mostly because the Lupercalia festival honored the anniversary of the founding of the temple for the god Lupercus who is the Roman equivalent of the Greek god Pan.
Regardless of the connection, Pope Gelasius didn’t like the fact that the Romans were still hanging onto pagan rituals and true to the modus operandi that defines Catholicism, he outlawed everything pagan in 496 and declared February 14 to be the feast of Saint Valentine.
Still Valentine’s Day did not become associated with love and romance until much later when Geoffrey Chaucer wrote a poem for the king and queen of England, Richard II and Anne of Bohemia at the time. In the poem, he connected Saint Valentine’s Day with choosing one’s mate. Even with that, however, it wasn’t until 1415 that the very first Valentine was exchanged between sweethearts. Duke of Orleans sent his wife a poem while he languished in jail in the Tower of London. Some believe that the story of Saint Valentine is based on the Duke of Orleans.
Although the true history of Saint Valentine has proven that the legend is somewhat less true than commonly believed, that doesn’t take away from what the holiday has come to represent; the celebration of love. And really, everyday is the perfect day to appreciate that.
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