Valentine's Day

The romantic holiday began as a Christian feast day commemorating an ancient martyr named Valentinus. Modern literary scholars credit one man for turning Valentine into the patron of love: Geoffrey Chaucer, author of The Canterbury Tales and other poetic works. Explore the history of Valentine's Day, plus famous couples and love stories

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Vod Edward Brooke H Love WL

Video podcast Love: a weird & wonderful history . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An image depicting St Valentine

Saint Valentine Who was the patron saint of love and lovers?

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Pod Edward Brooke H Love WL

Love: a weird & wonderful history . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Penrhyn Castle, Gwynedd, Wales. (Photo by Getty Images)

Tales of romance The historical love stories behind 5 British castles . This is a premium piece of content available to registered users.

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Valentine's celebrations in history From fertility festivals to the first cards

A portrait of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert with five of their nine children, by Frederick Winterhalter

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert: was their union a marriage of misery?

Queen Victoria with her children and grandchildren

The marriages of Queen Victoria’s grandchildren: how the dynasty shaped Europe

Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor playing Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII in the 1963 film, Cleopatra. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

7 of the most memorable couples in history

Portrait of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester (1532–88) an English nobleman. Dated 16th century. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Robert Dudley: Queen Elizabeth I’s great love

An Art Deco mechanical valentine (moving the cape causes the arms to move up and down) from the 1930s. (Photo by Alan Mays)

‘Vinegar Valentines’: 9 surprisingly dark Valentine’s Day cards from the past

'The Young Victoria' follows the early relationship of Victoria and her beloved Prince Albert. The monarch was played by Emily Blunt in the 2009 film. (Images by Bettmann/Getty Images/Alamy)

Leading ladies in love: 6 historical movies to watch this Valentine’s Day

Bottle of 'love potion'

General ancient history

Spanish fly, holy bread and mashed worms: history’s weirdest aphrodisiacs and love potions

A portrait of the romantic novelist Jane Austen. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

The real reason Jane Austen never married

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A man helps his partner to dress by lacing her corset. (Photo by Frank Martin)

Love in Georgian times . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration of motors and cycles in Kensington High Street, opposite Holland House, London, from the Illustrated London News, 1903. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Lonely hearts and holiday flings: a brief history of dating