There are many sited origins for Valentine’s Day beginning with the pagan celebration Lupercalia, which was a fertility festival. This celebration was dedicated to the Roman God of Agriculture, Faunus. It was outlawed at the end of the 5th century.
However, it was also a Christian feast day honouring a martyr named Valentine, although there are at least three different saints named Valentine, or Valentius. The date is the anniversary of Valentine’s death or burial, which occurred around A.D. 270.
With such confusion as to the real origins legends have been passed down throughout history. One contends that a priest called, Valentine during the 3rd century in Rome carried out secret marriages even though Emperor Claudius II had outlawed them citing single men made better soldiers.
Yet another legend is that a bishop, Saint Valentine of Terni is the true namesake of the celebration. Still, also another imprisoned Valentine sent the first ‘valentine’ greeting to his jailor’s daughter, who visited him in his confinement.
In English history, it is said the English poet, Geoffrey Chaucer first recorded the day as a romantic celebration in his 1375 poem ‘Parliament of Fowls, writing “For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne’s day / Whan every foul cometh there to choose his mate.”
The first written valentine did not appear until after 14th century although other tokens and greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages.
The oldest known Valentine was a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans in 1415 to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. It can be found in the British Library in London, England as part of the manuscript collection. Later King Henry V hired, John Lydgate, to compose a Valentine’s note to Catherine of Valois.
No matter which origin you believe in, make sure to celebrate your love on this special day with a gift of representative art, or a framed image of your loved one.
Puppy Lover by Will Bullas