Okay, technically, you can't see his actual relics, but you can see a wooden casket with a little plaque reading: "This shrine contains the sacred body of Saint Valentinus the Martyr, together with a small vessel tinged with his blood." Mmm, a vial tinged with blood... romantic.
And it's also the time of year that I dig out some Chaucer. I just went to find an e-text of The Parlement of Fowles (my Riverside Chaucer is still sailing the high seas) and - lo and behold, in my scribbling on the novel this morning, I happened to quote its opening line:
"The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne..."
Kinda flukey, which I like.
Anyhoo, this time o'year is all about the Parlement because it's the earliest association of Valentine's Day as a day for lovers (usually dated to 1380s). True, Hallmark™ is not overtly mentioned in Chaucer, but his Valentine's Day is set in an enclosed classical garden, presided over by Nature. The trees are filled with every kind of bird, all waiting to choose their mates. A delay leads to a raucous debate on love, which - in classic Chaucerian fashion - is wrapped up neither neatly nor definitively, leaving the audience to continue the discussion.
Words engendering further thought... just as it should be!
And, thoughts of nature and love lead to... a mangrove swamp in New Caledonia, and one of Yann Arthus-Bertrand's signature images:
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