Valentine, Saint, is the name associated with two martyrs of the early Christian church. Martyrs are people who suffer or die for their beliefs. Little is known about either Saint Valentine. The Roman history of martyrs lists two Saints Valentine who were beheaded on February 14. One supposedly died in Rome and the other in Interamna (now Terni, Italy), 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of Rome. Scholars have had great difficulty finding historical facts among the Saint Valentine legends.
The Saint Valentine who died in Rome seems to have been a priest killed during the persecution of Claudius the Goth about A.D. 269. A church was built in his honor in Rome in A.D. 350. A catacomb (underground tomb) containing his remains also was found at this location.
Another history of martyrs mentions a Saint Valentine who was bishop of Interamna and who may have been martyred in Rome. It is possible that there was only one Saint Valentine who, remembered in both Rome and Interamna, came to be thought of as two different people.
The custom of exchanging valentines on February 14 can be traced to the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer. He mentioned that birds began to pair off on that day (see Valentine’s Day ). February 14 is also the feast day of both Saints Valentine.
