Saint Valentine - the man, the myth, the legend
What do engaged couples, beekeepers, epilepsy, fainting, marriage, plague, and traveling have in common? All of these things share a patron saint, of course - St. Valentine!
If you don’t know much about St. Valentine, don’t despair; it appears that not much is known about him. There’s a lot of mystery surrounding who he was and what he did. Some suggest that there were actually two separate St. Valentines - go figure!
Here’s what we do know: we know that there lived at least one priest named St. Valentine in third-century Rome. Archeologists have unearthed a Roman catacomb and church dedicated to St. Valentine, so we know that he was a real person.
In 496 AD, Pope Gelasius declared that February 14th would be the date that St. Valentine was remembered. We’re not sure why exactly February 14th was picked - perhaps because it aligned with a popular pagan holiday at the time, perhaps it was because mid-February was when birds were reported to pair couples.
There are several stories about St. Valentine, but most of them are not confirmed to be 100% true. One fairly common story is that St. Valentine was once arrested for trying to convert people to Christianity and while he was being held prisoner, the judge brought his blind daughter to see if Valentine could restore her sight. Of course, Valentine was able to restore the daughter’s sight, resulting in the judge’s own conversion to Christianity.
“This year, may your Valentine’s Day be filled with love and beauty (and not plagues!).”
Another story has Valentine arrested for marrying Christian couples and helping Christians who were being persecuted by the Roman Emperor Claudius. During Valentine’s imprisonment, he and the Emperor formed a kind of friendship. However, when Valentine tried to convert Claudius to Christianity, Claudius was furious and demanded that Valentine renounce his faith. Valentine would not and was publicly executed outside of Rome’s Flaminian Gate (now known as Porta del Popolo).
There’s another version of this story that has Valentine befriending the Emperor’s daughter rather than the Emperor himself. Valentine is said to have fallen in love with the Emperor’s daughter and sent her love notes that he signed “your Valentine.” This version of the story pairs well with our modern-day tradition of trading Valentine’s cards.
This year, may your Valentine’s Day be filled with love and beauty (and not plagues!).
