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 <em>The Canterbury Tales</em> and other poetic works. Explore the history of Valentine's Day, plus famous couples and love stories

A coloured engraving showing a large group queuing up to go into a dance ball. Each couple is holding hands, and the men are wearing high necked suits and the women are in long colourful gowns

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Lonely hearts and holiday flings: a brief history of dating. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Portrait of Jane Austen as a young woman.

Georgian

The real reason Jane Austen never married

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

An image depicting St Valentine

Roman

Saint ValentineWho was the patron saint of love and lovers?

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

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

Medieval

Tales of romanceThe historical love stories behind 5 British castles. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

General Modern

Valentine's celebrations in historyFrom fertility festivals to the first cards

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

Victorian

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

Queen Victoria with her children and grandchildren

Victorian

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

General Modern

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)

Elizabethan

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)

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'Vinegar Valentines': 9 surprisingly dark Valentine's Day cards from the past. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

'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)

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Leading ladies in love: 6 historical movies to watch this Valentine’s Day. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Bottle of 'love potion'

General ancient history

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

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

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

The former Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, for whom Edward gave up the throne in 1936, sparking a crisis that rocked the British monarchy. The couple are pictured here in 1939. (Photo by Keystone-France\Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

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The 7 most romantic moments in history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A 19th-century portrait of Queen Elizabeth I. (Photo by Print Collector/Getty Images)

Elizabethan

Elizabeth I’s love life: was she really a ‘Virgin Queen’?

While young ladies may have been daydreaming of handsome film stars such as Cary Grant, pictured here kissing the cheek of Ingrid Bergman in a publicity still for the 1946 film ‘Notorious’, agony aunts were keen to bring them back down to earth. (Photo by John Springer Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

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How to be a man: tips from 1930s agony aunts. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

20th Centuryvideo3 of the most famous royal weddings in history

The future Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, at Buckingham Palace following their wedding, 20 November 1947. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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Royal wedding traditions through history: etiquette, menus and the dress code. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Elizabeth’s love rival. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Anonymous engraving, master of the garden of love, 15th century, France, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale. (Photo by: Photo12/UIG via Getty Images)

Medieval

7 ways to say “I love you” in medieval Europe

Ancient Egypt

Love, sex and marriage in ancient Egypt

An illustration of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Tudor

Not such a prude after all: the secrets of Henry VIII’s love life

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A brief history of how we fell in love with caffeine and chocolate. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A Valentine's card showing a devil spearing an old lady on a pitchfork.

Victorian

In picturesVictorian Valentine's Cards

BBC History Magazine

Did Robin Hood have a love interest before Maid Marian?

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The A to Z of royal weddings with Tracy Borman. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.