Download the audio of St. Valentine
St. Valentine was the first person to write a love letter signed “From your Valentine”. He did this in prison on the eve of February 14th, in the year 270 AD and this is his story.
Like many of the saints. St. Valentine met an early end. He was a martyr or “witness” of his Christian faith. Despite this, the saints’ stories manage to be inspiring rather than tragic. And as Natasha says in the introduction, all of their lives sum up a certain special something.
We are planning to mark some of the other saints’ days with stories. We know that Storynory’s listeners come from all over the world, and hold many different beliefs. But as the saints’ stories are bound up with so much history and tradition, we hope that people of all backgrounds will find them interesting. Look out for the stories of St. Patrick and St. George coming up soon.
On a lighter note, you may also enjoy our Bertie Valentine story.
Read by Natasha. Duration 5.45.
2000 years ago, the most powerful army in the world belonged to the Romans. The Romans were so strong, that they conquered almost all of Europe, and parts of Asia and Africa. But then they began to grow rich and a little bit lazy. Life in the army was harsh, and many of the soldiers longed for the comforts of home. They wanted to get married and set up families. The Emperor, whose name was Claudius the Second, was worried that his army was growing soft. And so he made a law that no soldier was allowed to get married.
By that time, many of the Romans were Christians. And one of their leaders was a Bishop called Valentine.
He believed that if a man and woman fell in love with each other, they should get married - and so he decided to let soldiers get married in his church, even though it was now against the law. The soldiers’ weddings were meant to be kept secret, but as you know, all secrets are hard to keep, and soon the word got out. Valentine was arrested and brought before the emperor who demanded that he stop helping soldiers to marry, and instead that he pray to the gods of Rome. When he refused, the emperor sentenced him to death.
While Valentine was in prison, the jailer’s daughter used to bring him his food. She was a young woman who unfortunately was blind. She and Valentine used to spend long hours talking to each other, and they fell in love. One day, Valentine put his hand through the bars of his cell and touched the lids of her closed eyes. When she opened them again, she could see. It was a miracle.
Valentine’s execution was set for February the 14th. On his last night on earth, he wrote his final message to the girl. He signed his love letter, “From Your Valentine”. This took place in the year 270, and ever since, lovers has sent each other messages on February the 14th with the same signature.
And that’s the story of St. Valentine. And Bertie told me another piece of interesting information about the history for St. Valentine’s day.
In the year 1415, while the French Duke of Orleans was imprisoned in the Tower of London, he wrote a Valentine’s Day poem to his wife It began:
On St. Valentine’s day, the lovely sun,
Carrying along its lighted candle,
Made its way that fine dawn, not long ago,
Into my locked chamber, all in secret.
I hope that every February 14th, you receive a special Valentine’s card. But if you don’t, don’t feel left out. One day you will find your true love. That I’m sure of.
27 Comments
a very touching story
LOVELY
LOVE THIS!!!
OH
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
i love it
Absolutely beautiful. There are no words to describe the way Storynory makes me feel. Each story is told by Natasha with wonderful care, like she’s speaking to a small child. Her soft accent is gorgeous, Bertie, you picked an excellent storyteller.
Dear Anon, Thank you for your lovely comment. And yes, N is truly wonderful at telling stories.
I liked it very much.
I din know about how Valentine’s day got to it’s start…
nice story…
book good so munch love…………………
wow even know valentines day is coming i love it
i wonder if berty kows who i am well im mikey maddock
this is a good book reader for kids.
tell me someone how did you guys here about story nory.
oh well bye
Mikey
We have some information about how we started Storynory in the FAQ here:
http://storynory.com/pdf/Storynory%20Media%20Pack%20Jan%2008.pdf
juuu… The story is very nice.:)
I like this story. PS I like pie too
When I read the sentences,”when she opened them again, she could see. It was a miracle.” I was really moved by the great power of love.
I really enjoy the story and it makes me know the history of St.Valentine’s Day.
It really was a miracle.
great story
Loved this story. Can’t wait to hear St Patrick. We just read about him last night and my 5yo dressed up in a sheet and a construction paper mitre today! Do you have a feature where you could notify when new stories are up?
Dear BJ,
Really pleased you enjoyed St. Valentine. Yes, we certainly do have a variety of notification features. Please look under the subscribe tab at the top. We’ve just updated it. Hope you will enjoy the St. Patrick story too. Thanks !
cool
NO
wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow
i don’t quite think that true love is real sorry but i don’t believe in it i just don’t know why
great tell me more
I think the story is very good.It’s one of the best story I have read.Althongh I like it very much,but I can’t remmber some better words to describe it.Love it.
It was a good story