Last Updated on February 14, 2021 by Adeymius
Valentines, for most, is a day in every year that people believe is for chocolates, flowers, and love in the air. But documents in history tell us a much different story.
Around 270 and 800 A.D., there were many monks and priests and even a Pope with the name Valentine. During this time period, a man was named as such, (the name, also known as Valentinus, meant worthy or powerful). He was a roman catholic priest known for secretly wedding Christian couples and going against authority. Who was eventually caught inside a noble’s home. However before his capture, he had cured the noble’s daughter of blindness, which eventually resulted in the family converting to Christianity. The question remains, did the noble’s try to help him at the time of his capture after healing the daughter?
Forbidden Marriages, Love and Execution
There are many stories about the real identity of “St. Valentine.” But what we do know, is that he was a man of God, and helped many couples marry in secrecy. According to history, a letter was given to a woman with whom he was having a secret relationship with, and in this letter, he stated the words “Your Valentine.” A sign of his affection and undying love for the woman, something that was forbidden, including the secrecy of marriages he had been performing, and because of these actions he was captured and executed.
Some records claim he was tortured to death, skinned alive, and then executed. Another story tells of Valentine while in prison, fell for the jailor’s daughter and wrote a love letter to her just before he was to be executed, signed, “From your Valentine.”
The result is the celebration of his death and the beginning of showing love to another on his behalf. Now, much of this is speculation and records are incomplete. What we do know, is that a long time ago, a man was known for helping people in their belief and unity in love for each other, and because of it, he was executed.
In the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin Rome, St. Valentine’s Skull is on display, and parts of his remains can be found in reliquaries in the Czech Republic, Ireland, Scotland, England, and France. There are numerous accounts about how the day came to be, one story tells about Valentine’s Day was a replacement for Lupercalia in the early 5th century a.d.
