The Naughty Heart

Have you ever looked at the heart shape properly? I mean, really looked at it?

It’s naughty.

It’s sexy.

It’s romantic.

It’s everything it’s supposed to be for representing love.

Look at it this way:

heart photo

We can imagine the female anatomy – breasts leading down to the vulva – the bottom is even in a V shape, and if you turn the heart on its side, the top looks like a B!

Yet if we turn it the other way up:

– lo and behold we have a pair of testicles, and the suggestion of a man’s love member (since it’s February, I’m not going to use the word ‘penis’ because it’s not a particularly lovely word…).

 

So what’s the history of the heart-shape as we know it?

Some scholars argue that the shape originates from artists trying to depict the heart with three chambers, according to ancient medical texts from Aristotle and Galen.

In medieval times, the heart-shape was used on heraldic objects, but was not symbolic of love; rather the shape depicted a lily-pad:

 

lily pad photo

A lily pad symbolised eloquence and persuasion. I actually find this interesting, because these two elements are present in every romantic relationship, aren’t they…think of the First Date. The Proposal. One is supposed to be both eloquent and persuasive.

Heraldry also used the symbol inverted, to symbolise a pair of testicles. The Colleoni family of Milan use this in their Canting arms. Canting arms are those who depict the bearer’s name in a visual pun. Testicles, in Italian, is coglioni. Colleoni, coglioni.

So when was this shape first used to depict love? Nobody really knows the answer, although there are clues. In the Empress Zoe mosaic of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, dated 1239, there are heart symbols on the bible Jesus holds.

Heart symbols have also been seen on Persian excavations (circa 90 BC – 637 AD). Tantalizing!

The heart shape became popular in religious art during the Renaissance, and began to be used as a suit in playing cards at this time.

Since the 1900s, the heart has been used to represent love on Valentine’s Day cards, and chocolate boxes.

heart chocolates photo

 

Aw. It’s a pretty awesome shape, isn’t it!

In The Mood For Romance? Medieval Betrothals

red hearts photo

Since our contemporary anthology ‘Propose To Me‘ is coming out soon, I thought it might be interesting to have a look at where some of our rituals come from. So the first one is:

Engagement

engagement rings photo

Did you know that, in the year 1215, Pope Innocent III decreed that there should be a waiting period between betrothal and wedding ceremony?

This also led to the two ring tradition we in the West have today. Previous to this, the custom of one ring had been prevalent for centuries. Apparently, according to some, Roman wives wore rings attached to a key, denoting their husband’s ownership. I wonder if they were engraved Property of Julius Maximus…Actually, others claim they were inscribed with the image of a key, denoting the key to half of his fortune, maybe? If anyone was around in Roman times and/or knows this, please let me know! Today rings are often inscribed with the husbands/wives names and/or date of the wedding.

The first recorded diamond ring was given in betrothal in medieval Italy, in 1477. Archduke Maximilian I of Habsburg proposed to Mary of Burgundy with a diamond ring. This was no small investment. They were hard to come by, so worth a small fortune. Today they are easy to come by, yet cost a small fortune.

Diamonds signify enduring love because of their strength and and beauty, and I think one of the reasons they began to be popular in the 15th century was because craft tools with rotary motion had been introduced, otherwise, a jeweller was limited to polishing the rough diamond – and they can’t have been anywhere near as pretty as sapphires or rubies.

 

 

ProposeToMe

Coming Soon!

Enter our fabulous Rafflecopter giveaway to win prizes!