Page:Notes and Queries - Series 7 - Volume 5.djvu/129

7 S. V. 18, ’88.]

NOTES:—Valentine’s Day, 121—John Lilburne, 122—Douce’s ‘Dance of Death,’ 123—Cobbler’s Pedigree—The Florin—Royal Portraits, 124—Baronetcy in Blank—Unemployed Substantives—Practical Jokes in Comedy—Anglo-Hindustani Words, 125—Death of Wolfe—Pepys—Chapter Coffee-House—To Morse, 126.

QUERIES:—The ‘Brussels Gazette’—Monuments in Westminster Abbey—Albemarle Street—Ranken—‘The Cigar’—Hibgame: ThnrlowThurlow [sic], 127—Kearney—Balk—Regicides—Old Tune—Joseph Wright—Assarabaca—Mary Blandy—Burleigh House—Coquilles, 128—French Numerals—Spanish Wrecks—Sheriffs—Rempston—Hyde—Dog’s Tooth Ornament, 129.

REPLIES:—Attack on Jersey, 129—Man-of-War ‘Dictionary of National Biography,’ 130—Level-Coil—‘Murray’s Magazine’—Charles—Vismes Family—Sturt’s Illustrations, 131—Toie: Duos le Cross-clothes—Poets’ Corner—MonntjoyMountjoy [sic]—‘Biographical Dictionary of the Stage,’ 132—Baptismal Folklore—Annas—Griming—Smollett—“Fabricavit in feros curiosis,” 133—Thorlakson—Écarté, 134—Car-goose—Sir W. Grant—‘Diversions of Bruxelles’—Laura Matilda, 135—Pountefreit on Thamis—Prayer-Book Version of Psalms—Singing-cakes, 136—Female Sailors—Source of Phrase—Curatage—Glorious First of June, 137—“Sapiens qui assiduus”—Earlings: Early, 138.

NOTES ON BOOKS:—Phillimore’s ‘How to Write the History of a Family’—‘Sussex Archæological Collections’—Hope’s ‘Inventory of the ChnrchChurch [sic] Plate in Rutland’—‘Life of Mrs. Abington.’

Notices to Correspondents, &c.

A good deal has been written in ‘N. & Q.’ upon the subject of Valentine’s Day and St. Valentine, but I believe that I have quoted above the most important notes. It would seem that the observance of peculiar customs, either on that day or on the first Sunday in Lent, has been almost exclusively confined to France (especially the northern part of it; see Simrock’s ‘D. Myth.,’ third edit., p. 284) and Great Britain; and, from a remark in Bescherelle that “Chaque jeune fille Écossaise avait aussi son Valentin,” it looks as if these customs originated in France and came to us in England through Scotland. In 5 S. v. 141 there is a long and interesting note by the then Editor (Dr. Doran) on the observance of the festival in France both in bygone days and now, and, according to what is said there, it was never celebrated on February 14, but either on the first Sunday in Lent or on Innocents’ Day (December 28). But this can scarcely be absolutely correct, inasmuch as Ménage (s. v. “Valentin”) tells us that, in the seventeenth century at any rate, it was on “le jour de St. Valentin” (February 14) that ladies drew by lot for those gentlemen who were to serve them as gallants (galants) or valentines (valentins) for the whole year (i. e., I suppose, until February 14 in the following year). In the first instance, however, it would seem that it was on the first Sunday in Lent that the festival was celebrated in France, as it is still (according to Dr. Doran) “in several cities in France.” But the customs which prevailed upon that day seem to have been different in different parts of France, and the name of the day to have varied with the customs. The most common name appears to have been le jour (or more commonly le Dimanche) des brandons, brandon generally meaning “torch,” because torches were carried about on that day, but at Lyons green branches to which cakes were attached. See Roquefort s.v. “Brandon” and Ducange s.v. “Brandones.” But other names were le jour des grands feux, des bulles ou des bures, le Dimanche des bordes, and lastly le jour des Valentins. See Roquefort, ibid., and Ducange, s.vv. “Dies focorum,” “Bordæ,” and “Buræ,” though Ducange has nothing that I can find concerning “le jour des Valentins.” Now, s.v. “Valantin,” Roquefort says:—

It is evident, therefore, that in the expression le jour des valentins, valentins is used of the young men selected as gallants or future husbands, and has nothing to do with the saint, excepting in so far as the young men may have taken their designation from him. And, consequently, if, as is very likely, our Valentine’s Day is an English rendering of le jour des Valentins, we ought to write Valentines’ Day, as meaning the day of valentines, and not Valentine’s Day = the day of Valentine. And the absence of the word Saint points to this conclusion also, for I do not know that in this Protestant country a saint has been robbed of his saintship, as he has occasionally been in Catholic France. So if the day of St. Valentine had been intended, we should have called it St. Valentine’s Day.

I notice that all the correspondents of ‘N. & Q.’ who have troubled themselves about