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A Chaucer Poem Links Romance to Valentine

There were multiple St. Valentines (including decapitated ones), but it was a medieval poet who first established the holiday's romantic tradition. So how did Chaucer create the Valentine's Day we know today? In the 1370s or 1380s, he wrote a poem called "Parliament of Fowls" that contains this line: "For this was on Saint Valentine's Day, when every bird comes there to choose his mate." This was a moment in Europe when a particular set of romantic ideas took shape. Chaucer and other writers of his time celebrated romance between knights and noble ladies who could never marry-often because she was married already-creating tropes of yearning and tragic obstacles that still drive our romantic comedies today. By the 1400s, nobles inspired by Chaucer had begun writing poems known as "valentines" to their love interests. It was only at this point that stories began to appear linking Saint Valentine to romance. Time for some romance with these titles

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You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.-Dr. Seuss

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