{"id":14657,"date":"2013-02-14T06:00:46","date_gmt":"2013-02-14T11:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?p=14657"},"modified":"2013-02-13T20:21:25","modified_gmt":"2013-02-14T01:21:25","slug":"chaucer-st-valentines-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/02\/chaucer-st-valentines-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Chaucer & St. Valentine’s Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

You must read Rev. Joseph Abrahamson\u2019s post on the origins and history of St. Valentine\u2019s Day.\u00a0 It\u2019s part of his series that we\u2019ve often linked to on Christian holidays that are mistakenly claimed to have pagan origins.\u00a0 He shows that St. Valentine\u2019s Day is not based on Roman festivals but on a day commemorating the death of a Christian martyr, though which<\/em> of many saints with that name is a matter of some confusion.\u00a0 The question, though, is how this saint\u2019s day became associated with love and romance.<\/p>\n

It turns out that the connection comes from one of my favorite authors, Geoffrey Chaucer!<\/p>\n

After an extensive discussion that you should read, Rev. Abrahamson comes to this:<\/p>\n

The first author to associate Valentine\u2019s Day with romance was Chaucer. We are now more than a thousand years after the martyrdom of St. Valentine. Geoffrey Chaucer (ca. 1343-1400). from The Parliament of Fowls<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n

309 For this was on seynt Valentynes day,<\/p>\n

310 Whan every foul cometh ther to chese his make,<\/p>\n

311 Of every kinde, that men thenke may;<\/p>\n

312 And that so huge a noyse gan they make,<\/p>\n

313 That erthe and see, and tree, and every lake<\/p>\n

314 So ful was, that unnethe was ther space<\/p>\n

315 For me to stonde, so ful was al the place.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

(Online Medieval and Classical Library)<\/p>\n

via Steadfast Lutherans \u00bb Redeeming Holy Days from Pagan Lies \u2014 Valentine\u2019s Day<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The modern translation Rev. Abrahamson gives is not very good.\u00a0 Here<\/a> is a better one:<\/p>\n

\n

For this was on Saint Valentine\u2019s day<\/span>,<\/span><\/p>\n

When every fowl comes there his mate to take,<\/span><\/p>\n

Of every species that men know, I say,<\/span><\/p>\n

And then so huge a crowd did they make,<\/span><\/p>\n

That earth and sea, and tree, and every lake<\/span><\/p>\n

Was so full, that there was scarcely space<\/span><\/p>\n

For me to stand, so full was all the<\/span> place.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Parliament of Fowls<\/em>!\u00a0 Chaucer is writing a fable about birds, an exceedingly odd allegory about romantic love.\u00a0 He has the birds getting together to choose their mates.\u00a0 They do so at the time of year that happens to fall on St. Valentine\u2019s Day.\u00a0 Their numbers fill the earth, the waters,\u00a0 and the trees, recalling the birds\u2019 fertility.\u00a0 Later other medieval writers alluded to Chaucer\u2019s poem in referring to human romantic love.<\/p>\n

So Happy Valentine\u2019s Day!\u00a0 (To you, especially, Jackie!)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p><\/div>\n<\/blockquote><\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You must read Rev. Joseph Abrahamson\u2019s post on the origins and history of St. Valentine\u2019s Day.\u00a0 It\u2019s part of his series that we\u2019ve often linked to on Christian holidays that are mistakenly claimed to have pagan origins.\u00a0 He shows that St. Valentine\u2019s Day is not based on Roman festivals but on a day commemorating the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,21,28],"tags":[2442,2441],"class_list":["post-14657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-history","category-holidays","category-literature","tag-geoffrey-chaucer","tag-st-valentines-day"],"yoast_head":"\nChaucer & St. Valentine's Day<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"You must read Rev. Joseph Abrahamson's post on the origins and history of St. Valentine's Day.\u00a0 It's part of his series that we've often linked to on\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/02\/chaucer-st-valentines-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chaucer & St. Valentine's Day\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You must read Rev. Joseph Abrahamson's post on the origins and history of St. Valentine's Day.\u00a0 It's part of his series that we've often linked to on\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/02\/chaucer-st-valentines-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cranach\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-02-14T11:00:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-02-14T01:21:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com\/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQTkscMe9r1JMI9UoJ3PaMiRya98kJKfcbCae5QqBXghuQ1Rox2\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/02\/chaucer-st-valentines-day\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/02\/chaucer-st-valentines-day\/\",\"name\":\"Chaucer & St. Valentine's Day\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-02-14T11:00:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-02-14T01:21:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\"},\"description\":\"You must read Rev. Joseph Abrahamson's post on the origins and history of St. Valentine's Day.\u00a0 It's part of his series that we've often linked to on\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/02\/chaucer-st-valentines-day\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/02\/chaucer-st-valentines-day\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/02\/chaucer-st-valentines-day\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Chaucer & St. Valentine’s Day\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\",\"name\":\"Cranach\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\",\"name\":\"Gene Veith\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gene Veith\"},\"description\":\"Gene Edward Veith, Jr. is a writer and retired literature professor, serving as Provost Emeritus at Patrick Henry College. He has authored over 25 books on Christianity and culture, literature, classical education, and theology. Dr. Veith previously held academic and editorial roles at Concordia University Wisconsin and WORLD Magazine. A respected voice in Lutheran and classical education circles, he holds a Ph.D. in English and several honorary doctorates. He and his wife, Jackquelyn, live in St. Louis and have three children and twelve grandchildren.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gene_Edward_Veith\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/author\/geneveith\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Chaucer & St. Valentine's Day","description":"You must read Rev. Joseph Abrahamson's post on the origins and history of St. Valentine's Day.\u00a0 It's part of his series that we've often linked to on","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/02\/chaucer-st-valentines-day\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Chaucer & St. Valentine's Day","og_description":"You must read Rev. Joseph Abrahamson's post on the origins and history of St. Valentine's Day.\u00a0 It's part of his series that we've often linked to on","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/02\/chaucer-st-valentines-day\/","og_site_name":"Cranach","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/","article_published_time":"2013-02-14T11:00:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-02-14T01:21:25+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com\/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQTkscMe9r1JMI9UoJ3PaMiRya98kJKfcbCae5QqBXghuQ1Rox2"}],"author":"Gene Veith","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gene Veith","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/02\/chaucer-st-valentines-day\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/02\/chaucer-st-valentines-day\/","name":"Chaucer & St. Valentine's Day","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-02-14T11:00:46+00:00","dateModified":"2013-02-14T01:21:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1"},"description":"You must read Rev. Joseph Abrahamson's post on the origins and history of St. Valentine's Day.\u00a0 It's part of his series that we've often linked to on","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/02\/chaucer-st-valentines-day\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/02\/chaucer-st-valentines-day\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2013\/02\/chaucer-st-valentines-day\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Chaucer & St. Valentine’s Day"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/","name":"Cranach","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1","name":"Gene Veith","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Gene Veith"},"description":"Gene Edward Veith, Jr. is a writer and retired literature professor, serving as Provost Emeritus at Patrick Henry College. He has authored over 25 books on Christianity and culture, literature, classical education, and theology. Dr. Veith previously held academic and editorial roles at Concordia University Wisconsin and WORLD Magazine. A respected voice in Lutheran and classical education circles, he holds a Ph.D. in English and several honorary doctorates. He and his wife, Jackquelyn, live in St. Louis and have three children and twelve grandchildren.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gene_Edward_Veith"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/author\/geneveith\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1281"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14657\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}