‍While Valentine’s Day is associated with a Catholic saint, it was not originally associated with true love – until an English poet wrote a poem that became very popular (like going viral today). Find out the rest of the story.

So how did Chaucer create the Valentine’s Day we know today? In the late 1300s, he wrote a poem called "Parliament of Fowls" that contains the 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 the lady was already married already – creating themes 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 stories began to appear linking St. Valentine to romance.

And the rest is history.