St Valentine – patron saint of epilepsy – illustrating the semiology of childhood seizures over ther course of six centuries

Research Question: Since the 15^th century, epileptics have been present as attributes in depictions of the patron St. Valentine. The objective of this research was to examine whether it was possible to glean insigths into the history of childhood epilepsy from the representation of St. Valentine in Christian art.

Method: The research is based on 203 portrayals of St. Valentine from Germany, Italy, France, Croatia, Austria and Switzerland dating from the 15^th to the 20^th century. They were examined concerning frequency and semiology of childhood seizures.

Results: As far as could be specified, 16 of the 192 epileptics depicted (184 of which are male or of indeterminate sex) are babies or toddlers, 5 are older children, and 6 are teenage children. The earliest representations of babies suffering from seizures date from the 17^th century, they partially show striking similarities to infantile spasms.

The illustrations of older children mostly show atonic seizures that lead to falls as well as tonic seizures.

In two cases, an interpretation of the depictions suggests absences. Four pictures of female teenagers or young adults could be interpreted as the illustrations of psychogenic seizures.

Conclusion: Despite the fact that from a modern perspective, the last six centuries seemed to be dominated by a rather superstitious attitude towards epilepsy, there is an amazing accuracy of detail in the semiology of seizures in many of the portrayals.

Keywords: epilepsy, history, St. Valentine