Saint Valentine's Day (February 14th) celebrates love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs, Saint Valentine, and was established in 496 AD by Pope Gelasius I. In 1969 was then deleted from the Roman calendar of saints by Pope Paul VI.
The day first became associated with romantic love in High Middle Ages (when the tradition of courtly love flourished) particularly thanks to Geoffrey Chaucer.
As a matter of fact, the first recorded association of Valentine's Day with romantic love is in Parlement of Foules (1382) by Geoffrey Chaucer, who wrote:
‘For this was on seynt Volantynys day
Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make’.
Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make’.
["For this was Saint Valentine's Day,
when every bird cometh there to choose
his mate."]
his mate."]
This poem was written to honor the first anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia. A treaty providing for a marriage was signed on May 2, 1381. (When they were married eight months later, they were each only 15 years old).
(= in the liturgical calendar, May 2nd is the saints' day for Valentine of Genoa. This St. Valentine was an early bishop of Genoa who died around AD 307).
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