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“Seynte Valentine of custome yeere by yeere
Men have an usance, in this regioun
To loke and serche Cupides kalendar,
And chose theyr choyse by grete affeccioun,
Such has been move with Cupides nocioun,
Takying theyre choyse as theyre sort doth falle;
But I love oon whiche excelleth alle.”
(Valentine Letter sent from Henry V to Catherine of Valois, 1420)
In
1420, Henry V hired John Lydgate to compose a Valentine greeting
to Catherine of Valois. The tradition of love letters, poetry
and Saint Valentine's Day continued in the royal Tudor line. It is
perhaps to Henry VIII that we owe the survival of Saint Valentine's
Day, for he made it a national holiday in England by Royal Decree,
in 1537. Mary Queen of Scots met her cousin, Henry Stuart (Lord
Darnley), for the
first time on Saint Valentine's Day, February 14, 1565.
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Silver Ryal of Mary Stuart, Queen of
Scotland, and Darnley
1565.
Edinburgh, Scotland. British Museum:
CM 1849-6-26-1.
4.2 cm.
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