From a martyred priest, through romantic literature to a commercial claim: there are several theories and myths that revolve around the mysterious story of Saint Valentine, patron saint of lovers, which is celebrated every year on February 14th.
This holiday, a tradition of Catholic origin that has spread across all continents, is celebrated throughout the world by encouraging the exchange of gifts, flowers and heart-shaped objects.
The martyred priest who married in secret
One of the oldest legends places Saint Valentine, patron saint of lovers, in 3rd century Rome, where the Roman Emperor Claudius II forbade marriage to young professional soldiers, alleging the incompatibility of love with the profession and because he believed that without family were better soldiers.
Apparently, Valentin, a doctor converted to Christianity who became a priest, rebelled against the norm and celebrated secret marriages of young soldiers in love.
When the Roman emperor Claudius II learned of the practices carried out by Valentine, he ordered him imprisoned and martyred, until he was executed on February 14, 270.
“Protector of love”
Others consider that Saint Valentine, in relation to the martyr beheaded in the 3rd century, was a protector of lovers, according to the Italian priest Carlo Cremona, author of the book “Saints of the calendar”.
This expert believes that Valentine’s Day was entrusted with the protection of lovers because his holiday (February 14) is celebrated at a time of the year “when signs of an imminent awakening of nature begin to appear.”
“Saint Valentine, like the rest of the saints, is, by his very nature, protector of love, since everything that is close to God is nothing other than love,” explained the priest.
Consequently, lovers can continue to trust their patron because, in the end, “someone will listen to them in heaven,” added Father Carlo Cremona.
In fact, the remains of Saint Valentine, of Italian origin, are kept in Madrid, in the church of San Antón.
Spring, poetry and birds
However, other theories go further, such as that of the scholarly philologist and medievalist Martín de Riquer, who pointed out in 1955 that the first dating of the Valentine’s Day festival as Valentine’s Day could have Catalan origins.
Martín de Riquer, in his article “The Valentine’s Song of the Poet Pardo” published in the “Spanish Philology Magazine”, refers to the love poem “Leyaltat vol”, written by the Valencian nobleman of Aragonese origin Pedro Aznar Pardo de la Caste before 1492.
Pardo used Occitan (the Romance language of Europe) to write some verses in which February 14 is mentioned as the day when birds mate.
In fact, the mating of birds, which could begin with the beginning of spring on February 14, was considered a symbol of love at that time.
In the same way, the Church maintains that the customs associated with this festival have their origin in the belief accepted in France and England during the Middle Ages “that on February 14 (that is, in the middle of the second month of the year) the birds begin to mate.”
For its part, the Library of Catalonia confirms that Valentine’s Day began to be celebrated to commemorate love, at least from the 15th century in England and Scotland, where it coincided with the beginning of spring.
romantic literature
However, other theories dismantle all of the above, and the anthropologist Mónica Cornejo and the historian Javier Albar agreed in stating to EFE that in Spain the only known antecedent “with certainty” of Valentine’s Day is romantic literature.
Without any relation to a Christian festival in honor of a martyr or to a Roman event linked to fertility, the ideas of freedom and loving passion of the romantic poets would be the true “culprits” of the date of February 14, dedicated every year to the exaltation of love.
Furthermore, according to the two researchers, there were also no pagan festivals in which women were whipped with animal strips to increase their fertility or Christian celebrations to honor a saint called Valentine.
Despite the number of theories and legends that revolve around this holiday, Valentine’s Day is still a commercial and marketing claim adorned with flowers, chocolates and heart-shaped promotions.
BY: EFE
