Will the Real Saint Valentine Please Stand Up

We are approaching Valentine’s Day, and though it has become a secular holiday in the most banal of ways, let us not forget that its roots are in the Catholic calendar of the communion of saints. It is the feast day of Saint Valentine, though which saint Valentine exactly are we talking about is the big question. As in many cases with saints, they often became cults and got put on the rolls before their true existence could be verified (a few child saints allegedly martyred by Jews comes to mind). But the feast of St. Valentine—whoever he or they were—was first established in 496 by Pope Gelasius I, who included Valentine among those "... whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to God."  In other words, “We don’t know who this is either.” In fact, “Saint Valentine” was taken off the Roman calendar of saints because of this discrepancy, as were other saints of questionable existence, like Saint Christopher (but according to Catholic sources, it doesn’t mean that you can’t still venerate them, it’s just that their official feast day is off the calendar. Venerate away, if you will).

There is one Saint Valentine mentioned in the official Roman Martyrology whose feast day falls on February 14, and this was the one who, in Chaucer’s day, became associated with romantic love. The Golden Legend, a medieval bestseller on the lives of the saints written by Jacobus de Voragine around 1260, offers his version of a Saint Valentine who was martyred by Emperor Claudius in 280 for refusing to deny Christ. St Valentine is credited with restoring the sight and hearing of his jailer’s daughter before he was beheaded. Later versions have him writing notes to her and signing it, “love, Valentine,” where, presumably, we get our Valentine’s cards. This myth might have been started by Sir Hallmark, but it is considered a great deal older.

In Chaucer’s time, we see the flowering of Courtly Love that began in earlier centuries. February 14th is supposed to be the day that the birds begin mating and in the medieval mind, they joined mating to a saint’s feast day and rather invented many of the legends that have come down to us.

February 14th should also be remembered for the day that poor King Richard II died. He had reigned for 22 years before he was deposed and replaced by Lancaster’s son, Henry Bolingbroke, who became Henry IV. He died on February 14, 1400, having been starved to death. His body was returned from Pontefract Castle to London and displayed at various locations along the way to convince the populace that he was really most sincerely dead, but despite the evidence of their eyes, Richard sightings, much like Elvis, continued for some time. A Thomas Ward of Trumpington (no, I didn’t make this up) even impersonated him as living in exile in Scotland. Not Elvis. King Richard. Such is the case when a leader is deposed. Anxious citizens wish to bring him back to power, which was ultimately why Henry allowed Richard to die, though the manner of it is actually unknown (did he starve himself to death out of despondency or was he maliciously starved? Chroniclers of the time tend to think the latter or something in-between. It was originally reported that he died at the end of February but contemporary sources seemed to think it was a fortnight earlier. Here is one account: Richard “grieved ever more sorely and mourned even to death, which came to him most miserably on the last day of February, as he lay in chains in Pontefract castle, tormented by Sir [Thomas] Swynford with starving fare.”)

So on that happy note, we leave you to suss out your own Valentine’s Day celebration. Mourning Kind Richard or smooching with your honey? I’ll do a little of both.    

Comments

[Kaya Alder]

Greetings~

I have recently started a blog devoted to things medieval and, on occasion, I will be posing questions to others interested in the middle ages, the answers to be posted on my blog. I would be very interested in your answer to the following question:

What period or person from the middle ages most interests you and why?

Your answer can be as long or short as you wish and will be published in full on my blog. If you would like to participate, you may leave your response in the comments portion of my blog or email your response to kaya.alder at gmail.com. Please be sure to let me know how you wish your name to be shown in the post and any email address or website that you would like to have linked.

Thank you in advance,
Kaya
My Medieval: http://mymedieval.blogspot.com/