Photograph by
Dnalor 01 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Think St Valentine’s all about hearts and flowers? Maybe
he did something totally romantic and became the patron saint of lovers. Maybe
the most important question is
Who
the heck was he?
One church in Rome, St Maria in the Cosmedin has St
Valentine’s skull in a glass case. Again though, who skull is it?
Could he be the Roman, Valentinius? Valentinius' name is listed in Martyrologium
Hieronymianum - a list of early Christian martyrs compiled by St Jerome. Sounds
like I’m on the right track then. In 496 Pope Gelasius established the feast of
St Valentine as 14th February, but added Valentine was among those “whose
names are justly reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to God.”
In other words, he
didn’t have a clue about the man behind the name.
Apparently
three men might have been the much-loved saint. One was a Roman priest, another
the bishop of Interamna (modern Terni, Italy) both buried along the Via Flaminia outside Rome, at different distances from the city. The third was said to be
a saint who suffered on the same day with a number of companions in the Roman province of
Africa, for whom nothing else is known.
The first
Christians reused pagan holidays. Saturnalia became Christmas. In February,
pagans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia. It honored the she-wolf who reared
Rome’s founders Romulus and Remus. Pope Gelasius is noted for doing
away with the festival, but some believe he replaced it with St Valentine’s
day. Romans celebrated by dressing as goats and wolves. Some carried strips of skin
cut from sacrificial animals. Many believed women lashed by these strips would
be more fertile than their compatriots.
There’s a clue. A fertility festival held on the same day
as Valentine’s feats. Like always, it comes down to sex. Maybe that’s why Valentine’s
day became a feast for lovers.
Mandy, in my book Desire, Deceit and the Doctor gets the
best Valentine’s surprise, but I’m not saying what.
To find out you’ll have to read it.
Available for a special pre-order price now.
Blurb
Twelve years ago, Mandy
Devlin moved away from her friends and family--under threat. If she returned in
the next ten years or told anyone who fathered her baby, her boyfriend’s
great-aunt would bankrupt her family. She’s a single mom who dreams of her lost
love and a good spanking. When she’s finally free to return to Westhorpe Ridge,
the last person she expects to see is Adam--the man she loved and lost so long
ago.
Dr. Adam Montgomery doesn’t know he has a son. Thanks to his great-aunt’s will, he has nine months to find a bride or he loses Montgomery Hall and the fifteen million dollars she left him. Although he seduces Mandy on his first night home, he still believes she betrayed him twelve years ago. No way would he marry a woman like her.
As Valentine’s Day looms, someone tries to kill Mandy. Is Adam trying to get rid of her? Or can Mandy trust him to protect them?
Dr. Adam Montgomery doesn’t know he has a son. Thanks to his great-aunt’s will, he has nine months to find a bride or he loses Montgomery Hall and the fifteen million dollars she left him. Although he seduces Mandy on his first night home, he still believes she betrayed him twelve years ago. No way would he marry a woman like her.
As Valentine’s Day looms, someone tries to kill Mandy. Is Adam trying to get rid of her? Or can Mandy trust him to protect them?
Buy Link
Loose id - http://bit.ly/2k8JD3X
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