Tag Archives: Lupercalia

From Candlemas to Valentine’s Day

08 Monday Feb 2021

Posted by in 16th-century France, Art, Calendar, Love

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Simeon’s Song of Praise by Rembrandt, 1631 (WikiArt.org)

Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day, la Saint-Valentin, is approaching. My best wishes to all of you.

The Feast of Saint Valentine was established by Pope Gelasius I in CE 496 to be celebrated on 14 February in honour of Saint Valentine of Rome who died on that date in CE 269. The day became associated with romantic love in the 14th and 15th centuries when notions of courtly love flourished, apparently by association with the “lovebirds” of early spring.

Candlemas

Candlemas, or Candlemass, also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Feast of the Holy Encounter, is a Christian Holy Day commemorating the presentation of Jesus at the Temple. It is based upon the account of the presentation of Jesus in Luke 2:22–40 and has been celebrated since the 4th century CE. (See Candlemas, Britannica.)

It is reported that Pope Saint Gelasius I (494–96 CE) wanted to replace a “pagan” feast, called Lupercalia (“Lupus” [wolf] and “calida” [warmth]) with a Christian feast. Candlemas would be the new feast, which is celebrated on 2nd February, 40 days after Christmas, and would commemorate three closely related occasions.

  1. the Purification of the Virgin
  2. the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple of Jerusalem
  3. the Meeting of the Lord, or the Holy Encounter (see Simeon, Gospel of Luke, Wikipedia)

In obedience to Mosaic law, Mary had to be purified 40 days after giving birth, which falls on 2nd February. Moreover, Mary had to present her firstborn to God. Finally, Simeon, who had been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would see the Messiah before his death, recognized the Messiah. It was Jesus. Having seen Jesus, he said “now we dismiss.” These are the words of a canticle entitled Nunc dimittis.

Candlemas, la Chandeleur, takes places during Carnival season. Carnival is a Christian festivity that starts on Epiphany (6 January) and ends on Ash Wednesday, or the day after Mardi Gras, a day of revelry and merriment. An image inserted below, a drawing or sanguine, depicts a celebration of the Lupercalia occuring at the end of the 16th century.

Valentine’s Day

Moreover, it has been reported that Pope Gelasius I wanted to suppress the ancient Roman festival of the Lupercalia. The Lupercalia was a festival of fertility and purification which had given its name “dies februatus,” from Februatus, to the month of February. The Lupercalia was not related to the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or Candlemas, the new feast. Valentine’s Day used to commemorate a St Valentine, a martyr. The feast took place during the Ides of February.

Chaucer

As a romantic feast, Valentine’s Day was all but invented by Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1340s – 25 October 1400) who called the day “seynt” Valentine’s Day.

Chaucer was a prisoner during the Hundred Years’ War. When he was released, he took to England the French Roman de la Rose, a work of literature that epitomizes courtly love. However, it was an exchange. Charles d’Orléans, who was detained in England for 25 years during the Hundred Years’ War, took to France not only poems he had written referring to Valentine, but also the lore of Valentine’s Day as it existed in England. According to Chaucer, birds mated on 14 February.

In The Parlement of Foules (1382), Chaucer wrote:

For this was on seynt Volantynys day
Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make.

Geoffrey Chaucer’s Parlement of Foules

[“For this was on Saint Valentine’s Day when every bird cometh there to choose his mate.”]

Valentine’s day took place near the Ides of February. We have noted that the degree of lightness and darkness has governed the dates of festivities since the beginning of time. Consequently, Christian festivities would take place at the same time as “pagan” festivities, which they usually replaced, but not altogether. Carnival is a Western Christian festive season ending on Ash Wednesday, the day after Mardi Gras, or on Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday itself.

The Ides of February

The Ides of a month fall on the 15th day of that month. February being the shortest month, its Ides fell earlier. They fell on approximately the 13th of February and would include Lupercalia, a word combining the above-mentioned “lupus” and “calida.” (See Lupercalia, Wikipedia.) The better-known Ides are the Ides of March, “the 15th day of the Roman month of Martius[,]” a day associated with the assassination of Julius Caesar who developed the Julian Calendar. (See The Ides of March, Wikipedia.)

The Gregorian Calendar

There came a point when festivities taking place in February no longer matched the seasons, Easter in particular. Therefore, Pope Gregory XIII replaced the Julian Calendar with the Gregorian calendar. The Gregorian calendar is the better match to the seasons or lightness and darkness. It is based on the Jewish calendar. The Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1582. However, Gregorian Chant (cantus planus, plainsong) does not refer to Pope Gregory XIII. It refers to Pope Gregory I. The day on which Easter is celebrated must be determined every year, hence the adjective “moveable.” Easter matches, more or less, the vernal equinox.

Pope Gregory XIII by Lavinia Fontana (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Lupercalian Festival in Rome (ca. 1578–1610), drawing by the circle of Adam Elsheimer, showing the Luperci dressed as dogs and goats, with Cupid and personifications of fertility. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As noted above, Valentine’s Day’s proper Christian source is the commemoration of a martyr named Valentine. But there is evidence that Lupercalia remains a festivity. (See Beware the Ides of February, Psychology Today.)

In ancient Roman religion, Februus, whose name means “purifier,” was the god of purification and Februarius, the month of February. Epiphanytide ends on Candlemas, but Carnival season continues until the very festive and equinoctial Mardi Gras.

The Soussa Mosaic, Februus panel from the 3rd-century mosaic of the months at El Djem, Tunisia (Roman Africa) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

RELATED ARTICLES

Posts on Love Celebrated, Page
Feast & Liturgy, Page

Sources and Resources

Britannica
Wikipedia
La Vraie Histoire de la Saint-Valentin
Beware the Ides of February

Love to everyone 💕

Rachmaninov‘s Nunc dimittis
Rembrandt (WikiArt.org)

© Micheline Walker
8 February 2021
WordPress

Happy Valentine’s Day

14 Sunday Feb 2016

Posted by in Feasts

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320px-Les_Très_Riches_Heures_du_duc_de_Berry_février

Février, Les Très Riches Heures de Jean de France, duc de Berry (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Happy Valentine’s Day to you!

Today is Valentine’s Day: la Saint-Valentin. My best wishes to all of you. ♥

I have written several posts on Valentine’s Day and did some research again yesterday. This time, I read Wikipedia’s entry on Valentine’s day in which it is stated that there is no link between Lupercalia and Valentine’s Day. Lupercalia was replaced by Candlemas. As for Valentine’s Day, a celebration of Romantic love, it was all but invented by Chaucer who called the day “seynt” Valentine’s Day.

Chaucer was a prisoner during the Hundred Years’ War. When he was released, he took to England the French Roman de la Rose, a work of literature that epitomizes courtly love. However, it was an exchange. Charles d’Orléans, who was detained in England for 25 years during the Hundred Years’ War, took to France not only poems he had written referring to Valentine, but also the lore of Valentine’s Day as it existed in England.  Legend has it, wrote Chaucer, that birds mate on 14 February.

In The Parlement of Foules (1382), Chaucer wrote:

For this was on seynt Volantynys day
Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make.

[“For this was on Saint Valentine’s Day when every bird cometh there to choose his mate.”]

Candlemas

So let us make matters as clear as possible. It is reported that Pope Saint Gelasius I (494–96 CE) wanted to replace a “pagan” feast, called Lupercalia (from lupus, wolf), with a Christian feast. Candlemas was the new feast and it did not replace Lupercalia. It would be celebrated 40 days after Christmas, on 2nd February, and honour three closely-related events: 

  1. the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin
  2. the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple
  3. the Meeting of the Lord (see Simeon, Gospel of Luke, Wikipedia)

Presentation of Jesus at the Temple and the Meeting of the Lord, when Simeon’s wish came true. Simeon was an old man who wanted to see Jesus before he died and, having seen Jesus, said now you dismiss. His words are the words of a canticle (un cantique), a song of praise and joy, entitled “Nunc dimittis.” 

Let us note, however, that the above-mentioned feast is called Candlemas, la Chandeleur, which suggests a possible festival of lights. From the most remote and pagan antiquity, humans have always celebrated the degree of lightness and darkness from season to season. Carnival season ended on Ash Wednesday, or the day after Mardi Gras, a day of revelry and merriment.

Easter: the moveable feast

  • near the vernal equinox

Our next feast is Easter, which is celebrated near the vernal equinox a day when night and day are approximately of the same duration or nearly equal. Christmas is the day of the longest night. So, on 14 February, Valentine’s Day, the days are getting longer, but we have not reached the vernal equinoctial day of the year. 

St Valentine’s Day

  • Lupercalia and the Ides of February
  • Valentine’s Day and Lupercalia

Candlemas did not replace Lupercalia, a fertility ritual and a day of purification. If St Valentine’s Day (la Saint-Valentin) is the day on which birds mate, there would be a commonality between Lupercalia and Valentine’s day. But the Ides of February, which fell on 13 February, were Lupercalia. (See Lupercalia, Wikipedia.) As shown The better-known Ides are the Ides of March, “the 15th day of the Roman month of Martius[,]” a day associated with the assassination of Julius Caesar who developed the Julian Calendar. (See The Ides of March, Wikipedia.)

The Gregorian Calendar: the Ides of February

The Julian Calendar was replaced by the Gregorian calendar, because feasts, Easter in particular, no longer matched the seasons. Gregorian refers to Pope Gregory XIII and the Gregorian Calendar was introduced in 1582. Candlemas celebrated on 2 February, but the Ides of February remained the middle of February which is when Valentine’s Day is celebrated.

Gregory_XIII

Pope Gregory XIII by Lavinia Fontana (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Circle_of_Adam_Elsheimer_The_Lupercalian_Festival_in_Rome

The Lupercalian Festival in Rome (ca. 1578–1610), drawing by the circle of Adam Elsheimer, showing the Luperci dressed as dogs and goats, with Cupid and personifications of fertility. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Saint Valentine’s Day is listed on a page entitled: Posts on Love Celebrated. La Chandeleur, Candlemas would not be linked to Valentine’s Day. Its proper source is the commemoration of a martyr. associated with Februus, a god and Februarius a month perhaps, the Ides of February.

800px-Sousse_mosaic_calendar_February

The Soussa Mosaic (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Februus panel from the 3rd-century mosaic of the months at El Djem, Tunisia (Roman Africa)

Seasons, months (see Roman calendar, Wikipedia), darkness, and light have long been celebrated in every culture. An eloquent example is Soussa Mosaic. (See Februarius, Wikipedia.)

My very best wishes! ♥

Thomas Tallis: “If ye love me”

valentinesday-hanging-hearts

© Micheline Walker
14 February 2016
WordPress

From Lupercalia to Valentine’s Day, cont’d

02 Tuesday Feb 2016

Posted by in Feasts

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Presentation_of_Christ_in_the_TemplePresentation of Christ in the Temple, from the Sherbrooke Missal c. 1310 – c. 1320
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Candlemas

Today is Candlemas, now better known as “grounhog day” or “pancake day.” When I was a child, Candlemas, la Chandeleur, was a religious holiday that was also a festival of lights: la fête des lumières. We didn’t know it was groundhog day, nor did we know it was pancake day. We lived in the very Catholic province of Quebec, which was then a priest-ridden province and is now, otherwise ridden.

However, times have changed. In Quebec, today is le jour de la marmotte and la fête des crêpes. Quebec has therefore caught up to the rest of the world. Apparently, Groundhog Day is a German tradition. (See Groundhog Day, Wikipedia.) Ironically , it could be that many Quebecers do not remember la Chandeleur, or Candlemas.

Candlemas commemorated and still commemorates:

  • the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple
  • the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin
  • the Meeting of the Lord (see Simeon, Gospel of Luke, Wikipedia)

Saint Gelasius I

  • St Gelasius
  • a commemoration
  • the seasons

We owe Candlemas to Pope Gelasius I who died in Rome on the 19 November c. 496 CE and is now a saint. Saint Gelasius wanted to replace Lupercalia, a disorderly pagan feast with a Christian feast, celebrated about 12 days later than 2 February. It was Candlemas, which eventually would take place on 2 February, according to the Gregorian calendar. Most Christian feasts are celebrated on the same day as a pagan feast and they inaugurate or close a season, the four seasons and liturgical seasons.

Humans have also celebrated the day of the longest night, the winter Solstice, and the day of the longest day, the summer Solstice. They have also celebrated the days when day and night are the same length: equinoctial points, or an Equinox.  This is the logic according to which Christian feasts are celebrated. It is a matter of season and one of continuity.

In 2016, solstices and equinoctial points are on:

Christmas is celebrated on 25 December, near the winter Solstice.
Easter is a movable feast, near the spring Equinox, 27 April 2016.
St John’s Day is celebrated on 24 June, near the summer Solstice.
Michaelmas is celebrated on 29 September, near the fall Equinox.

Easter is the only movable feast, but it occurs near the vernal equinox. As for Candlemas, it is celebrated on 2 February and is a festival of lights or la Fête des lumières. It closes Epiphany Season and introduces a new Marian antiphon: Ave, Regina Cælorum, of which there are four. Moreover, it is the day when the canticle entitled Nunc Dimittis (Now let me leave) is sung. Antiphons are call and respond songs: a responsory, but canticles are songs of praise, such as the Magnificat.

Beginning today the Marian antiphon is the Ave Regina Cælorum. It will last until Good Friday.

800px-Aert_de_Gelder_-_Het_loflied_van_Simeon
Simeon’s Song of Praise by Aert de Gelder,
around 1700–1710 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Canticle of Simeon or the Nunc Dimittis

According to the book of Luke (Luke 2:29-32), Simeon, a devout Jew, had been promised by the Holy Ghost that he would see the Saviour before his death. He recognized Jesus when he was brought to the Temple for the ceremony of the Presentation of the first-born son. Having seen Jesus, a Jew, with his own eyes, he sang a canticle in which he says that now (nunc) he could leave: “Now let me leave…”

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word.
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of thy people Israel.
Book of Common Prayer, 1662

Houghton_MS_Richardson_5_-_92
The Houghton ms Richardson, Harvard (c. 1400)

The Ave, Regina Cælorum is as follows:

Hail, O Queen of Heaven enthroned.
Hail, by angels mistress owned.
Root of Jesse, Gate of Morn
Whence the world’s true light was born:

Glorious Virgin, Joy to thee,
Loveliest whom in heaven they see;
Fairest thou, where all are fair,
Plead with Christ our souls to spare.

V. Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, O sacred Virgin.
R. Give me strength against thine enemies.

(See Raphael & Marian Liturgy at Notre-Dame de Paris)

Tides

There are equinoctial tides that occur near the time of an equinox. In France, they are called marées d’équinoxe. They were spectacular where I lived in Normandy. One could not see the water from the shore. When the water returned, it did rapidly. Sheep grazed on the prés salés (salted meadows), called présalés, at Mont-Saint-Michel. It could be that the tides brought the salt. Before or after walking to the Abbey, we would eat crêpes. There was a lovely restaurant at the foot of the hill. Sometimes we drove to Saint-Malô to eat crêpes. Tides occurring on solstices are less dramatic than equinoctial tides.

The Christian seasons are also called “tides:” Christmastide, Epiphanytide, Eastertide, etc. Christianity has more seasons than nature’s four seasons. We are not entering a tide, but an Ordinary Time that will end on Ash Wednesday (10 February, this year) or Pentecost. (See Eastertide, Wikipedia.)

The RELATED ARTICLES, listed below, will lead you to all relevant posts and songs.

RELATED ARTICLES

Kindest regards to everyone. ♥

 


Presentation_of_Christ_in_the_Temple

© Micheline Walker
2 February 2016
WordPress

 

 

 

From Lupercalia to Valentine’s Day

02 Tuesday Feb 2016

Posted by in Feasts, Love, Myths

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Capitoline Wolf. Traditional scholarship says the wolf-figure is Etruscan, 5th century BC, with figures of Romulus and Remus added in the 15th century AD by Antonio Pollaiuolo. Recent studies suggest that the wolf may be a medieval sculpture dating from the 13th century AD.

Romulus and Remus suckling Lupa (Photo credit: Google Images)

The above image shows Romulus and Remus, born to Vestal Virgin Rhea Silvia and the god Mars or the demi-God Hercules. Amulius had seized power from his brother Numitor and had forced Rhea Silvia, Numitor’s daughter, to become a Vestal Virgin so she would not bear children.

After the birth of Romulus and Remus, Amulius threw the babies into the river Tiber and sent their mother to jail. However, Romulus and Remus were saved by shepherds and fed by a she-wolf, Lupa, in a cave called Lupercal, perhaps located at the foot of Palatine Hill. They were then discovered by Faustulus, a shepherd.

The feral twins killed Amulius when they learned about their mother, but Romulus killed Remus who wanted Rome founded on Aventile Hill rather than Palatine Hill. Whence, the existence of Lupercus (from lupus: wolf), the Roman god of shepherds, and that of the Lupercalia, a yearly Roman festival honoring Lupa.

Romulus and Remus being given shelter by Faustulus, oil by Pietro da Cortona.

Romulus and Remus being given shelter by Faustulus, oil by Pietro da Cortona (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Lupercalia & Candlemas

In ancient Rome, the Lupercalia (Lupercus) took place between 13th and 15th of February. This “pagan” feast is sometimes associated with Candlemas, celebrated on the 2nd of February. The Julian Calendar ceased to reflect the seasons, the degree of lightness or darkness, and was therefore replaced with the Gregorian calendar. The Eastern Church reflects this discrepancy.

As we will see, there was a motivation to transform the Lupercalia into a Christian feast. However, the Lupercalia endured until the 5th century CE and was celebrated beginning on the Ides of February, i.e. the 13th, ending two days later, on the 15th.

At the start of the Lupercalia, two goats and a dog were sacrificed. Next, two young Luperci, members of a corporation of priests, were led to the altar and anointed with the blood of the sacrificed animals. Luperci then dressed themselves in thongs, called februa, taken from skin of the of the sacrificed goats and dog and ran around the walls of the old Palatine city carrying thongs and striking the crowd.

Pancake Day or La fête des crêpes

Later, salt meal cakes prepared by the Vestal Virgins were burnt, which is interesting because in France, Candlemas, celebrated on 2nd February, is “la fête des crêpes” or Pancake Day and today, 12th February is International Pancake Day. It would be my opinion that the pan of pancakes is the pan of pots and pans, but would that it were Pan the “Greek god of the wild, shepherds and flocks, nature, of mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music, and companion of the nymphs” (Pan, Wikipedia).

Pan’s Roman counterpart was Faunus. But Pan protected the flocks from wolves, which would suggest that he was also the counterpart of Lupercus, the above-mentioned Roman god of shepherds who replaced an earlier god named Februus (see Lupercalia, Wikipedia).

A fourth-century Roman depiction of Hylas and the Nymphs, from the basilica of Junius Bassus

A fourth-century Roman depiction of Hylas and the Nymphs, from the basilica of Junius Bassus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Valentine’s Day

However, for our purposes, the ancient and “pagan” Lupercalia was an event which Pope Saint Gelasius I (494–96) wanted to abolish. Senators opposed him, so he invited them to run nude themselves. Gelasius I  did not replace the Lupercalia, but a Christian feast would be celebrated on 2nd February, 40 days after Christmas. It would commemorate the “Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” to be observed on Candlemas. It was a noble thought, but Lupercalia was not replaced. However, a St Valentine would be commemorated, but other Valentines would be celebrated on Saint Valentine’s Day, the 14th of February which were the Ides of February. [i] According to Britannica, “[i]t came to be celebrated as a day of romance from about the 14th century.”[ii] That would be in Chaucer’s (born c. 1342/43 died 25 October 1400) lifetime.

The many Saints called Valentine

There was a St Valentine a convert and a physician, who may have restored the sight of his gaoler’s blind daughter. According to Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, this Valentine was clubbed to death c. 270. His feast day is the 14th of February. However, there could be other beatified Valentines. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, there are three saints named Valentine, one of whom would the bishop of Terni, formerly Interamna. The fact remains that Roman Martyrology recognizes only one St Valentine, a martyr who died on the Via Flaminia and whose feast day is the 14th of February. (See Saint Valentine, Wikipedia.)

Conclusion

I will break here. We have gone from the Lupercalia to Valentine’s Day and stumbled upon la fête des crêpes (2nd February) or Pancake Day, which is quite a journey.  Let us return to the Lupercalia. Pope Saint Gelasius I may have abolished Lupercalia, but Lupercalia remained.  However, although there is at least one saint named Valentine, Valentine’s Day is very much as described in Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. It is a “relic” of a pagan feast celebrated in February that remains a celebration of love and friendship and a bit of a carnival. It should be noted that Epiphanytide, which beings on the 6th of January, ends on the 2nd of February, on Candlemas. As for Carnival season, it also begins on Epiphany, but it ends on Mardi Gras (Shrove Tuesday), a few days before Easter.

Capitoline Wolf. Traditional scholarship says the wolf-figure is Etruscan, 5th century BC, with figures of Romulus and Remus added in the 15th century AD by Antonio Pollaiuolo. Recent studies suggest that the wolf may be a medieval sculpture dating from the 13th century AD

Capitoline Wolf, bronze, 13th and late 15th century CE or c. 500 – 480 BCE.

Musei Capitolini, Rome, Italy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

RELATED ARTICLES

Posts on Love Celebrated, Page

Sources and Resources

St Valentines and the Ides of February
Beware the Ides of February,  Psychology Today

______________________________
[i] “Valentine’s Day”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 14 Feb. 2013
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/858512/Valentines-Day>

—ooo—

composer: Jacques Offenbach (20 June 1819 – 5 October 1880)
piece: Barcarolle
performers:
Philippe Jaroussky (born 13 February 1978 in Maisons-Laffitte, France) countertenor
Natalie Dessay (19 April 1965, in Lyon) coloratura soprano
 

© Micheline Walker
12 February 2013
WordPress

Valentine’s Day: Martyrs & Birds, 2nd edition

14 Saturday Feb 2015

Posted by in Feasts, Literature, Love

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CUPID OR L'AMOUR MOUILLÉ, BY WILLIAM-ADOLPHE BOUGUEREAU (1825-1905)

Cupid or l’Amour mouillé, William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) (Photo credit: Wikipaintings)

Valentine’s Day

Greek and Roman Antiquity

Love has long been celebrated. In ancient Greece, the marriage of Jupiter to Hera was commemorated between mid-January and mid-February. As for the Romans, in mid-February, they held the festival of the Lupercalia. According to Britannica, the Lupercalia was

[t]he festival, which celebrated the coming of spring, included fertility rites and the pairing off of women with men by lottery.[i]

At the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I replaced the Lupercalia with a Christian feast, the “Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” to be celebrated on the 2nd of February. It is said that, in 496, the Pope issued a decree that made the 14th of February the feast of at least one saint named Valentine. However, according to Britannica, “Valentine’s Day did not come to be celebrated as a day of romance from about the 14th century.”[ii]

At any rate, the Lupercalia was eventually replaced by Saint Valentine’s Day, celebrated on the 14th of February. The 14th of February is no longer a feast day in the Catholic Church. But it is a feast day in the Anglican Church. Moreover, Ireland and France have relics of St Valentine, Valentine of Terni in Dublin and an anonymous St Valentine in France.

Saints and Martyrs

There is conflicting information concerning saints named Valentine.  It would be my opinion that the only st Valentine we can associate with Valentine’s Day is the saint who slipped his jailor’s daughter a note worded “from your Valentine.”

In French, Valentine’s Day is still called la Saint-Valentin, which suggests that there is a saint and martyr named Valentin. In fact, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, there may be three saints named Valentine:

  1. Valentine of Terni, the bishop of Interrama, now Terni, also a 3rd-century martyr buried on the Via Flaminia,
  2. a Valentine who suffered in Africa with several companions, and
  3. the Valentine who restored his jail keeper’s daughter’s sight and slipped her a note that read “From your Valentine,” the night before his martyrdom. If this Valentine is associated with Valentine’s Day, it is because of the note he slipped to his jail keeper’s daughter which read: “From your Valentine.” He would be our Valentine or St Valentine.

Valentine’s Day Cards: The Origin 

St Valentine, the third Valentine is mentioned, albeit inconspicuously, in Jacobus de Voragine’s The Golden Legend. Moreover, the Roman Martyrology, “the Catholic Church‘s official list of recognized saints,” gives only one Saint Valentine, the martyr who was executed and buried on the Via Flaminia and whose feast day is 14th February. (Saint Valentine, Wikipedia.) This saint’s only link with St Valentine’s day is the note he slipped to his jailer’s daughter: “From your Valentine.” This note would be the origin of Valentine’s Day cards.

St Valentine was martyred about c. 270 CE, probably 269, by Roman emperor Claudius II Gothicus.[iii]  According to the emperor, married men were lesser soldiers.  This St Valentine could be Valentine of Rome. But it could also be that this Valentine, Valentine of Rome, is the same person as Valentine of Terni, a priest and bishop also martyred in the 3rd century CE and buried on the Via Flaminia. This view is not supported by the Encyclopædia Britannica.[iv]

If this saint is associated with Valentine’s Day, the note signed “From your Valentine” is the only link between a saint named Valentine and Valentine’s Day. The note constitutes the required romantic element.

The Romantic Element

Chaucer: the day birds mate
Le Roman de la Rose
tHE lADY AND THE uNICORN

As mentioned above, Saint Valentine’s Day was not the feast of lovers (i.e. people in love) until a myth was born according to which birds mated on February the 14th. This myth is probably quite ancient but it finds its relatively recent roots is Geoffrey Chaucer‘s (14th century) Parliament of Foules. Othon III de Grandson (1340 and 1350 – 7 August 1397) (Fr Wikipedia), a poet and captain at the court of England spread the legend to the Latin world in the 14th century. This legend is associated with the famous mille-fleurs, (thousand flowers) tapestry called La Dame à la Licorne (The Lady and the Unicorn), housed in the Cluny Museum in Paris. Finally, Chaucer translated part of Le Roman de la Rose.

N.B. The first version of the Canterbury Tales to be published in print was William Caxton’s 1478 edition.  Caxton translated and printed The Golden Legend in 1483.

Dissemination


the Legend about birds mating
Othon III de Grandson
Charles d’Orléans
Chaucer: Roman de la rose

It would appear that Othon III de Grandson, our poet and captain, wrote a third of his poetry in praise of that tradition. Othon III de Grandson wrote:

  • La Complainte de Saint Valentin (I & II), or Valentine’s Lament,
  • La Complaincte amoureuse de Sainct Valentin Gransson (The Love Lament of St Valentine Gransson),
  • Le Souhait de Saint Valentin (St Valentine’s Wish),
  • and Le Songe Saint Valentin (St Valentine’s Dream). (See Othon III de Grandson [in French], Wikipedia.)

Knowledge of these texts was disseminated in courtly circles, the French court in particular, at the beginning of the 15th century, by Charles d’Orléans. At some point, Othon’s Laments were forgotten, but St Valentine’s Day was revived in the 19th century.

In short, St Valentine’s Day is about

  1. a martyr who, the night before his martyrdom, slipped a note to the lady he had befriended, his jailor’s blind daughter, signing it “From your Valentine.”
  2. It is about a legend, found in Chaucer‘s Parliament of Foules, according to which birds mate on the 14th of February.
  3. It is associated with an allegorical tapestry: La Dame à la licorne.
  4. It is about Othon III de Grandson (FR, Wikipedia), a poet and a captain who devoted thirty percent of his poetry to the traditions surrounding St Valentine’s Day.
  5. It is also about courtly love and, specifically, Le Roman de la Rose, part of which was translated into English by Geoffrey Chaucer.
  6. Finally, it is about Charles d’Orléans who circulated the lore about St Valentine in courtly circles in France.

There is considerable information in Wikipedia’s entry of St Valentine’s Day.  It was or has become a trans-cultural tradition.

RELATED ARTICLES

Happy Valentine’s Day

Folk Art Valentine, 1875

________________________

[i] “Valentine’s Day”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 13 Feb. 2012 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/858512/Valentines-Day>.

[ii] “Saint Valentine”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 14 Feb. 2013
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/622028/Saint-Valentine>.

[iii] “Claudius II Gothicus”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 14 Feb. 2013
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/120521/Claudius-II-Gothicus>.

[iv] “Saint Valentine”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 14 Feb. 2013
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/622028/Saint-Valentine>.

 
Andreas Scholl sings Dowland‘s “Flow my Tears”
 
   
cupidangel
© Micheline Walker
14 February 2012
14 February 2015
WordPress
 

From Lupercalia to Valentine’s Day

12 Tuesday Feb 2013

Posted by in Feasts, Love

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

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Capitoline Wolf. Traditional scholarship says the wolf-figure is Etruscan, 5th century BC, with figures of Romulus and Remus added in the 15th century AD by Antonio Pollaiuolo. Recent studies suggest that the wolf may be a medieval sculpture dating from the 13th century AD.

Romulus and Remus suckling Lupa (Photo credit: Google Images)

This is an older post, I am posting again, while I finish my new post on Candlemas.

The above image shows Romulus and Remus, born to Vestal Virgin Rhea Silvia and the god Mars or the demi-God Hercules. Amulius had seized power from his brother Numitor and had forced Rhea Silvia, Numitor’s daughter, to become a Vestal Virgin so she would not bear children.

After the birth of Romulus and Remus, Amulius threw the babies into the river Tiber and sent their mother to jail. However, Romulus and Remus were saved by shepherds and fed by a she-wolf, Lupa, in a cave called Lupercal, perhaps located at the foot of Palatine Hill.  They were then discovered by Faustulus, a shepherd.

The feral twins killed Amulius when they learned about their mother, but Romulus killed Remus who wanted Rome founded on Aventile Hill rather than Palatine Hill. Whence, the existence of Lupercus (from lupus: wolf), the Roman god of shepherds, and that of the Lupercalia, a yearly Roman festival honoring Lupa.

Romulus and Remus being given shelter by Faustulus, oil by Pietro da Cortona.

Romulus and Remus being given shelter by Faustulus, oil by Pietro da Cortona (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Lupercalia & Candlemas

In ancient Rome, the Lupercalia (Lupercus) took place between February 13th and 15th.  This “pagan” feast is sometimes associated with Candlemas, celebrated on February 2nd, using the Gregorian calendar as opposed to the Julian calendar, called O.S., old style. In the Gregorian calendar, feasts were celebrated about 12 days earlier, than in the Julian calendar. The Eastern Church reflects this discrepancy.

As we will see, there was a motivation to transform the Lupercalia into a Christian feast.  However, the Lupercalia endured until the 5th century CE and was celebrated beginning on the Ides of February, i.e. the 13th, ending two days later, on the 15th.

At the start of the Lupercalia, two goats and a dog were sacrificed. Next, two young Luperci, members of a corporation of priests, were led to the altar and anointed with the blood of the sacrificed animals. Luperci then dressed themselves in thongs, called februa, taken from skin of the of the sacrificed goats and dog and ran around the walls of the old Palatine city carrying thongs and striking the crowd.

Pancake Day or La fête des crêpes

Later, salt mealcakes prepared by the Vestal Virgins were burnt, which is interesting because in France, Candlemas, celebrated on 2nd February, is “la fête des crêpes” or Pancake Day and today, 12th February is International Pancake Day. It would be my opinion that pan of pancakes is the pan of pots and pans, but would that it were the Pan of the “Greek god of the wild, shepherds and flocks, nature, of mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music, and companion of the nymphs” (Pan, Wikipedia).

Pan’s Roman counterpart was Faunus. But Pan protected the flocks from wolves, which would suggest that he was also the counterpart of Lupercus, the above-mentioned Roman god of shepherds who replaced an earlier god named Februus (see Lupercalia, Wikipedia).

A fourth-century Roman depiction of Hylas and the Nymphs, from the basilica of Junius Bassus

A fourth-century Roman depiction of Hylas and the Nymphs, from the basilica of Junius Bassus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Valentine’s Day

However, for our purposes, the ancient and “pagan” Lupercalia was a raucous event which Pope Saint Gelasius I (494–96) wanted to abolish. Senators opposed him so he invited them to run nude themselves. After a long dispute, Gelasius replaced the Lupercalia with a “Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” to be observed on Candlemas. It was a noble thought, but eventually the “pagan” feast became Saint Valentine’s Day or Valentine’s Day, celebrated on the 14th of February, near the Ides of February.  According to Britannica, “[i]t came to be celebrated as a day of romance from about the 14th century.”[i] That would be in Chaucer’s (born c. 1342/43, London?, England—died 25 October 1400, London) lifetime.

The many Saints called Valentine

There was a St Valentine a convert and a physician, who may have restored the sight of his gaoler’s blind daughter. According to Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, this Valentine was clubbed to death c. 270. His feast day is the 14th of February. However, there could be other beatified Valentines. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia there are three saints named Valentine, one of whom would the bishop of Terni, formerly Interamna. However,  Roman Martyrology recognizes only one St Valentine, a martyr who died on the Via Flaminia and whose feast day is the 14th of February. (See Saint Valentine, Wikipedia.)

Conclusion

I will break here. We have gone from the Lupercalia to Valentine’s Day and stumbled upon la fête des crêpes (2nd February) or Pancake Day, which is quite a journey. Let us return to the Lupercalia.  Pope Saint Gelasius I did abolish disorderly “pagan” festival. However, though there is at least one saint named Valentine, Valentine’s Day is very much as escribed in Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. It is a “relic” of the Lupercalia. It is no longer the Lupercalia of old, but it remains a celebration of love and friendship and a bit of a carnival. In fact, not only is today, 12th February 2013, International Pancake Day, but it is also Mardi Gras (Shrove Tuesday), which is the end of the carnival season.

Capitoline Wolf. Traditional scholarship says the wolf-figure is Etruscan, 5th century BC, with figures of Romulus and Remus added in the 15th century AD by Antonio Pollaiuolo. Recent studies suggest that the wolf may be a medieval sculpture dating from the 13th century AD

Capitoline Wolf, bronze, 13th and late 15th century CE or c. 500 – 480 BCE. Musei Capitolini, Rome, Italy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

______________________________
[i] “Valentine’s Day”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 14 Feb. 2013
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/858512/Valentines-Day>
 

—ooo—

composer: Jacques Offenbach (20 June 1819 – 5 October 1880)
piece: Barcarolle
performers:
Philippe Jaroussky (born 13 February 1978 in Maisons-Laffitte, France) countertenor
Natalie Dessay (19 April 1965, in Lyon) coloratura soprano
 

© Micheline Walker
12 February 2013
WordPress

Valentine’s Day: Martyrs & Birds

14 Tuesday Feb 2012

Posted by in Literature, Love

≈ 77 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

CUPID OR L'AMOUR MOUILLÉ, BY WILLIAM-ADOLPHE BOUGUEREAU (1825-1905)

Cupid or l’Amour mouillé, William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) (Photo credit: Wikipaintings)

Valentine’s Day

Greek and Roman Antiquity
Lupercalia

Love has long been celebrated. In ancient Greece, the marriage of Jupiter to Hera was commemorated between mid-January and mid-February. As for the Romans, in mid-February, they held the festival of the Lupercalia. According to Britannica, the Lupercalia was

[t]he festival, which celebrated the coming of spring, included fertility rites and the pairing off of women with men by lottery.[i]

At the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I attempted to replace the Lupercalia with a Christian feast, the “Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” and a commemoration of the “Presentation of Jesus at the Temple” be celebrated on the 2nd of February. Simeon recognized the Messiah in Jesus. Having seen Jesus, Simeon said that now he could leave: the Nunc Dimittis ued a decree that made the 14th of .February the feast of at least one saint named Valentine. Britannica differs: “Valentine’s Day came to be celebrated as a day of romance from about the 14th century.”[ii]

Lupercalia was eventually overshadowed by Saint Valentine’s Day, celebrated on the 14th of February. The 14th of February is no longer a feast day in the Catholic Church. But it is a feast day in the Anglican Church. Moreover, Ireland and France have relics of St Valentine, Valentine of Terni in Dublin and an anonymous St Valentine in France.

Saints and Martyrs

There is conflicting information concerning saints named Valentine.  It would be my opinion that the only St Valentine we can associate with Valentine’s Day is the saint who slipped his jailor’s daughter a note worded “From your Valentine.”

In French, Valentine’s Day is still called la Saint-Valentin, which suggests that there is a saint and martyr named Valentin. In fact, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, there may be three saints named Valentine:

  1. Valentine of Terni, the bishop of Interrama, now Terni, also a 3rd-century martyr buried on the Via Flaminia,
  2. a Valentine who suffered in Africa with several companions and the
  3. Valentine who restored his jail keeper’s daughter’s sight and slipped her a note that read “From your Valentine,” the night before his martyrdom.
  4. If this Valentine is associated with Valentine’s Day, it is because of the note he slipped to his daughter.  This saint would be Valentine of Rome, our St Valentine

Valentine Day’s Cards: Origin

Valentine of Rome is mentioned, albeit inconspicuously, in Jacobus de Voragine’s The Golden Legend.  Moreover, the Roman Martyrology, “the Catholic Church‘s official list of recognized saints,” gives only one Saint Valentine, the martyr who was executed and buried on the Via Flaminia and whose feast day is the 14th of February. (Saint Valentine, Wikipedia.)  This saint’s only link with St Valentine’s day is the note he slipped to his jailer’s daughter. This note would be the origin of Valentine’s Day cards.

The Emperor was of the opinion that married men were lesser soldiers…

St Valentine was martyred about c. 270 CE, probably 269, by the Roman Emperor Claudius II Gothicus.[iii]  The Emperor was of the opinion that married men were lesser soldiers. This St Valentine could be Valentine of Rome. But it could also be that this Valentine, Valentine of Rome, is the same person as Valentine of Terni, a priest and bishop also martyred in the 3rd century CE and buried on the Via Flaminia. This view is not supported by the Encyclopædia Britannica.[iv]

However, as I mentioned above, if this saint is associated with Valentine’s Day, the note signed “From your Valentine” is the only link between a saint named Valentine and Valentine’s Day. The note constitutes the required romantic element.

The Romantic Element

The Lady and the Unicorn
Chaucer: the day birds mate 

As mentioned above, Saint Valentine’s Day was not the feast of lovers (i.e. people in love) until a myth was born according to which birds mated on February the 14th. This myth is probably quite ancient but it finds its relatively recent roots is Geoffrey Chaucer‘s (14th century) Parliament of Foules. Othon III de Grandson (1340 and 1350 – 7 August 1397) [in French], a poet and captain at the court of England, spread the legend to the Latin world in the 14th century. This legend is associated with the famous mille-fleurs (thousand flowers) tapestry called La Dame à la Licorne (The Lady and the Unicorn), housed in the Cluny Museum in Paris.

N.B. The first version of the Canterbury Tales to be published in print was William Caxton’s 1478 edition. Caxton translated and printed The Golden Legend in 1483.

Dissemination

Birds mating on 14th February
Othon III de Granson
Charles d’Orléans

It would appear that Othon III de Grandson, our poet and captain, wrote a third of his poetry in praise of that tradition. He wrote:

  • La Complainte de Saint Valentin (I & II), or Valentine’s Lament,
  • La Complaincte amoureuse de Sainct Valentin Gransson (The Love Lament of St Valentine Gransson),
  • Le souhait de Saint Valentin (St Valentine’s Wish),
  • and Le Songe Saint Valentin (St Valentine’s Dream). (See Othon III de Grandson [in French], Wikipedia)

Knowledge of these texts was disseminated in courtly circles, the French court in particular, at the beginning of the 15th century, by Charles d’Orléans. At some point, Othon’s Laments were forgotten, but St Valentine’s Day was revived in the 19th century.

In short, St Valentine’s Day is about

  1. a martyr who, the night before his martyrdom, slipped a note to the lady he had befriended, his jailor’s blind daughter, signing it “From your Valentine.”
  2. It is about a legend, found in Chaucer‘s Parliament of Foules, according to which birds mate on the 14th of February.
  3. It is associated with an allegorical tapestry: La Dame à la licorne.
  4. It is about Othon III de Grandson (FR, Wikipedia), a poet and a captain who devoted thirty percent of his poetry to the traditions surrounding St Valentine’s Day.
  5. It is also about courtly love and, specifically, Le Roman de la Rose, part of which was translated into English by Geoffrey Chaucer.
  6. Finally, it is about Charles d’Orléans who circulated the lore about St Valentine in courtly circles in France.

There is considerable information in Wikipedia’s entry of St Valentine’s Day. It was or has become a transcultural tradition. It cannot be celebrated in countries where marriages are arranged.

Happy Valentine’s Day

Folk Art Valentine, 1875

________________________

[i] “Valentine’s Day.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/858512/Valentines-Day>.

[ii] “Saint Valentine.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 14 Feb. 2013
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/622028/Saint-Valentine>.

[iii] “Claudius II Gothicus.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 14 Feb. 2013
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/120521/Claudius-II-Gothicus>.

[iv] “Saint Valentine.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 14 Feb. 2013
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/622028/Saint-Valentine>.

 
Andreas Scholl sings Dowland‘s “Flow my Tears”
 
   
cupidangel

© Micheline Walker
14 February 2013
WordPress