The Legend of St. Valentine
One legend contends that
Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When
Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those
with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine,
realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform
marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered,
Claudius ordered that he be put to death.
According to legend, Valentine,
while in prison, sent the first “valentine” greeting himself after he fell in
love with a young girl - possibly his jailor’s daughter - who visited him
during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a
letter signed “From your Valentine,” an expression that is still in use today.
