Hello Gloria end listers, I don't known how common Valentin was used as a first name in Lutheran families. Another thing to add is that the popular nickname of Valentin was Veltin (pronounced Feltin), which in turn gave a surname, VELTIN or FELTIN. Again a happy Valentine's day to everybody! Etienne > De : Gloria Ishida <gfb-ishida@gol.com> > Date : Sun, 10 Feb 2008 19:34:22 +0900 > À : Etienne HERRBACH <etienne.herrbach@wanadoo.fr>, > > Etienne, > > This is very interesting. thank you. I didn't know the connection of > Saint Valentine with healing epilepsy. > > In the time I mentioned, there were quite a number with the given name > Valentin in Niederroedern and in my family they were Lutheran. Hmm? > > Gloria > > > On 2 10, 2008, at 7:10 PM, Etienne HERRBACH wrote: > >> >> Gloria and all listers, >> >> >> Valentin (feminine Valentine) does exist in Alsace, but is not very >> common. The surname VALENTIN also occurs. Only one Catholic parish >> church is dedicated to this saint: Attenschwiller, near the Swiss >> border, not from from Basel. >> >> In Medieval hagiotherapy (i.e. Catholic saints supposed to heal >> specific diseases), saint Valentin was associated to epilepsy. >> The reason why seems to be the homology between the German >> pronounciation ("Fallentin") and "fallende Krankheit" (litt. >> "falling disease") designating epilepsy. >> >> In Rouffach there was a small convent called "prieuré Saint Valentin" >> were many people suffering from this disease and other similar >> disorders came as pilgrims with the hope to heal. I have found >> a trace of this pilgrimage as far as in Allgäu, Bavaria. The >> convent disappeared after the 1789 Revolution. In 1909, when the >> authorities looked for a site where to build the psychiatric hospital >> for the Departement haut-Rhin, they chose Rouffach - however for other >> reasons than the past convent. >> >> Source: G. LESER, Rouffach, de l'asile au centre hospitalier, 90 ans de >> psychiatrie, 1999. >> >> Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! >> >> Etienne