1,500 years ago in Rome there was a

Christian martyr named Valentine who died for

his faith. A thousand years later, his name
became associated with romantic love in France
and England. The holiday eventually arrived in
the United States where it is celebrated by people
and businesses alike. It has again been embraced
in Europe with similar fanfare.

HISTORY
Ancient martyrologs recorded the stories of three saints named
Valentine; Valentine of Rome, Valentine of Terni, and another
Valentine who died in Africa. All three are considered Christian
martyrs, who were executed for their faith. Keep in mind that in
the centuries following the death of Christ (about AD 33), the
practice of Christianity was punishable by death.
For simplicity sake, their feast days were set on February 14th
by Pope Gelasius I. This is the story of Saint Valentine of Rome who
may have inspired Valentines Day.

ROME: 5TH CENTURY

Bishop Valentine reportedly wore a purple amethyst ring,
customarily worn by Christian bishops. This ring had an image of
cupid engraved in it, a symbol that was legal in the Roman Empire
at that time. They say that Roman soldiers would recognize the ring
and ask him to perform marriages for them. It is also said that

Valentine cut out hearts from parchment, and gave them to people
to remind them of their vows and of Gods love.
Valentine was eventually arrested and
brought before the Emperor Claudius II.
Before being put on trial, he stayed in the
household of judge Asterius. The judge had a
daughter, named Julia, who was blind.
Valentine may have fallen in love with her or
maybe not, but in any case, she was brought
before him to be healed. Valentine cured her
blindness in a mysterious, some say
miraculous way. This cure convinced her
family of the validity of the Christian religion,
and her entire family converted to
Christianity.
Emperor Claudius was not so impressed. He tried to persuade
Valentine to leave Christianity and serve the Roman Empire. In
exchange, Claudius would pardon him. But, Valentine held to his
faith and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity. For this the
emperor sentenced him to death. Valentine was beaten and
beheaded and buried in Rome. He is supposed to have sent Julia a
final farewell note signed, "From Your Valentine. He died on
February 14th, around 273 A.D. The judges family was also
executed.

ROMANTIC LOVE: PARIS: THE 100 YEARS WAR

In 1400, Isabelle of Bavaria, the Queen of France, established
something called the High Court of Love". It was founded on
January 6th, the feast of a Bavarian Saint Valentine, with The
Charter of the Court of Love. The court dealt with love contracts,
betrayals, and violence against women. Judges were selected by
women on the basis of a poetry reading, probably the romantic

poetry of Othon de Grandson. (It is also possible that the actual

Court never existed and that it was just a fantasy of the Queen).
During the same war, Charles, the Duke of
Orleans (who was the Queens brother-inlaws son), was captured by the English at the
Battle of Agincourt in 1415. He was found
alive under a pile of bodies and was held for
ransom for 25 years in the Tower of London.
He was treated well in prison and he began to
write poetry.
He wrote love poems to his wife who died while he was
incarcerated. When the war was over, Charles was finally released,
and he remarried. He is one of the first romantic poets. This is the
beginning of one of his poems, written in Old French:
Je suis desja d'amour tann,

I am already sick of love,

Ma tres doulce Valentine,

My gentle Valentine,

Car pour moi fustes trop tart ne, Since for me you were born too soon,
Et moy pour vous fus trop tost n

And I for you was born too late.

Dieu lui pardoint qui estren

God forgives him who has estranged

M'a de vous, pour toute l'anne.

Me from you for the whole year.

VALENTINES DAY TODAY

Finally, the holiday came the United States and cards began to
be made in factories in the 19th century. Since then, the holiday has
been greatly festooned by commercial interests both here and
abroad. Today, it is celebrated in almost the same way in the United
States and France. We both give flowers, chocolates, cards, and
have special dinners and dates. But in the United States, another
dimension to the holiday has evolved; some people extend the
romantic connotation of the holiday to include expressions of love
for people they are not romantically involved with, for instance:
children may give valentines to everyone in their class; people give
cards to their mothers or friends. This may be due to the
enthusiastic marketing of the holiday, or perhaps its just a
recognition that love deserves to be celebrated wherever you find it;
between friends, between family members, as well as in romantic
relationships. Maybe its a true reflection of the Christian meaning
of love that Saint Valentine died for 1,700 years ago.