From Lovers' Lips to Their Fingertips: A Celebration of Valentine's Day Poetry Through the Ages

Nearly 1800 years after Saint Valentine sent, minutes before he was executed, his famous note saying "from your Valentine," we still celebrate love by sending valentines and love notes each February 14. But this tradition did not start until nearly a thousand years after Valentine's death. There were no valentines, no love songs, and no love poetry to speak of. Then, in the Middle Ages, a time that is best-known for religious devotion, the language of love, the language that we still speak today, was born. Cupid and his staff have created in this volume a record of their favorite poetry (nearly 100 selections), including some of the first love poetry of Europe, the first mentions of Valentine's Day, and the first valentines in the modern world.