SMU students express different emotions when the 14th day of February arrives. Some love its romantic connotations, others put up with its bright colors and hearts and some choose to ignore it all together, claiming it represents a marketing technique created by a greeting card company to increase sales.
Though people hold different feelings about Valentine’s Day, few are aware of its origins. Acknowledging the conflicting stories about the holiday, The Medieval Club invited students to learn the holiday’s true history in the Hyer Room of Dallas Hall Monday afternoon.
The lecture, led by Professors Jeremy Adams and Bonnie Wheeler, covered the possible origins of Valentine’s Day, a holiday whose origins have encountered much debate by historical scholars. Scholars attest that the holiday began hundreds of years ago, the result of medieval history and literature, while some romantic cynics claim it was created by greeting card companies.
Despite personal feelings, literary and historical evidence exists that proves that Valentine’s Day is not a commercial fabrication.
Adams began the talk, saying that the foundation of Valentine’s Day began as early as A.D. 270 and involved a martyred clergyman, Valentinus, who was killed for performing healing acts and trying to convert people to Christianity. The exact identification of the clergyman remains unknown, because two clergymen were martyred for this reason in Rome around A.D. 270.
Adams said Valentinus was said to have assisted a jailor’s daughter in writing to her lover. Some speculate this was the first exchange of “Valentines,” but Adams said there is no solid historical evidence to support the story.
Valentius was also supposedly known for fixing engagements and healing epilepsy, the plague and fainting spells – possibly connecting him to romance.
Wheeler offered a different perspective on the origin of Valentine’s Day. Claiming that Valentine’s Day began in 1381, Wheeler asserted that Chaucer’s poem “Parlement of Foules,” combined with a collective interest in courtly, romantic love, was to blame for the holiday’s creation.
“Parlement of Foules” made the first reference to Feb. 14 as a day for lovers, Wheeler said, and by 1400 the day spread to the king of France, who invited 600 people to celebrate the “order of love” with him each year.
“I enjoyed hearing different perspectives from two of the most astute historical minds on his campus,” Brad Julsonnet, a junior economics major, said.
“It’s always fun to hear the history of a day that gets branded a ‘Hallmark holiday,'” Medieval Club President Ava Franks said. “It’s also fun to leave with a full stomach,” she added with a smile, referring to the abundant Valentine-themed snacks that the Medieval Club provided.
