Who was St Valentine? The name belongs to a 3rd-century Roman saint commemorated across the Church on this day, but no one's quite sure who he was. However, the stories certainly are interesting. Valentine didn't have much to do with pink fluffy cushions and commercial romance, but his life did point to something deeper.
The bold bishop
One possibility is that Valentine was a bishop who was once under house arrest with a judge called Asterius. The pair were having a discussion about faith, religion and Jesus, when Asterius asked Valentine to put his faith to the test. Asterius said that if Valentine could heal his blind daughter, then he would do anything for him. Valentine placed his hands on the eyes of Asterius' daughter, and she was healed.
Asterius was humbled and his life was transformed. He was moved to destroy all the idols in his home and was baptised along with his family and 44-member household. He then freed all his Christian prisoners.
The persecuted priest
Another tale, which doesn't exclude the first, tells of another time Valentine was arrested, and ultimately martyred under the reign of Emperor Claudius Gothicus (Claudius II).
Valentine was allegedly imprisoned for marrying Christian couples and helping other persecuted Christians. When Valentine tried to convert Claudius himself, Claudius was furious and demanded that Valentine be sentenced to death unless he renounced his faith.
He refused and was beaten with clubs and beheaded. He was executed outside the Flaminian Gate, north of Rome, on February 14, 269.
The Legend(s) of Valentine
One legend says Valentine secretly married off couples so the husbands wouldn't have to go to war. Another tells that Valentine refused to sacrifice to pagan gods, and was – you guessed it – imprisoned. In jail he healed the blind daughter of his jailer. When his time came to be executed, he left the girl a note which read: 'Your Valentine'.
Many say that the romantic associations of Valentine's Day arose because in the Middle Ages it was believed that mid-February was the time for birds to form couples.
Valentine's story is so unclear that the Catholic church removed Valentine's name from the General Roman Calendar, though he is still recognised as a saint. Scientists have recently worked out what they believe Valentine actually looked like.
But perhaps the true events behind this name aren't as important as the stories we tell around it. The legends of St Valentine point to more than simple historical events or to modern commercial romanticism.
The name Valentine derives from the Latin word Valens meaning 'worthy, strong, powerful'. Yet the day of Valentine has become associated not with power and strength, but love. Likewise, Valentine did not really show himself to be strong and powerful in his lifetime – he was one who suffered, facing arrest and martyrdom under a cruel empire. Nonetheless, his story, whichever one we choose to believe, has inspired people for hundreds of years. Valentine shows that true love has more to do with self-sacrifice than it does with meeting 'the one'. True love means living boldly, generously, and being willing to lay down your life for a higher cause.
