What the Heart Knows by Fran Joyce
Did you know Valentine’s Day was originally established in 496 to honor the martyred saint who helped lovers by performing secret marriages? Where does the heart-shaped image we use to convey emotions come from? It’s not an accurate depiction of the human heart and we know the heart is not where emotions start.
Aristotle believed the heart was warm and an attribute of higher beings because reptiles were cold-blooded. He believed the brain was a cold organ responsible for cooling the blood to maintain a sensible temperature for the mental functions of the heart.
Galen, a Greek physician (130-200B.C.) discovered the brain was the center of thought and sensation. He described the heart as a three-chambered organ shaped like a pinecone.
Experiments by Leonardo DaVinci (1452-1519) supported Galen. In 1878, the French physician/scientist Paul Broca named the three parts of the brain responsible for learning, memory, and emotional responses the limbic system. Located just below the cerebral cortex the limbic system consists of the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus.
We now know the brain and not the heart is responsible for thought and emotions, but the heart is affected by strong emotions. It beats faster when we sense danger, become excited, sad, or aroused. The heart responds to the emotions we feel. The limbic system seems to be connected to the vagus nerve (the 10th cranial nerve or CN X) that begins in the brain and connects with the chest and abdomen.
So where exactly did the heart-shaped ideogram we use to convey love come from? The earliest heart-shaped images were drawings of plant leaves or seed pods. The now believed extinct silphium plant had heart-shaped seed pods. It was used in ancient times for medicinal purposes. Many believed it was an effective contraceptive. The city-state Cyrene in Northern Africa was a major producer of silphium and placed the heart-shaped pod image on their coins. The link between contraception, sex, and love could have become identified with that symbol.
Others believe the shape is linked to human anatomy – the curves of breasts, buttocks, or genitalia. In the 13th century, courtly love became the focus of many drawings and illustrations. In the 1250’s French manuscript the Roman de la Poire, a young man offers his pinecone-shaped heart upside down towards his lady love. The shape resembles the heart-shaped image we know today. It’s the first known depiction of a heart shape as a symbol of love. Before the fourteenth century, hearts were typically depicted upside down. In the fifteenth century, the heart symbol started to resemble what we use today, and it also became a suit on playing cards.
Valentine’s Day gained popularity in the seventeenth century. Simple love notes were often decorated with heart shapes like the ones we use today. Victorian England became obsessed with more elaborate cards – the more hearts the better. Suiters soon began giving heart-shaped jewelry or candies in heart-shaped boxes to go along with their love notes.
In 1977, the heart shape became a verb as it replaced the word, ‘love” on t-shirts, stationary, signs, and billboards. Heart-shaped icons now measure lives in video games and have become the symbol for healthy eating and living. Hearts in many colors represent a multitude of emotions, but pink or bright red hearts will always symbolize love.
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