How to fall in love

Struggling to find that special someone? Justin Pollard looks at the ways in which our ancestors tried to woo would-be lovers - and deal with the consequences when things didn't quite go to plan

- Justin Pollard

Love is one of history's unintended consequences, taking generals away from battles, rulers away from governing and ordinary people away from their sanity (and trousers). But what can history teach us about falling in love?

Firstly, you've got to meet 'the one'. Indeed, 'one' is usually the preferred number, unless you're reading the 1631 'Wicked' Bible, which contains a handy misprint for would-be fornicators: "Thou shalt Commit Adultery". This was very much on the physicist Erwin Schrödinger's mind when he first arrived at the University of Oxford in the 1930s and attempted to set up a ménage à trois, much to the disgust of his hosts. Feeling unwelcome, he eventually returned to his native Austria.

DRUNK IN LOVE