Valentine

I’m always curious about society and why we do what we do? This usually leads to some history search of the subject matter I’m dealing with. Sometimes the results fill me with joy, and other times not so much. This was the case with Valentine’s Day. Apparently, in third-century Rome, Emperor Claudius II held that single men made for better soldiers than those with wives and children. With this belief in mind, he outlawed marriages for young men. However, a priest named Valentine, who saw injustice in this, decided to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. Claudius discovering this defiant act ordered that Valentine be put to death.

Alternately, some believe that the true Valentine was Saint Valentine of Terni, a bishop. While in prison he fell in love with a young girl who visited him in confinement, and it is believed she might have been his jailor’s daughter. Saint Valentine sent her the claimed first Valentine greeting from prison signed: “From your Valentine”.

In 1415, Charles - Duke of Orleans, who had been imprisoned during a war between the rival monarchs, wrote the first recorded valentine poem, using the term Valentine in reference to his wife:

My very gentle Valentine, Since for me you were born too soon,

And I for you was born too late.

God forgives him who has estranged,

Me from you for a whole year.

I am already sick of (with) love,

My very gentle Valentine.

Unfortunately, Charles didn’t get to witness his wife’s reaction to the poem. She died while he served out his 25-year prison term.

While learning that the origin and legend of this day are shrouded in mystery, I also found these stories had something in common: Valentine’s Day is a romantic affair.