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I always thought that Valentine's Day started with the Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia, held in the spring, and a French festival between the tenth and twelfth centuries called "Gallant's Day" or "Gallantines". Turns out I was wrong.

Well, not about Lupercalia, that part's true. In the fifth century, though, shortly before his death, Pope Gelasius I issued an edict that Lupercalia would no longer be celebrated, at least as Lupercalia. It would henceforth be the Feast of the Purification, and celebrated on February 15th...but that festival was later moved to February 2nd, to suppress another pagan festival. There were a lot of different names, depending on places, but the most well-known one at this point is Imbolc, the Celtic festival of new growth and new life. Specific to England was the Wives' Feast, specific to Rome (at that time) was the minor festival of Juno Februa, specific to other parts of the British Isles was Brigantia, the first festival of Brigit or Bride (who later was sainted by the Roman Catholic Church in an attempt to bring her worshippers into the fold).

And the thing about Gallantines, well, that's partially right, but mostly wrong. Around the same time, fourth or fifth century, the Normans were celebrating "Galatin's Day" in mid-February, which seems, from the limited accounts I've been able to find, to be a day either celebrating women's capacity to love, or women's love for each other? There's not a lot of information. I don't know where the French connection came into play, but Pope Gelasius I did his best to stamp out "Galatin's Day" as well, where the early Church had influence.

One scholar, Jack B. Oruch, claimed that Chaucer actually invented what's become the modern Valentine's Day Celebration. This is one of the stanzas of the poem "The Parlement of Foules" in Middle English:

For this was on Seynt Valentynes day,
Whan every foul cometh ther to chese his make,
Of every kinde, that men thynke may;
And that so huge a noyse gan they make,
That erthe and see, and tree, and every lake
So ful was, that unnethe was ther space
For me to stonde, so ful was al the place.

and translated:

For this was on Saint Valentine's Day,
When every fowl comes there to chase his match,
of every kind, that men think may;
And that is so huge a noise they began to make,
That earth and sea, and tree, and every lake
So full was it, so difficult was their space
For me to stand, so full was all the place.

In 1385, Chaucer penned "The Compleynt of Mars", which contained this passage:

Who syngeth now but Mars, that serveth thus
The faire Venus, causer of plesaunce?
He bynt him to perpetuall obeisaunce,
And she bynt her to loven him for evere,
But so be that his trespas hyt desevere.
Thus be they knyt and regnen as in hevene
Be lokyng moost; til hyt fil on a tyde
That by her bothe assent was set a stevene
That Mars shal entre, as fast as he may glyde,
Into hir nexte paleys, and ther abyde,
Walkynge hys cours, til she had him atake,
And he preide her to haste her for his sake.

and translated:

Who sings now but Mars, that serves thus
The fair Venus, bringer of delight?
He bent himself to perpetual service,
And she bent herself to love him forever,
But so be that his trespass was deserved.
Thus they were knight and queen as in heaven
By looking most; until employed on a tide
That by her agreement both spake
That Mars shall enter, as fast as he may glide,
Into her next palace, and there abide,
Walking his course, till she had him beside,
And he prayed to her to hasten for his sake.

Whether or not this theory is true, what is true is that Shakespeare, who was a contemporary--and fellow reader--of Chaucer, took influence from these works and wrote several plays based both on love lost and love found.

So between the two of them, at least, lies the rise of the modern version of the holiday.

I had intended to cover the so-called "Saint" Valentine, but if you thought this history so far is murky and odd, let me just say that the Roman Catholic Church itself lists three Saint Valentines, with no real distinction as to which one is supposedly the actual saint of the holiday assumed to have named it.

So I'll stop here, and just wish everyone a good day, whatever they celebrate. Indulge if you wish to, love if you wish to, drink and make merry if you wish to--all options are open. Enjoy.