Monday, February 14, 2011
St. Valentine is, in some historical texts, noted as the Patron Saint of Epilepsy. Here he is, standing over an epileptic child, a sculpture dating from the 1400's in Ulm Cathedral in Germany. Evidently the German word for "fall" could perhaps be associated with the name Valentine, but there is also some indication that Valentine "healed" a person of epilepsy and thus was canonized.
When I researched this a bit on the internet, I found a fascinating medical study of medieval artistic representations of saints and disease, particularly epilepsy. The article stated that the depictions of epilepsy by artists of this period were actually quite comprehensive with real "knowledge" of the various types of seizures and what they looked like. However, I also learned that most of the "victims" were either dressed in rags of a certain color that were directed against demons or meant to protect the victim from the demons inside of him OR were dressed in rags in distinct opposition to the "Saint" in all his Christian "glory," indicative of the appalling ignorance of the medical condition and, sadly, why the disease is still marked by incredible stigma today. Black clothing, like on the child at left, refers to debt, punishment and penance -- the sick person might have burdened himself with debt and has been punished with the "falling disease" as a penance. If a child wears black, his parents are guilty in some way.
What do I have to say about that? Well, let's say the whole Catholic thing has always troubled me a bit and I might just have to discard the notion of celebrating St. Valentine as the Patron Saint of Epilepsy!