who discovered valentine's day

Nobody “discovered” Valentine’s Day like a new continent; it gradually evolved from several traditions over many centuries.

Quick Scoop

• The day is named after St. Valentine , a Christian martyr (or possibly more than one person with that name) who lived in the 3rd century under the Roman Empire.

• A popular legend says Valentine was a priest who secretly married young couples after Emperor Claudius II banned weddings for soldiers, and he was executed on February 14 around the year 269–270.

• In the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I made February 14 the feast of St. Valentine, helping replace the older Roman mid‑February festival of Lupercalia , a pagan fertility and purification celebration.

• Valentine’s Day became linked specifically with romantic love in the Middle Ages , especially after the poet Geoffrey Chaucer wrote about “Saint Valentine’s Day” as the time when birds choose their mates, inspiring people to associate the date with courtly love.

• By the 15th century, nobles in France and England were exchanging handwritten “valentines,” and by the 18th–19th centuries, printed cards, flowers, and sweets turned it into the holiday we recognize today.

So if you’re asking “who discovered Valentine’s Day,” the best answer is:

• No single person discovered it.
• Its roots lie in:
  • Ancient Roman festivals (Lupercalia),
  • Christian traditions around St. Valentine ,
  • Medieval writers like Chaucer who tied February 14 to romantic love,
  • Later commercial card‑makers who spread the modern style of celebrating.

TL;DR: Valentine’s Day wasn’t discovered; it slowly formed from Roman, Christian, and medieval romantic customs, with St. Valentine and writers like Chaucer playing key roles.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.