Why/when did the red rose become such a significant symbol of romance in western culture?

by pinktapoutshirt
PoorAuthor9

I don't have an exhaustive answer to this question, but it's also important to note that the rose as a symbol of romantic beauty is an image that is very common in Middle Eastern poetry, especially mystical Persian poetry like those of Rumi, Hafez, and Saadi. They write in the 13th and early 14th centuries extensively, and by that time, the use of the rose as symbolizing romance and love (in the double meaning of a physical woman lover and of God) was already fairly well established.