The Wisdom of Love and Lupercalia
Articulating my philosophy of education for a graduate course by the same name, I wanted to take an original approach. I decided to go slightly against the expectation of my prof to expound upon my beliefs in pedagogical theory and practice. I wanted a simple, overarching construct of what makes me tick as a teacher. And, it sure wasn’t love for the wisdom of pedagogy.
I began with the word philosophy itself. In applying Greek roots and prefixes in English vocabulary study, we usually teach that philosophy comes from -philo- which means love and -sophos- which means wisdom. Loosely translated, philosophy means the love of/for wisdom.
But, applying the logic of forming many Greek derived combinations from back to front, like biology (the words/study of life), photography (writing in light), and thermometer (the measure of heat), I decided that, for me, philosophy is the wisdom of love. And, my students would be led by the wisdom of love and not by the love of wisdom.
It is probably my fascination with origins that takes me elsewhere during this weekend celebration of love. Because of the myth surrounding a Christian martyr’s feast day, supplanting the Roman holiday associated with fertility rites, most people observed St. Valentine’s Day yesterday rather than the Feast of Lupercal, today.
According to one legend, a Catholic priest named Valentine continued to marry couples after a ban on marriage was instituted by Claudius II because the emperor was advised that bachelors made better soldiers. Valentine was arrested, and according to another legend, fell in love with the jailer’s daughter, leaving her a note before his execution signed “from your Valentine.” Most probably Valentine was not executed for his involvement in romantic love but rather was martyred for not renouncing his religion.
It is also believed that Geoffrey Chaucer in 1382 was perhaps the first poet to associate the Christian feast day with love and romance. In his poem “The Parliament of Fowls,” composed in honor the engagement between Richard II and Anne of Bohemia, Chaucer links St. Valentine’s Day and the mating season of birds.
I will share the Middle English version and then the translation by Joanne D’silva.
For this was on seynt Valentynes day,
Whan every foul cometh ther to chese his make,
Of every kinde, that men thenke may;
And that so huge a noyse gan they make,
That erthe and see, and tree, and every lake
So ful was, that unnethe was ther space
For me to stonde, so ful was al the place.
And right as Aleyn, in the Pleynt of Kinde,
Devyseth Nature of aray and face,
In swich aray men mighten hir ther finde.
This noble emperesse, ful of grace,
Bad every foul to take his owne place,
As they were wont alwey fro yeer to yere,
Seynt Valentynes day, to stonden there.
For this was Saint Valentines Day
When every fowl comes there to choose his mate,
Of every kind, that men may think of,
And that they began to make so huge a noise,
That earth, and air, and tree, and every lake
was so full that there hardly was space
For me to stand, so full was all the place.
And right as Alanus, in the Complaint of Kynde,
Devised Nature of clothes and face,
In such display as men might find on her there.
This noble empress, full of grace,
Bade every fowl to take his own place,
As they were wont to do always from year to year,
Saint Valentines Day, to stand there.
The Feast of Lupercal is also associated with Nature’s animals, and thus our baser nature. Lupus means wolf in Latin, and a she-wolf in Roman mythology suckled the abandoned infants Romulus and Remus to insure the founding of Rome. On Lupercalia male youths clad in animal skin ran through the city striking passersby with strips of goat skin because goats were symbols of sexuality. The ceremony was intended to render fertility and ward off evil.
The festival survived even into Christian times and was not abolished until the fifth century when it was replaced by St. Valentine’s Day. Thus, just as Christmas replaced the pagan celebration of winter solstice and Easter vied for attention during the pagan celebration of the vernal equinox, Valentine’s day had usurped the pagan tradition to celebrate fertility rites.
A further irony is that the Catholic Church removed the feast days of saints whose historical origins were questionable when it revised its liturgical calendar in 1969. St. Valentine, alas, went the way of Saints Christopher and George. If that makes you want to howl, join in the celebration of romantic love today, February 15, the Feast of Lupercal. Come on, it’s a two for one deal at worst! You can’t have enough love.
Please send poetry and comments to michaeljhoover@gmail.com. Archived columns can be found at hooverpoet.com and eveningsun.com.
Articulating my philosophy of education for a graduate course by the same name, I wanted to take an original approach. I decided to go slightly against the expectation of my prof to expound upon my beliefs in pedagogical theory and practice. I wanted a simple, overarching construct of what makes me tick as a teacher. And, it sure wasn’t love for the wisdom of pedagogy.
I began with the word philosophy itself. In applying Greek roots and prefixes in English vocabulary study, we usually teach that philosophy comes from -philo- which means love and -sophos- which means wisdom. Loosely translated, philosophy means the love of/for wisdom.
But, applying the logic of forming many Greek derived combinations from back to front, like biology (the words/study of life), photography (writing in light), and thermometer (the measure of heat), I decided that, for me, philosophy is the wisdom of love. And, my students would be led by the wisdom of love and not by the love of wisdom.
It is probably my fascination with origins that takes me elsewhere during this weekend celebration of love. Because of the myth surrounding a Christian martyr’s feast day, supplanting the Roman holiday associated with fertility rites, most people observed St. Valentine’s Day yesterday rather than the Feast of Lupercal, today.
According to one legend, a Catholic priest named Valentine continued to marry couples after a ban on marriage was instituted by Claudius II because the emperor was advised that bachelors made better soldiers. Valentine was arrested, and according to another legend, fell in love with the jailer’s daughter, leaving her a note before his execution signed “from your Valentine.” Most probably Valentine was not executed for his involvement in romantic love but rather was martyred for not renouncing his religion.
It is also believed that Geoffrey Chaucer in 1382 was perhaps the first poet to associate the Christian feast day with love and romance. In his poem “The Parliament of Fowls,” composed in honor the engagement between Richard II and Anne of Bohemia, Chaucer links St. Valentine’s Day and the mating season of birds.
I will share the Middle English version and then the translation by Joanne D’silva.
For this was on seynt Valentynes day,
Whan every foul cometh ther to chese his make,
Of every kinde, that men thenke may;
And that so huge a noyse gan they make,
That erthe and see, and tree, and every lake
So ful was, that unnethe was ther space
For me to stonde, so ful was al the place.
And right as Aleyn, in the Pleynt of Kinde,
Devyseth Nature of aray and face,
In swich aray men mighten hir ther finde.
This noble emperesse, ful of grace,
Bad every foul to take his owne place,
As they were wont alwey fro yeer to yere,
Seynt Valentynes day, to stonden there.
For this was Saint Valentines Day
When every fowl comes there to choose his mate,
Of every kind, that men may think of,
And that they began to make so huge a noise,
That earth, and air, and tree, and every lake
was so full that there hardly was space
For me to stand, so full was all the place.
And right as Alanus, in the Complaint of Kynde,
Devised Nature of clothes and face,
In such display as men might find on her there.
This noble empress, full of grace,
Bade every fowl to take his own place,
As they were wont to do always from year to year,
Saint Valentines Day, to stand there.
The Feast of Lupercal is also associated with Nature’s animals, and thus our baser nature. Lupus means wolf in Latin, and a she-wolf in Roman mythology suckled the abandoned infants Romulus and Remus to insure the founding of Rome. On Lupercalia male youths clad in animal skin ran through the city striking passersby with strips of goat skin because goats were symbols of sexuality. The ceremony was intended to render fertility and ward off evil.
The festival survived even into Christian times and was not abolished until the fifth century when it was replaced by St. Valentine’s Day. Thus, just as Christmas replaced the pagan celebration of winter solstice and Easter vied for attention during the pagan celebration of the vernal equinox, Valentine’s day had usurped the pagan tradition to celebrate fertility rites.
A further irony is that the Catholic Church removed the feast days of saints whose historical origins were questionable when it revised its liturgical calendar in 1969. St. Valentine, alas, went the way of Saints Christopher and George. If that makes you want to howl, join in the celebration of romantic love today, February 15, the Feast of Lupercal. Come on, it’s a two for one deal at worst! You can’t have enough love.
Please send poetry and comments to michaeljhoover@gmail.com. Archived columns can be found at hooverpoet.com and eveningsun.com.
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