Which medieval ideal helped link Valentine's Day with romance?

Courtly love was the medieval ideal that helped link Valentine’s Day with romance.

Courtly love was a literary and social tradition in which a lover showed devotion, admiration, and often service to an idealized beloved. It became especially influential in medieval European poetry and storytelling, where love was presented as ennobling, emotionally intense, and governed by codes of conduct.

The connection between Saint Valentine’s feast and romantic love developed gradually rather than beginning in ancient Rome. Geoffrey Chaucer’s 14th-century poetry is an important milestone: his references to birds choosing mates around Saint Valentine’s Day helped associate February 14 with pairing and love. Later writers expanded that association into courtship customs and romantic symbolism.

A common mistake is to treat Lupercalia as the direct origin of modern Valentine’s Day romance. Lupercalia was a Roman festival held in February, but the romantic meaning of Saint Valentine’s Day emerged much later. Courtly love is therefore the best answer for the medieval ideal behind the tradition.