Ol’ Saint Valentine

In case this is new information to anyone, figured I’d share some information I found on ol’ Saint Valentine, he whose name now graces the day of chocolate consumption, floral industry profits, and, you know, love and hook ups.

The Catholic Encyclopedia online tells us that there were “at least three different St. Valentines, all of them martyrs…mentioned in the early martyrologies under the date of 14 February.”  One of these was Roman priest and another was a bishop at Interamna, while the third was an African Catholic about whom little is known.

Of the Roman guy, we’ve got this further historeography of note from Catholic online:

Since he was caught marrying Christian couples and aiding any Christians who were being persecuted under Emperor Claudius in Rome [when helping them was considered a crime], Valentinus was arrested and imprisoned. Claudius took a liking to this prisoner — until Valentinus made a strategic error: he tried to convert the Emperor — whereupon this priest was condemned to death. He was beaten with clubs and stoned; when that didn’t do it, he was beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate [circa 269].

As for the exchange of gifts between lovers and such:

To abolish the heathens lewd superstitious custom of boys drawing the names of girls, in honor of their goddess Februata Juno, on the fifteenth of this month, several zealous pastors substituted the names of saints in billets given on this day.

It would seem St. Valentine fit the bill in a few ways when the Church needed a good Saint to substitute in for some earlier pagan observance.  Fine by me.  Exchanging Valentines sure beats getting beheaded…