An Historical Lesson on Valentine's Day

Saint Valentine's Day is actually attributed to 14 people (mostly priests and bishops), all named Valentine, all martyred for a noble cause, during Roman times.  But for the sake of lovers the world over, I will narrow down the specifics to the priest of which this holiday is most noted for. 

St. Valentine, was an 8th Century priest, who was caught marrying couples and helping catholics at a time when it was a crime to do so in Rome. Valentine was arrested and sent to jail.  Roman Emperor Claudius II, actually liked the charismatic priest and engaged him in several discussions regarding life and religion.  Claudius attempted to convert Valentine to Roman paganism.  Valentine refused and instead attempted to convert the Emperor to Christianity.   For this reason, Claudius sentenced him to death.  Valentine was beaten with clubs and stoned. When this failed to kill him, he was beheaded on February 14.  The actual year is still in dispute to this day.

The catholic celebration of St. Valentine had nothing to do with romantic love.  It wasn't until the 14th Century that the romantic notion of St. Valentine's Day as we now know it began to take shape.   Valentine was simply included and celebrated in catholic circles as one of their many martyrs.

In Early Medieval times, romantic legends about Saint Valentine began to emerge in Literature, as in Legenda Aurea, and peasant Folklore.

• Since Legenda Aurea still provided no connections whatsoever with sentimental love, appropriate lore has been embroidered in modern times to portray Valentine as a priest who refused an unattested law attributed to Roman Emperor Claudius II, allegedly ordering that young men remain single.  The Emperor supposedly did this to grow his army, believing that married men did not make for good soldiers.  The priest Valentine, however, secretly performed marriage ceremonies for young men.  When Claudius found out about this, he had Valentine arrested and thrown in jail.   Wikipedia searched under "Valentine's Day."

• There is an additional modern embellishment to The Golden Legend, provided by American Greetings to History.com, and widely repeated despite having no historical basis whatsoever.  On the evening before Valentine was to be executed, he would have written the first "valentine" card himself, addressed to a young girl variously identified as his beloved, as the jailer's daughter whom he had befriended and healed, or both.  It was a note that read "From your Valentine."  Wikipedia searched under "Valentine's Day."

So here you have it, a history lesson on the meaning of Valentine's Day. For those of you who are die hard romantics, St. Valentine is a tragic hero who gave his life for the sake of forbidden love.  For the cynics among us, St. Valentine was a fool who defied an Emperor and got what he deserved.   In any event, may you always be surrounded by love; platonic, divine and otherwise.