Candy hearts, chocolate, flowers: there’s a lot that comes to mind when we think of Valentine’s Day. But, believe it or not, this romantic holiday comes with a murderous history. Historically, February 14th commemorates not a moment of love, but instead, the brutal execution of Saint Valentine.
The specific history of Saint Valentine is murky– there’s not much agreement on who the man himself was. During the third century, Ancient Roman Emperor Claudius II persecuted and executed two separate men– both on February 14th, and both named Valentine. One story claims the true namesake to be a priest who championed romance, performing secret marriages for soldiers after Claudius explicitly banned the practice. A conflicting story claims that Valentine was a priest who was jailed for his faith, then miraculously healed the unwell daughter of his jailer. According to legend, he fell in love with the jailer’s daughter, and wrote her a letter signed, “from your Valentine.” In both cases, Valentine was ultimately killed, and violently so.Â
Whichever story may be true, St. Valentine’s Day was declared a holy feast day by the Catholic church. The day was established to honor the life and death of a martyr. So, how did a solemn day become one of romance?
Much of this credit is given to the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer, who stole the scene amidst the romanticism-inclined Middle Ages. In his poem “The Parliament of Fowls,” he describes February 14th as a day of birds mating, saying:
“For this was on Saint Valentine’s day,
When every fowl comes there his mate to take”
No one knows exactly why he chose to reference Valentine’s Day – possibly because mating occurs in the spring. Regardless, the association between partnership and Valentine’s stuck. And when Shakespeare went on to reference Chaucer’s poem in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” that connection was further solidified.Â
As the concept of Valentine’s romance diffused into public culture, hand-written love letters signed “from your Valentine,” became increasingly popular. By the time the Industrial Revolution came around, mass-produced cards were all the rage, along with the pink, heart-shaped trinkets we see in stores today.Â
Although Valentine’s brutal origins conjure images of a bloody stain in history, we can draw a more meaningful message from its past: out of darkness and sacrifice, love can ultimately triumph. After all, that’s what Valentine’s is all about.