Jack Valentine: Who Is The Mysterious English Legend That Leaves Behind Gifts?
NORWICH, England — Forget celebrating Valentine’s Day with cards, red roses and chocolates — the eastern English country of Norfolk has a very different custom dating back centuries.
Enter Jack Valentine.
This mysterious, sometimes mischievous, character places little gifts on doorsteps, knocks and then disappears before the door is opened. Even children sometimes received small gifts on the eve of St. Valentine’s Day.
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No one knows just how the custom started, but it is known that it has been practiced within Norfolk for centuries. Even today, Jack still appears in places. In 2000, people living in one Norwich street awoke to find little packets of romantically iced biscuits left at their doors, gates and even on cars.
The Victorian era was very much the heyday of Jack Valentine. Shop windows would be filled with little gifts, such as card cases, tea caddies and other trinkets. It was big business. Many shops had to take on extra staff to cope with demand and would open until late at night for last minute purchases. Shop accounts from the period indicate that more money was spent for Valentine’s Day than even Christmas.
Admittedly, not all gifts were nice ones. Jack’s counterpart, Snatch Valentine, might leave a piece of coal, or an empty box. Sometimes a string would be attached to a gift, which was pulled away as the recipient reached for it.
During the early 20th century, Jack Valentine often wrapped little presents in newspaper adorned with a hand drawn heart.
Norfolk records refer to children singing Valentine’s Day rhymes outside big houses in hope of receiving pennies.
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Following the introduction of the Penny Post, demand for Valentine’s Day cards grew rapidly, reaching over 400,000 a year. The Museum of Norwich at the Bridewell has a collection of beautifully ornamented cards celebrating the day sent by various Norfolk lovers.
Bethan Holdridge, the museum’s curator of social history, added that not all the cards were romantic.
“We have examples of vinegar valentines, which are not on display,” she said. “These are held in our archives because they were really nasty and often expressed misogynistic views.”
In recent years, the narrow alleyways of the Norfolk Lanes have witnessed Jack Valentine in full Victorian dress prowling the streets, having been resurrected by local traders. Even the local tourist organization, Visit Norwich, has adopted Jack Valentine, encouraging locals to get involved and leave token gifts celebrating one of the city’s most cherished traditions. Local families experience mysterious knocks on the door and little parcels left outside for the children to find, shouting out, “Thank you, Jack Valentine.”
It is not just Jack Valentine that links Norfolk with Valentine’s Day since the county was also the site of the earliest surviving Valentine’s Day letter. In February 1477, a Norfolk woman named Margery Brewes wrote to her future husband, John Paston, describing him as “my right well beloved Valentine” and promising to be the best wife possible.
Her mother sent an invitation to John that read: “Friday is St. Valentine’s Day, and every bird chooseth him a mate; and if it like you to come on Thursday at night so purvey you may abide there til Monday, I trust to God that you shall so speak to my husband, and I shall pray that we shall bring the matter to a conclusion.”
John and Margery married two months later. So why has St. Valentine been linked to lovers? The origins date back to Roman times and the feast of Lupercalia celebrating fertility. In the year 496, Pope Gelasius I renamed Feb. 14 as St. Valentine’s Day. The saint is believed to have been a third-century Roman priest, martyred around 270.
At the time, Emperor Claudius had banned soldiers from marrying because he believed their single status made them better warriors. Other accounts refer to persecuted Christians forbidden from marrying. St. Valentine disagreed and performed secret marriage ceremonies so that couples could still celebrate their love. Inevitably, his actions attracted the attention of the emperor.
Valentine was later imprisoned and executed on what became his feast day. One account even suggests that during his imprisonment, Valentine fell in love with his gaoler’s daughter — and sent her a love letter “from your Valentine.”
Lovers frequently visit shrines to St. Valentine. A flower-crowned skull believed to be that of the saint can be seen in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome. Other relics are believed to be in Whitefriar Church in Dublin after having been brought there in the 19th century.
In Glasgow, the church of the Blessed John Duns Scotus is reported to possess the saint’s forearm. It is said that a wealthy French family donated it to the church in 1868. Every year, on Valentine’s Day, the casket is covered with flowers, and a special Mass is held by local Catholics.
The presence of the forearm has led Glasgow to describe itself as “the city of love.” Over the years, many young men have proposed to their girlfriend’s beside the casket and its adjacent statue of St. Valentine.
Angela Youngman is a freelance journalist who has written for a wide range of national and international publications.