Valencia Autonomous community (pop., 2001: 4,162,776), eastern Spain. Encompassing the provinces of Alicante, Castellon, and Valencia, it covers 8,979 sq mi (23,255 sq km); its capital is the city of Valencia. A generally mountainous region with salt lagoons on the coast, the area was conquered successively by Romans, Visigoths, and Moors. Part of the caliphate of Cordoba (11th century), it subsequently became an indepen¬ dent Moorish kingdom. It was held by the Spanish commander the Cid ( 1094-99); after the Cid’s death Valencia again was lost to the Moors, until King James I of Aragon took it in 1238. One of the richest farming regions in the Mediterranean basin, it produces oranges, rice, grapes, and olives; it also has many manufacturing facilities.
Valencia City (pop., 2001: city, 738,441; metro, area, 1,397,809), capi¬ tal of the autonomous community of Valencia, eastern Spain. First men¬ tioned as a Roman settlement in 138 bc, it was later taken by the Visigoths in ad 413 and the Moors in 714. It became the seat of the newly estab¬ lished independent Moorish kingdom of Valencia in 1021. After 1238 it was part of the dominions of Aragon. The first Spanish printing press was established in Valencia in 1474; during the next two centuries the city was the seat of the Valencian school of painting. It was severely dam¬ aged in the Peninsular War, during the Spanish Civil War, and by flood in 1957. Its port ships agricultural produce and manufactured items.
Valencia City (pop., 2000 est.: 1,338,833), northwestern Venezuela. It is located near the western shore of Lake Valencia. Founded in 1555, it rivaled Caracas as the region’s major city well into the 19th century. In 1814, during the struggle for Venezuela’s independence, it was the site of a bloody battle between Spanish and opposition forces. It served as national capital in 1812, 1830, and 1858. One of Venezuela’s principal industrial and transportation centres, it produces textiles, pharmaceuticals, and automobiles.
Valencia, Lake/ormerfy Tacarigua \,ta-ka-'re-gwa\ Lake, Carabobo and Aragua states, northern Venezuela. Its total area of 141 sq mi (364 sq km) makes it the second largest natural lake in Venezuela, after Lake Maracaibo. It lies in an agricultural region and popular resort area.
Valens (b. c. ad 328—d. Aug. 9, 378) Eastern Roman emperor (364- 378). His older brother, Valentinian I, appointed Valens to be coemperor and assigned him to rule the eastern part of the empire, while Valentinian took the throne in the West. An Arian Christian, Valens persecuted Catho¬ lics and waged war on the pagan Procopius (366), the Visigoths (367- 369), and the Persians (c. 376). When the Visigoths again rebelled against the Romans, Valens’s poor tactics led to his defeat and death in the great Battle of Adrianople.
Valentine, Saint (d. 3rd century, Rome; feast day February 14) Chris¬ tian martyr whose legend inspired the lover’s holiday Valentine’s Day. According to tradition, he was a Roman priest and physician who died during the persecution of Christians by the emperor Claudius II Gothicus and was buried on the Via Flaminia. The priest signed a letter to his jail¬ er’s daughter, whom he had befriended and with whom he had fallen in love, “from your Valentine.” The legend of the bishop of Terni, Italy— also called Valentine and also martyred in Rome—may refer to the same person.
Valentine's Day Lovers’ holiday celebrated on February 14, the feast day of St. Valentine, one of two 3rd-century Roman martyrs of the same name. St. Valentine is considered the patron of lovers and especially of those unhappily in love. The feast day became a lovers’ festival in the 14th century, probably as an extension of pagan love festivals and fertil¬ ity rites celebrated in mid-February. Today it is marked by the exchange of romantic cards (valentines), flowers, and other gifts.
Valentinian I \,va-bn-'ti-ne-3n\ in full Flavius Valentinianus (b.
ad 321, Cibalae, Pannonia—d. Nov. 17, 375, Brigetio, Pannonia Inferior) Roman emperor (364-375). He served in the military in Africa under his father. Proclaimed emperor by the army, he made his brother Valens ruler
in the East while he ruled the West. Both showed religious toleration. Val¬ entinian defeated the Alemanni in Gaul in 365, then moved to support the defense of Britain. He named his nine-year-old son Gratian coemperor (367) to ensure succession. In Germany he fortified the Rhine; he went on to fight the Quadi in Pannonia, where he fell sick and died. Despite his achievements, he was known for his cruelty and poor choice of min¬ isters.
Valentino, Rudolph orig. Rodolfo Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla (b. May 6, 1895, Castellaneta, Italy—d. Aug. 23, 1926, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Italian-born U.S. film actor. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1913 and worked as a dancer before moving to Hollywood in 1918. He played small parts in movies until his role in The Four Horse¬ men of the Apocalypse (1921) made him a star. His popularity, promoted by skillful press agents, soared among women as he played the handsome, mysterious lover in romantic dramas such as The Sheik (1921), Blood and Sand (1922), The Eagle (1925), and The Son of the Sheik (1926). His sud¬ den death at 31 from a ruptured ulcer caused worldwide hysteria, several suicides, and riots at his funeral.
Valera, Eamon de See Eamon de Valera
Valerian Latin Publius Licinius Valerianus (d. ad 260) Roman emperor (253-260). He served as consul under Severus Alexander (r. 222- 235). Later a commander on the upper Rhine, he supported the emperor Gallus (r. 251-253) in the conflict with a rival emperor but arrived with his legions too late to save Gallus from death at the hands of his own troops. Elected emperor by his soldiers (253), Valerian renewed the per¬ secution of the Christians and executed Pope Sixtus II in 258. After appointing his son Publius Licinius Galuenus to rule the western part of the empire, he marched east to repel the Persian invasion. At first successful, he was later defeated by the Persian king Shapur I and died in captivity.
valerian Any of the more than 400 species of annual and perennial her¬ baceous plants in about 10 genera that make up the family Valerianaceae. A few are outstanding as ornamentals, salad or potherbs, or as sources of medicines and perfumes. Greek valerian is Jacob’s ladder (Polemonium caeruleum ), in the family Polemoniaceae. The true valerians (native to the temperate zones, the Andes Mtns., and Africa) have tubular flowers, often spurred at the base and clustered in tight heads. The largest genus, Valeriana, contains about 200 species and is best known for common valerian (V officinalis), used by modern herbalists to calm the nerves.
Valery \,va-b-'re\, (Ambroise-) Paul (-Toussaint-Jules) (b. Oct. 30, 1871, Sete, France—d. July 20,
1945, Paris) French poet, essayist, and critic. A student of law, Valery wrote many poems during 1888-91, some published in magazines of the Symbolist movement. After 1894 he wrote daily in his notebooks, later published as the famous Cahiers. He revised his early work to create his greatest poem. La Jeune Parque (1917). It was followed by Album de vers anciens, 1890-1900 (1920) and Charmes oupoemes (1922), contain¬ ing “Le Cimetiere marin,” which established him as the outstanding French poet of his time. His works are typically variations on the theme of the tension within the human con¬ sciousness between the desire for contemplation and the will to action.
He later became a prominent public personage, writing many essays and occasional papers on literary topics and taking a great interest in science and political problems.
Valhalla \val-'ha-b, val-'ha-b\ In Germanic religion, the hall of slain warriors who live blissfully under the leadership of Odin. Valhalla is depicted as a splendid palace, roofed with shields, where the warriors feast on the flesh of a boar slaughtered daily and made whole again each evening. They drink liquor that flows from the udders of a goat, and their sport is to fight one another every day, with the slain being revived in the evening. Thus they will live until the Ragnarok, when they will leave Val¬ halla to fight at the side of Odin against the Giants. See also Asgard, Freyja, Valkyrie.