The theme of love in literature is a major one. It is enduring through all genre and variations of the written word; in novels, poetry, plays, classic and contemporary, and for all ages. It is something we can all relate to, it binds us together in our relationships with family, friends, lovers or husbands/wives. It can be a challenge to be overcome, it can be fleeting, unrequited or last a lifetime, can inspire, can obscure our common sense and invoke quite opposing yet intense feelings of hatred and jealousy. Many people have died for it and still we seek it out.
But why do we have the 14th February, Valentine’s Day, as the one recognised ‘day of love’?
Well, many good things are firmly rooted in Paganism, and this is no exception. Pagans celebrated a fertility festival held between 13th-15th February which was originally known as Lupercalia, but like many other Pagan festivals, this did not go down well with the Christian Church which wanted to be the only voice in the ears of the people. So, with the desire to have more control, the Church claimed two Christian martyrs (both called Valentinus apparently) met their deaths on 14th February, the Church sanitized the festival, took out all of the naughty bits, and in 496AD, Pope Gelasius declared it a Christian feast day.
The first association with romantic love as we know it was thanks to literature and good old Geoffrey Chaucer who, in 1382, wrote a poem to celebrate the engagement of King Richard II to Anne of Bohemia. He wrote,
Moving onto 1415 when the Frenchman, Charles, Duke of Orléans wrote of his love for his wife while imprisoned in the Tower of London after the Battle of Agincourt, “my very sweet Valentine.”
By 1601, St. Valentine’s Day is an established tradition in England and William Shakespeare even makes mention of it in his play, Hamlet.
By 1797, the passing of love notes was so commonplace, it lead to the publication of ‘The Young Man’s Valentine Writer’, an anthology of sentimental rhymes for the unimaginative young chap who could not compose his own verse.
Once the Royal Mail introduced its Penny Post in 1840, the mass production and posting of Valentine’s cards really took hold and today, it’s estimated the one billion cards are sent worldwide.
Lastly, if you’re feeing romantic, or need inspiration for any cards or love notes you might want to send, I'll put some dreamy inspirational quotes up in the next few days.
