According to the twelfth century Belarusian Book of Martyrology (known to acolytes as the Кніга пакутнікаў) hidden in the vaults of the Medieval History Department of Cambridge there have been an amazing number of Martyrs who have gone by the name of St. Valentine.
To be exact, history records a whopping twenty four Saint Valentine Martyrs. And oddly enough, The Book of Martyrs records that the big common denominator of all these martyrs (apart from them all being dead) is that they all met their maker (passed on, dropped off, keeled over, kicked the bucket, cashed in, bit the dust, gave up their ghosts, croaked, bought the farm, turned up their toes) on or around the 14th of February.
Hence we have St Valentine's day on that day.
Yet this number of deaths of people with the same name over the centuries on the same day is surely not a coincidence. And if it is no coincidence, what exactly does this suggest?
Though the ill mannered amongst us might suggest that it indicates that the Medieval Catholic Church was too free with its Sainthoods and somehow managed to actually make money from them (I wonder how), it suggests to me something else entirely.
Now in the old Roman times if your name was either Julius or Ceaser (or even prince) then the Ides of March might have been your Bete Noir - (means 'black beast' - I always thought it meant your 'black French hat').
But in Medieval times if your name was Valentine, or even sounded like it (Ballantyne, Mallentyne or just plain old Tyne) then it would suggest to me that the Ides of February were a good time for either:
1) making sure your life insurance was alll paid up or,2) staying locked inside a house that was neither in a flood zone, a fire zone, had no internal sharp objects, nor a manservant or butler with an Italian surname like Medici or Borgia.3) dying as a martyr
Now if you were foolhardy and decided on option 3) "Death by Martyrdom", the ways to go for a Valentine were many and varied.
Historically you had a choice of either a good old fashioned stabbing (2), beheading (5), intesterizing (dont' ask what it means - 4), drawing and quartering (1), crucifixion (1) or, most popular of all, stoning (7).
There was also the choice of 'not known' (chosen by four Valentines) if you were quiet and shy and would rather keep the manner of your death private.
So what's this have to do with these illustrations?
Good question.
These illustrations actually illustrate a little witch who has cast a spell on her 'mate.'
The mate, whose retinas' critical flicker fusion frequencies (see previous blog post for details on this) are in fine form has just become aware that all is not right in the forest. He has suddenly decided that you can't trust cupids.
The next image is a sliver of a card I made this year.
Thanks for looking :) Have a great and wonderous Valentine's day and may all your cards be hand made ones.
PS: clicking for big enlarges the pics.
