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A W O R L D H I S T O R Y O F T H E B R E A K U P
V. The Roman Empire
Emperor Claudius (reigned 268-270 A.D.) calls for the execution of an
irritating young man named Valentine. He has no idea that the martyr will
go on to become the patron saint of Things That Were Never Meant to be Heart-Shaped
and to lend his name to an annual festival of romance that fittingly falls
during nature's bitterest, slushiest month.
As nations blend and expand into empires with ever-more complex and set-in-stone
social orders, what begins to emerge are the Wuthering Heights, the My Fair
Ladies, the West Side Stories of love that can't last.
Julius Caesar and Cossutia:
An ambitious young Caesar (102-44 B.C.E.) breaks off his engagement to Cossutia
because she doesn't belong to the politically powerful equestrian class.
Consequently, parents seeking power marriages for their daughters begin
to think twice before discouraging their adolescent obsession with horses.
NEXT:
VI. The Middle Ages
I |
II |
III |
IV |
V |
VI |
VII |
VIII & IX |
X |
XI |
XII
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