"to swear the traditional oath of vengeance for their father's murder. During the early years of his reign as duke, the orphaned Charles was heavily influenced by the guidance of his father-in-law, Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac, for which reason Charles' faction came to be known as the Armagnacs. After war with the Kingdom of England was renewed in 1415, Charles was one of the many French noblemen at the Battle of Agincourt on 25 October 1415. He was discovered unwounded but trapped under a pile of corpses, incapacitated by the weight of his own armour. He was taken prisoner"
"other record of the court exists, and none of those named in the charter were present at Mantes except Charles's queen, Isabeau of Bavaria, who may well have imagined it all while waiting out a plague. The earliest surviving valentine is a 15th-century rondeau written by Charles, Duke of Orléans to his wife, which commences. The earliest surviving valentines in English appear to be those in the ""Paston Letters"", written in 1477 by Margery Brewes to her future husband John Paston ""my right well-beloved Valentine"". Valentine's Day is mentioned ruefully by Ophelia in William Shakespeare's ""Hamlet"" (1600–1601): John Donne used"
"an emblem of the postman delivering the card. Sending Valentine's Day cards became hugely popular in Britain in the late 18th century, a practice which has since spread to other nations. The day first became associated with romantic love within the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. In Chaucer's ""Parlement of Foules"" (1382) he wrote; ""For this was on seynt Volantynys day. When euery bryd comets there to chese his make"". The modern cliché Valentine's Day poem can be found in the 1784 English nursery rhyme ""Roses Are Red""; ""The rose"
"but, due to the difficulty of dating medieval works, it is not possible to ascertain which of the four first had the idea and influenced the others. The earliest description of February 14 as an annual celebration of love appears in the ""Charter of the Court of Love"". The charter, allegedly issued by Charles VI of France at Mantes-la-Jolie in 1400, describes lavish festivities to be attended by several members of the royal court, including a feast, amorous song and poetry competitions, jousting and dancing. Amid these festivities, the attending ladies would hear and rule on disputes from lovers. No"
"with real lace and ribbons, with paper lace introduced in the mid-19th century. In 1835, 60,000 Valentine cards were sent by post in the United Kingdom, despite postage being expensive. A reduction in postal rates following Sir Rowland Hill's postal reforms with the 1840 invention of the postage stamp (Penny Black) saw the number of Valentines posted increase, with 400,000 sent just one year after its invention, and ushered in the less personal but easier practice of mailing Valentines. That made it possible for the first time to exchange cards anonymously, which is taken as the reason for the sudden"
"the Blessed Virgin Mary on February 14 became the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple on February 2 as it was introduced to Rome and other places in the sixth century, after Gelasius I's time. Alban Butler in his ""Lifes of the Principal Saints"" (1756–1759) claimed without proof that men and women in Lupercalia drew names from a jar to make couples, and that modern Valentine's letters originated from this custom. In reality, this practice originated in the Middle Ages, with no link to Lupercalia, with men drawing the names of girls at random to couple with them. This custom"
"was combated by priests, for example by Frances de Sales around 1600, apparently by replacing it with a religious custom of girls drawing the names of apostles from the altar. However, this religious custom is recorded as soon as the 13th century in the life of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, so it could have a different origin. Jack B. Oruch writes that the first recorded association of Valentine's Day with romantic love is in ""Parlement of Foules"" (1382) by Geoffrey Chaucer. Chaucer wrote: ""For this was on seynt Volantynys dayWhan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make"".[""For this was"
"is red, the violet's blue. 'The honey's sweet, and so are you. Thou art my love and I am thine. I drew thee to my Valentine."" In 1797, a British publisher issued ""The Young Man's Valentine Writer"" which contained scores of suggested sentimental verses for the young lover unable to compose his own. In 1835, 60,000 Valentine cards were sent by post in the UK, despite postage being expensive. A reduction in postal rates (with the 1840 invention of the postage stamp, the Penny Black) increased the practice of mailing Valentines, with 400,000 sent in 1841. In the UK just"
"wit, literary allusion and self-conscious mock-seriousness."" The Choice of Valentines The Choise of Valentines Or the Merie Ballad of Nash His Dildo, which alternatively acquired the label ""Nashe's Dildo"", is an erotic poem by Thomas Nashe, thought to have been composed around 1592 or 1593. The poem survives in three extant manuscript versions and was first printed in 1899. It recounts in the first person a sexual encounter in a brothel between the narrator, Tomalin, and his lover, Mistress Frances. The poem contains the most detailed description of a dildo in Renaissance literature, and constitutes the first known use of"
"appearance of racy verse in an era otherwise prudishly Victorian. Production increased, ""Cupid's Manufactory"" as Charles Dickens termed it, with over 3,000 women employed in manufacturing. The Laura Seddon Greeting Card Collection at Manchester Metropolitan University gathers 450 Valentine's Day cards dating from early nineteenth century Britain, printed by the major publishers of the day. The collection appears in Seddon's book ""Victorian Valentines"" (1996). In the United States, the first mass-produced Valentines of embossed paper lace were produced and sold shortly after 1847 by Esther Howland (1828–1904) of Worcester, Massachusetts. Her father operated a large book and stationery store, but"
"in various scenes and etchings representing ""the signs of the zodiac"". The lovers were depicted in stamps in 1985 in France, Cancellation at the post of Valentine's Day in the Indre every February 14 and in postcards. The French stamp of 1985, ""The Valentine's Day of Peynet"", is pastel colors. The rural scene depicts a couple of lovers near a heart-shaped mailbox in which two angels post envelopes. In 2000, La Poste Francais took over these two characters for a tribute stamp to the deceased illustrator, this time representing the two characters near a music kiosk. In 2002, a bottle"
"forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians persecuted under the Roman Empire. According to legend, during his imprisonment Saint Valentine restored sight to the blind daughter of his judge, and before his execution he wrote her a letter signed ""Your Valentine"" as a farewell. The day first became associated with romantic love within the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. In 18th-century England, it evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as """"valentines""""). Valentine's"
"with Nezikin pictured here. Several countries have issued love stamps for Saint Valentine's Day, such as; Belgium, France, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Collectors will often try to collect covers from romantically named towns. Perhaps the most well known, servicing more than 200,000 each year around Valentine's Day, is Loveland, USA. In 1985 An Post, the Irish Post Office, started issuing Love stamps for use on Saint Valentine's Day cards. The first pair of stamps issued depicted clouds and balloon (22p value) and hearts and flowers (26p value). An Post continues to issue new designs each year. Several nations issue postage"
"The Choice of Valentines The Choise of Valentines Or the Merie Ballad of Nash His Dildo, which alternatively acquired the label ""Nashe's Dildo"", is an erotic poem by Thomas Nashe, thought to have been composed around 1592 or 1593. The poem survives in three extant manuscript versions and was first printed in 1899. It recounts in the first person a sexual encounter in a brothel between the narrator, Tomalin, and his lover, Mistress Frances. The poem contains the most detailed description of a dildo in Renaissance literature, and constitutes the first known use of the word ""dildo"", though the word"
"who exchanged messages of good will to celebrate the New Year, and to the early Egyptians, who conveyed their greetings on papyrus scrolls. By the early 15th century, handmade paper greeting cards were being exchanged in Europe. The Germans are known to have printed New Year's greetings from woodcuts as early as 1400, and handmade paper Valentines were being exchanged in various parts of Europe in the early to mid-15th century, with the oldest Valentine in existence being in the British Museum. By the 1850s, the greeting card had been transformed from a relatively expensive, handmade and hand-delivered gift to"
"by respectable modern scholars. In the French 14th-century manuscript illumination from a ""Vies des Saints"" (""illustration above""), Saint Valentine, bishop of Terni, oversees the construction of his basilica at Terni; there is no suggestion here that the bishop was a patron of lovers. During the Middle Ages, it was believed that birds paired in mid-February. This was then associated with the romance of Valentine. Although these legends differ, Valentine’s Day is widely recognized as a day for romance and devotion. The flower-crowned alleged skull of St. Valentine is exhibited in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome. St. Valentine's"
"he is supposed to have written the first ""valentine"" card himself, addressed to the daughter of his jailer Asterius, who was no longer blind, signing as ""Your Valentine."" The expression ""From your Valentine"" was later adopted by modern Valentine letters. This legend has been published by both American Greetings and The History Channel. John Foxe, an English historian, as well as the Order of Carmelites, state that Saint Valentine was buried in the Church of Praxedes in Rome, located near the cemetery of Saint Hippolytus. This order says that according to legend, ""Julia herself planted a pink-blossomed almond tree near"
"in the shape of a heart for Valentine's Day. Boxes of filled chocolates quickly became associated with the holiday. In the second half of the 20th century, the practice of exchanging cards was extended to all manner of gifts, such as giving jewelry. The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately 190 million valentines are sent each year in the US. Half of those valentines are given to family members other than husband or wife, usually to children. When the valentine-exchange cards made in school activities are included the figure goes up to 1 billion, and teachers become the people"
"account of Saint Valentine of Rome imprisonment for performing weddings for soldiers, who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians persecuted under the Roman Empire. According to legend, during his imprisonment Saint Valentine restored sight to the blind daughter of his judge, and before his execution he wrote her a letter signed ""Your Valentine"" as a farewell. The day first became associated with romantic love within the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. In 18th-century England, it evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each"
"Day symbols that are used today include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards. In Europe, Saint Valentine's Keys are given to lovers ""as a romantic symbol and an invitation to unlock the giver’s heart"", as well as to children, in order to ward off epilepsy (called Saint Valentine's Malady). Saint Valentine's Day is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion and the Lutheran Church. Many parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church also celebrate Saint Valentine's Day, albeit on July 6 and"
"language of flowers – giving a single red rose meant 'I love you'. Saint Valentine, a Roman Catholic Bishop or priest who was martyred in about 296 AD, seems to have had no known connection with romantic love, but the day of his martyrdom on the Roman Catholic calendar, Saint Valentine's Day (February 14), became, in the 14th century, an occasion for lovers to send messages to each other. In recent years the celebration of Saint Valentine' s day has spread beyond Christian countries to Japan and China and other parts of the world. The celebration of Saint Valentine's Day"
"of the carnivalesque"", Early Popular Visual Culture http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17460654.2014.924212 Also available at: http://eprints.brighton.ac.uk/13357/ BBC coverage of the phenomenon, with examples of nineteenth century cards and a radio interview with vinegar valentines historian, Annebella Pollen: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/34JCKJtrl07f5kY3G9kFNpd/eight-incredibly-offensive-victorian-valentines Vinegar valentines Vinegar valentines were a type of insulting cards. They are decorated with a caricature, and featured below an insulting poem. Ostensibly given on Valentine's Day, the caricature and poem is about the ""type"" that the recipient belongs to—spinster, floozy, dude, scholar, etc. They enjoyed popularity from the 1840s to the 1940s. These cynical, sarcastic, often mean-spirited greeting cards were first produced in America as"
"Hall Museum at Norwich has an unusual survival from the mid-19th century: an anonymous St Valentine's Day card dated and postmarked 1862, said by the museum to be addressed to ""Miss Jenny Lowe [""query Love""], Crostwight Hall, Smallburgh, Norfolk"". The coloured card is embossed with couples, cherubs and roses, and in the middle is a silver bird on a silk panel. On the pictorial side of the card are the printed words ""My dearest Miss, I send thee a kiss"", and on the other is written by hand ""Good Morrow Valentine"". As the Hall was then occupied by the Lane"
"handwriting', said he coldly."" Since 2001, the Greeting Card Association has been giving an annual ""Esther Howland Award for a Greeting Card Visionary"". Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have given way to mass-produced greeting cards. In the UK, just under half of the population spend money on their Valentines, and around £1.9 billion was spent in 2015 on cards, flowers, chocolates and other gifts. The mid-19th century Valentine's Day trade was a harbinger of further commercialized holidays in the U.S. to follow. In 1868, the British chocolate company Cadbury created Fancy Boxes — a decorated box of chocolates —"
"The world's first postcard was received by Theodore Hook from Fulham, London in 1840. The first pillar boxes had the distinctive Imperial cypher of Victoria Regina. Most pillar boxes produced after 1905 are made of cast iron and are cylindrical, and have served well throughout the reigns of George V, Edward VIII, George VI and Elizabeth II. The sending and receiving of greeting cards is an established tradition in the UK, with card sending or card display in the home being an important part of British culture. Sir Henry Cole devised the concept of sending greetings cards at Christmas time."
"other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as """"valentines""""). Valentine's Day symbols that are used today include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards. In Europe, Saint Valentine's Keys are given to lovers ""as a romantic symbol and an invitation to unlock the giver’s heart"", as well as to children, in order to ward off epilepsy (called Saint Valentine's Malady). Saint Valentine's Day is an official feast day in the Anglican Communion and the Lutheran Church. Many parts of"
"cards were being exchanged in Europe. The Germans are known to have printed New Year's greetings from woodcuts as early as 1400, and handmade paper Valentines were being exchanged in various parts of Europe in the early to mid-15th century. However, by the 1850s, the greeting card had been transformed from a relatively expensive, handmade and hand-delivered gift to a popular and affordable means of personal communication, due largely to advances in printing and mechanization. This trend continued, followed by new trends like Christmas cards, the first of which appeared in published form in London in 1843 when Sir Henry"
"She introduced the layering of lace, use of thin colored paper, three dimensional accordion effects and a bouquet in which flowers would move to reveal a verse when pulled by a string. Many of which are still being used today. Esther Howland Esther Howland (1828–1904) was an artist and businesswoman who was responsible for popularizing Valentine's Day greeting cards in America. Esther Allen Howland, born in Worcester, Massachusetts, was the daughter of Southworth Allen Howland (1800-1882) and Esther Allen Howland (1801-1860). The sister of Charles, Edward, and William Howland. Her mother wrote the cookbook, ""The New England Economical Housekeeper and"
"as a souvenir was sent from Vienna. The first advertising card appeared in 1872 in Great Britain and the first German card appeared in 1874. Cards showing images increased in number during the 1880s. Images of the newly built Eiffel Tower in 1889 and 1890 gave impetus to the postcard, leading to the so-called ""golden age"" of the picture postcard in years following the mid-1890s. Early postcards often showcased photography of nude women. These were commonly known as French postcards, due to the large number of them produced in France. The first American postcard was developed in 1873 by the"
"the current legends that characterize Saint Valentine were invented in the 14th century in England, notably by Geoffrey Chaucer and his circle, when the feast day of February 14 first became associated with romantic love. Oruch charges that the traditions associated with ""Valentine's Day"", documented in Geoffrey Chaucer's ""Parlement of Foules"" and set in the fictional context of an old tradition, did not exist before Chaucer. He argues that the speculative explanation of sentimental customs, posing as historical fact, had their origins among 18th-century antiquaries, notably Alban Butler, the author of ""Butler's Lives of Saints"", and have been perpetuated even"
"1449, and John III of Bourbon, bishop of Puy, from 1449 to 1466. At that time, he still maintained a good relationship with the King of France Louis XI, showing greater gusto for navigating the intrigue of secular politics than displaying the piety expected of his religious position. On account of these proclivities, after the conflict surrounding the League of the Public Weal in 1465, Louis XI sent Charles II with Thibaud of Luxembourg, Bishop of Mans as ambassadors to Pope Paul II, recently elected in 1464. In January 7, 1469 Charles II signed a royal letters patent as the"
"in the Church of England, for example, it was included in Calendars before the Reformation, and S.Valentine, Bishop and Martyr, was restored to the Church's Calendar in the 1661–62 ""Book of Common Prayer"". He remains in the Calendars of the Church of England and in those of most other parts of the Anglican Communion, albeit sometimes noted as an ancient memorial of obscure historical character. Saint Valentine Saint Valentine (, ), officially Saint Valentine of Rome, was a widely recognized 3rd-century Roman saint commemorated on February 14 and since the High Middle Ages is associated with a tradition of courtly"
"on St. Valentine's Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate.""] This poem was written to honor the first anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia. A treaty providing for a marriage was signed on May 2, 1381. Readers have uncritically assumed that Chaucer was referring to February 14 as Valentine's Day; however, mid-February is an unlikely time for birds to be mating in England. Henry Ansgar Kelly has observed that Chaucer might have had in mind the feast day of St. Valentine of Genoa, an early bishop of Genoa who"