Saint Valentine: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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[http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/index.htm#Chronography_of_354 Roger Pearse, ''The Chronography of 354'' in "Early Church Fathers'' online.] ''Retrieved 2012-09-27''</ref> But it already can be found in the [[Martyrologium Hieronymianum]],<ref>''"XVI kalendas Martii Interamnae Via Flaminia miliario ab Urbe Roma LXIII natale Valentini."'' In J. B. de Rossi, p. 20 (XVI KL. MAR.). See also M. Schoepflin, p. 40: ''"the original text"''.</ref> which was compiled, from earlier local sources, between 460 and 544. The feast of St. Valentine of February 14 was first established in 496 by [[Pope Gelasius I]], who included Valentine among all those "... whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to God." As Gelasius implies, nothing was yet known to him about his life.

''The Catholic Encyclopedia''<ref name=Thurston>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15254a.htm Thurston, Herbert. "St. Valentine." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 1 May 2013]</ref> and other [[Hagiography|hagiographical]] sources<ref>René Aigrain, ''Hagiographie: Ses sources, ses méthodes, son histoire,'' (Paris 1953, pp ~~268-69~~268–69; Agostino S. Amore, "S. Valentino di Roma o di Terni?", ''Antonianum'' '''41'''.(1966), pp ~~260-77~~260–77.</ref> speak of three Saint Valentines that appear in connection with February 14. One was a Roman priest, another the [[bishop of Interamna]] (modern [[Terni]]) both buried along the [[Via Flaminia]] outside Rome, at different distances from the city. The third was said to be a saint who suffered on the same day with a number of companions in the Roman province of [[Africa (province)|Africa]], for whom nothing else is known.

Though the extant accounts of the martyrdoms of the first two listed saints are of a late date and contain legendary elements, ''a common nucleus of fact'' may underlie the two accounts and they may refer to ''one single person''.<ref>Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 1983, p. 1423</ref> According to the official biography of the Diocese of Terni, Bishop Valentine was born and lived in Interamna and was imprisoned and tortured in Rome on February 14, 273, while on a temporary stay there. His body was buried in a hurry at a nearby cemetery and a few nights later his disciples came and carried him home.<ref>[http://www.diocesi.terni.it/sanvalentino/biografia/main.php?cat_id=1001&subcat_id=240 ''San Valentino: Biografia.'']. [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Terni-Narni-Amelia|Diocese of Terni]]. 2009. English version, written probably after examining all previous sources.</ref>

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==Hagiography and testimony==

[[File:Valentineanddisciples.jpg|thumb|left|Saint Valentine of Terni oversees the construction of his [[basilica]] at [[Terni]], from a 14th-century French manuscript ([[Bibliothèque National|BN]], Mss fr. 185)]]

The inconsistency in the identification of the saint is replicated in the various vitae that are ascribed to him. A commonly ascribed hagiographical identity appears in the [[Nuremberg Chronicle]] (1493). Alongside a woodcut portrait of Valentine, the text states that he was a Roman priest martyred during the reign of [[Claudius II]], known as Claudius Gothicus. He was arrested and imprisoned upon being caught marrying Christian couples and otherwise aiding Christians who were at the time being persecuted by Claudius in Rome. Helping Christians at this time was considered a crime. Claudius took a liking to this prisoner – until Valentinus tried to convert the Emperor – whereupon this priest was condemned to death. He was beaten with clubs and stones; when that failed to kill him, he was beheaded outside the [[Piazza del Popolo|Flaminian Gate]]. Various dates are given for the martyrdom or martyrdoms: 269, 270, or 273.<ref>Jack Oruch, "St. Valentine, Chaucer, and Spring in February", ''Speculum'' '''56'''.3 (July 1981 pp ~~534-565~~534–565) p 535.</ref>

Another popular hagiography describes Saint Valentine as the former Bishop of [[Terni]], a city in southern [[Umbria]], in what is now central [[Italy]]. While under house arrest of Judge Asterius, and discussing his faith with him, Valentinus (the Roman pronunciation of his name) was discussing the validity of [[Jesus]]. The judge put Valentinus to the test and brought to him the judge's adopted blind daughter. If Valentinus succeeded in restoring the girl's sight, Asterius would do anything he asked. Valentinus laid his hands on her eyes and the child's vision was restored. Immediately humbled, the judge asked Valentinus what he should do. Valentinus replied that all of the [[Idolatry|idols]] around the judge's house should be broken, the judge should fast for three days, and then undergo [[baptism]]. The judge obeyed and as a result, freed all the [[Christian]] inmates under his authority. The judge, his family and forty others were baptized.<ref>Castleden, Rodney, "The Book of Saints". 2006</ref> Valentinus was later arrested again for continuing to proselytize and was sent to the prefect of Rome, to the emperor Claudius himself. Claudius took a liking to him until Valentinus tried to convince Claudius to embrace Christianity, whereupon Claudius refused and condemned Valentinus to death, commanding that Valentinus either renounce his faith or he would be beaten with clubs, and beheaded. Valentinus refused and Claudius' command was executed outside the [[Piazza del Popolo|Flaminian Gate]] February 14, 269.<ref>[http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=159 ''St. Valentine.''Catholic Online.]</ref>

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Saint Valentine was not exceptionally more venerated than other saints and it seems that in England no church was ever [[dedication|dedicated]] to him.<ref>Henry Ansgar Kelly, in ''Chaucer and the Cult of Saint Valentine''. 1986, p. 62, says: ''As Thurston has noted, no English church is known to have been dedicated to St. Valentine'' (Thurston, Butler's Lives, 2:217). '' I should add that we have no record of a large number of churches in England.''</ref> There are many churches containing the [[naming|name]] of Valentine in other countries.{{citation needed|date=August 2012}}

A 5th or 6th century work called ''Passio Marii et Marthae'' made up a legend about [[Saint Valentine's Basilica]] ([[:it:Basilica di San Valentino]]) being dedicated to Saint Valentine in Rome. A later ''Passio'' repeated the legend and added the adornment that [[Pope Julius I]] (~~357-352~~357–352) had built the ancient basilica ''S. Valentini extra Portam'' on top of his sepulchre, in the Via Flaminia.<ref name="ansgar49"/> This church was really named after a 4th-century tribune called Valentino, who donated the land it's built on.<ref name="ansgar49">Ansgar, 1986, pp. ~~49-50~~49–50</ref> It hosted the martyr's relics until the thirteenth century, when they were transferred to [[Santa Prassede]], and the ancient basilica decayed.<ref name="hulsen">Christian Hülsen, ''Chiese di Roma nel Medio Evo'' (Florence: Olschki, ([http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/I/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Roma/Rome/churches/_Texts/Huelsen/HUECHI*/2/TZ.html On-line text]).</ref>

==In the ''Golden Legend''==

The ''[[Golden Legend|Legenda Aurea]]'' of [[Jacobus de Voragine]], compiled about 1260 and one of the most-read books of the High Middle Ages, gives sufficient details of the saints for each day of the liturgical year to inspire a homily on each occasion. The very brief ''vita'' of St Valentine has him refusing to deny Christ before the "Emperor Claudius"<ref>Under the circumstances, the "Emperor Claudius" was a detail meant to enhance verisimilitude. Attempts to identify him with the only third-century Claudius, [[Claudius Gothicus]], who spent his brief reign (~~268-270~~268–270) away from Rome winning his [[cognomen]], are illusions in pursuit of a literary phantom: "No evidence outside several late saints' legends suggests that Claudius II reversed the policy of toleration established by the policy of his predecessor [[Gallienus]]", Jack Oruch states, in "St. Valentine, Chaucer, and Spring in February", ''Speculum'' '''56'''.3 (July 1981),p 536, referencing [[William H. C. Frend]], ''Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church'' (New York, 1967, p 326.</ref> in the year 280. Before his head was cut off, this Valentine restored sight and hearing to the daughter of his jailer. Jacobus makes a play with the etymology of "Valentine", "as containing valour".

There are many other legends behind Saint Valentine. One is that in the 1st century AD it is said that Valentine, who was a priest, defied the order of the emperor Claudius and secretly married couples so that the husbands wouldn’t have to go to war. Soldiers were sparse at this time so this was a big inconvenience to the emperor. Another legend is that Valentine refused to sacrifice to pagan gods. Being imprisoned for this, Valentine gave his testimony in prison and through his prayers healed the jailer’s daughter who was suffering from blindness. On the day of his execution he left her a note that was signed “Your Valentine.”

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English eighteenth-century antiquarians [[Alban Butler]] and [[Francis Douce]], noting the obscurity of Saint Valentine's identity, suggested that Valentine's Day was created as an attempt to supersede the pagan holiday of [[Lupercalia]] (mid-February in Rome). This idea has lately been dismissed by other researchers, such as Professor Jack B. Oruch of the [[University of Kansas]], Henry Ansgar Kelly of the [[University of California, Los Angeles]]<ref name="Kelly1986">{{cite book|author=Henry Ansgar Kelly|title=Chaucer and the Cult of Saint Valentine|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=_bqdZbKPztMC&pg=PA60|year=1986|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-07849-5|pages=58–63}}</ref> and Associate Professor Michael Matthew Kaylor of the [[Masaryk University]].<ref>{{Cite book |title= Secreted Desires: The Major Uranians: Hopkins, Pater and Wilde |author= Michael Matthew Kaylor |publisher= [[Masaryk University]] Press |year= 2006 |isbn= 80-210-4126-9 |edition= electronic |page= footnote 2 in page 235 |url= http://books.google.com/?id=-Wa7SIsAQgAC&pg=PA235&dq=saint+valentine's+day+lupercalia#v=onepage&q=saint%20valentine's%20day%20lupercalia&f=false }}</ref> Many of the current legends that characterize Saint Valentine were invented in the fourteenth century in England, notably by [[Geoffrey Chaucer]] and his circle, when the feast day of February 14 first became associated with [[romantic love]].<ref>Jack Oruch identified the inception of this possible connection in Butler's ''Lives of the... Saints'', 1756, and Douce's ''Illustrations of Shakespeare, and of Ancient Manner''. See Oruch, "St. Valentine, Chaucer, and Spring in February", ''Speculum '''56'''.3 (July 1981 pp ~~534-565~~534–565).</ref>

Oruch charges that the traditions associated with "Valentine's Day", documented in [[Geoffrey Chaucer]]'s ''[[Parliament of Foules]]'' and set in the fictional context of an old tradition, did not exist before Chaucer.<ref>Oruch 1981:~~534-565~~534–565.</ref> He argues that the speculative explanation of sentimental customs, posing as historical fact, had their origins among 18th-century [[Antiquary|antiquaries]], notably [[Alban Butler]], the author of ''Butler's Lives of Saints'', and have been perpetuated even by respectable modern scholars. In the French 14th-century manuscript illumination from a ''Vies des Saints'' (''illustration above''), Saint Valentine, bishop of Terni, oversees the construction of his basilica at [[Terni]]; there is no suggestion here that the bishop was a patron of lovers.<ref>[[Bibliothèque National|BN]], Mss fr. 185. The book of ''Lives of the Saints'', with [[Manuscript illumination|illuminations]] by Richard de Montbaston and collaborators, was among the manuscripts that [[Cardinal Richelieu]] bequeathed to the King of France.</ref>

During the Middle Ages it was believed that birds paired couples in mid-February. This was then associated with the romance of Valentine. Although all these legends may differ in ways, Valentine’s day is widely recognized as a day for romance and devotion.