Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1903-02-14
The Valentines
Of the
Long, Long Ago

The practice of choosing Il valentine
can De traced back to Il very remote pc
rod in England. Chaucrr refers to the
day, and John Iydgat", til" English r"-
ct. who knew thauccr and often called
himself "Chauccr'S disciple" produced
ut least one valentine. This was in
pr;!iS" of Queen Catherine. c"nsurt of
Henry v. and il was written between
1I2U and 1i91 LydgHtc was court pn-
ct to Henry V. and Henry VI. As Will
he seen by the following extract from
his lines tn Queen Catherine, it WAS
easy To he Il poet in those days provided
one could spell well:
Saynt Valentine. of custom yesr" l,y yccrc.
Men have an usauncc in his r"guun
TO lOkc and SerChc CupidcS kal"ndcrc
And chose theyr chosyc by grctc atfCc-
ioun.
One Of the earliest known writers OF
poctical amorous addresses for ST. Val
entinc's d"y WAS Charles. duke of Or
leans. who was taken at the battle of
AEincuurt and remained Il prisoner in
England for twenty-five years. The fol
lowing song is one Of the many he
wrote, all distinguished by drlicacy of
sentiment and simplicity of style:
Wilt thou he mine, dear love? Reply!
SwCctly consent or els" deny;
Whisper softly: none shall know;
Wilt thou II" mine, love? Aye, or no?
Spite of fortune. may hr
Happy by one word from thee;
Life flies swiftly; ere 1t go.
Wit thou he mine, love? Aye or no"
st. Valentines day is alluded to by
Shakespeare in Hamlet" where poor
Ophelia sings:
Tomorrow is St Valentines day
All in the morning betime.
And maid at your window,
To be your valentine.
OF old St Valentines day was sup
posed to be the day on which the birds
chose their mates. This is referred to
in "A Midsummer Nights Dream
whcT Theseus. on discovering the
sleeping lovers in the woods. eXclaims:
Good morrow. friends, St. Valentine is
past:
Begin these wood birds but to couple now.
81. Valentine was Christian martyr
OF the reign of the Roman emperor
ClautlliS H. ON Feb. II. \. ID. 30,
the saint was beaten with clubs and
then bchcadCd. Despite the fact that
the custom of sending valentines bears
his name. the saint had nothing what
ever to do with originating il. The
custom had its origin in IL heather
practice connected with the worship of
Pan and June on or about Feb. If.
The names Of young women were writ
ten on scrolls and then dropped In
box. from which they were later drawn
by the hcauS of the time, each beau
dCvu;in@ himself for Il year to the
young woman whose name he drew.
On Feb. II, 2TS. Pope Julius l. hon
ored ST. Valentines memory by build
ing church called st. Praxedes, In
which the saints remains and relics
Erc still vencrated.
During the reign of Charles IL. any
one chosen as a valentine was in honor
bound To give Il present to the person
choosing him or her. Married people
were equally eligible with single ones
for the lottery of st. Valentine.
Presents of great value We're at times
given. According to Pepys, Miss
Stuart. aftcrward Duchess of Rich
mund. having chosen the Duke Of York
as her valentine, was rewarded with a
jewel valued ut $1,000. The next year
she chose Lord Vaudeville and recciy-
ed ring worth S1,500.
In the Fair Maid of Perth" Sir Wal
ter Scott has the mighty armorer give
Catharine Glover ruby heart and a
steel purse bearing these words:
Loves darts
Cleave hearts
Through mail shirts.
One of the funniest valentine Incl
dents In fiction iR the scene that fol-