medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
On Friday, February 15, 2008, at 1:00 pm, Sherry Reames wrote:
>
> Dear learned colleagues,
>
> An email message from an advocacy group this week included the
> following account of the origin of St. Valentine's Day:
>
> "What makes Feb. 14 the perfect day to reflect on the fairness gap is
> the origin of St. Valentine's Day. This mysterious saint has long been
> associated with romance, but why? Today, three martyred saints named
> Valentine (or Valentinus) are officially recognized. The legend behind
> the most plausible Valentine to have inspired our romantic holiday
> relates to a martyred holy man who defied the power of the Roman
> Empire and paid with his life. His cause: the injustice of denying
> some the right to marry.
>
> "In the third century, the Roman Emperor Claudius II had decreed that
> single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, so
> he outlawed marriage for young prospective warriors for the Empire.
> Believing this unjust, Valentine defied the decree and married young
> couples in secret. For his crime, he was put to death in AD 270. Prior
> to his death, legend has it that the condemned man fell in love with
> his jailer's daughter and he sent her a love letter, his last, signed
> 'Your Valentine.'"
>
> Since I've never heard of a version of the Valentine legend that
> sounds at all like this, I'm skeptical. But maybe I'm wrong in
> supposing that some public relations person just dreamed it up. Have
> any of you ever encountered it (or parts of it) in a reasonably
> reliable source? What do you think?
>
Societal constructions of two of today's saints of the day (15. February) may offer some perspectives on this factitious account of St. Valentine.
From what I've read, Sigfrid the bishop in Sweden is a good medieval example of a saint claimed by an advocacy group. In this case, by several: those advocating for the historic importance in Sweden of one or another particular chunk of turf. A major difference among the several versions of his legendary Vita is the specification of places in which this saint is said to have conducted his apostolic activity, as different churches refashioned the story in order to include their own part of Sweden.
Less medievally, Faustinus of Faustinus and Jovita has been selected by an Italian association of single people as _their_emblematic saint. So far, everyone seems to understand that this is because he is feasted on the day following St. Valentine's and, probably (though no one seems to be saying this in print) because the devisers of this choice are north Italians one of whom at least is likely to have hailed from Brescia (where the otherwise little known Faustinus and Jovita have been the city patrons since they beat back a Milanese siege in the fourteenth century). But if this association of Faustinus with singles takes root, one may expect in time to see press accounts instructing us on F.'s having had a very fulfilling life while being resolutely single and finally obtaining martyrdom under Hadrian for his opposition to an imperial decree favoring the married state.
See:
http://zoomata.com/?p=855
http://www.wikio.com/article=45212135&backto=user33023
Best,
John Dillon
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|