When the fork was invented in what century. Fork - instrument history

A fork is a simple household item, so familiar to a modern person and convenient to use, nevertheless, it has an interesting history. Just think, its use was once the subject of attacks and the reason for writing pamphlets. Next - a selection of entertaining facts from several Internet sources. All of them, despite some contradictions, can give a clear picture of the worldview and views, including the time period we have chosen with regards to.

When did the fork appear? There is no single answer to this question. The first mention of the fork is found in the 9th century in the Middle East. These forks were huge and had only one sharp prong, later two. The ancient Romans used them to extract pieces of meat from a cauldron or brazier. These tools cannot yet be called forks in our understanding, since the noble patricians ate meat with their hands, along which fat flowed down to the elbows ...

Cooking set, estimated to be 3,000 years old

The National Museum of Naples contains a fork found in one of the graves of the ancient city of Paestum in southwestern Italy. She is more than two and a half thousand years old.

In 1072, in Byzantium, in the city of Constantinople, in the imperial palace, a single-copy fork was made of gold, its handle was decorated with inlaid with mother-of-pearl on ivory. This fork was intended for the Byzantine princess Maria of Iverskaya, the widow of Emperor Michael Duca, who considered it humiliating to eat with her hands. The fork had two straight prongs, with which it was only possible to string, not scoop food.

After 100 years, the fork came from Byzantium to Italy, where it was first made in two copies - for the Venetian Doge and the Pope.

Back in the 16th-18th centuries, the rules of good manners prescribed not to take meat with all five fingers, especially with two hands, but only with three fingers; Do not wipe your fingers on your clothes, but rinse them in a special bowl of water ... At one time it was fashionable to eat with gloves so that your hands stay clean. After dinner, the soiled gloves were thrown away.

The first mentions of forks in Europe date back to the 14th century: for example, there were several forks in the treasury of the Duke of Breton John II. True, they did not eat meat with them, but fruit or fried cheese. Peter Galveston, the favorite of King Edward II of England, had 69 silver spoons and three forks with which he ate a pear. In the inventory of the wealth of the Hungarian queen Clementia for 1328, thirty spoons and one fork of gold are mentioned. After her death, the French queen Jeanne d "Evreux left one fork, carefully packed in a small chest, and 64 spoons. The fork is becoming a necessary attribute at the meals of the Italian nobility and merchants.

In France, the fork first appeared on the royal table during the reign of Charles V, or rather, in 1379. The first forks were imported to England in 1608 from Italy. Charles V had several gem-encrusted golden forks that were used for the rare desserts served in the finest courts of the time.

Small silver, often gilded, with rich decorations for food in the proportions and shapes in which we know them now, came into use only in the middle of the 16th century, replacing the two knives that were used at the table in "decent houses".

Cutlery from the era of Louis XIV, made by Nicholas Bellier in 1680

In the pamphlet "The Island of Hermaphrodites", published at the end of the 16th century and directed against the minions of the French king Henry III, who adhered to a non-traditional sexual orientation, it is said as something extraordinary that they never touched meat with their hands, but used forks, "which no matter how hard it costs them. " However, already in the 17th century, the fork began to win its place on the banquet table.

Attempts to introduce the plug into use met with stubborn resistance from the Church. The Catholic Church, calling the fork "an unnecessary luxury", and did not welcome its use - its use at the courts of monarchs was seen as godlessness or even a connection with the devil.

Rococo knife and fork, circa 1730-1750

The fork appeared in Russia in 1606, and was brought by Marina Mnishek. At her wedding feast in the Kremlin, Marina shocked the Russian boyars and clergy with a fork. This fork was cited as one of the arguments for the popular uprising against False Dmitry. Since the tsar and the tsarina eat not with their hands, but with some kind of spear, it means that they are not Russian, but the product of the devil. Even the word fork itself finally entered the Russian language only in the 18th century, and until that time this object was called "spear" and "Viltsy". Until now, superstitions reflect a wary attitude towards the fork - it is believed that it should not be given - this is a sign of arrogance.

Under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, as one European wrote in his travel essays, “at dinner each guest was put on the table spoons and bread, and a plate, a knife; and a fork - only for guests of honor. "

The son of Alexei Mikhailovich, Peter the Great, also contributed to the history of the fork in Russia. Not without his help, the Russian aristocracy recognized the fork in the 18th century. The Russian Starina edition for 1824 contains information about how the table was set for Peter I:

“A wooden spoon flavored with ivory, a knife and a fork with green bone cuttings were always placed at the device, and the orderly was obliged to carry them with him and put them in front of the king, even if he happened to dine at a party.” Apparently, Peter was not sure that even in the "best houses" he would be served with a whole set of cutlery.

Replica cutlery 1747-1776

Modern tables are served with appliances, among which there may be a dozen types of forks: ordinary and snack, for meat, fish, side dishes, two-toothed - large and smaller, serving for cutting meat fibers, special for cutting lobster, a fork complete with an oyster knife, forks combined with spatulas - for asparagus ... All of them have a recent origin: XIX - early XX century.

England's first fork

In 1608, the Englishman Thomas Coriath visited Italy. During the trip, he kept a diary in which he wrote down everything that struck him especially strongly. He described the splendor of the Venetian palaces standing in the middle of the water, and the beauty of the marble temples of Ancient Rome, and the formidable majesty of Vesuvius. But one thing amazed Coriata more than all the beauties of Italy put together.

In his diary there is this entry: “When Italians eat meat, they use small pitchforks made of iron or steel, and sometimes silver. Italians cannot be forced to eat with their hands. They think it’s not good because not everyone’s hands are clean. ”

Before heading home, Coriath had a pitchfork like this. The fork he bought didn't look like a modern one. This fork had only two prongs, and the knob-decorated handle was very tiny. In general, this instrument was more like a tuning fork.

Arriving home, Koriath decided to show off his purchase to friends and acquaintances. At a dinner party, he pulled a fork out of his pocket and began to eat the Italian way.

All eyes were fixed on him. And when he explained what it was in his hands, everyone wanted to take a closer look at the Italian food tool. The fork went around the whole table. The ladies were delighted with the elegant decoration, the men were amazed at the ingenuity of the Italians, but all unanimously decided that the Italians were great eccentrics, that eating with a fork was very inconvenient.

Thomas Koriath tried to argue, arguing that it was not good to take meat with his hands, that not everyone's hands were clean. This caused general outrage. Does Mr. Coriath think that in England nobody washes their hands before eating? Are ten fingers given by nature not enough for us and should we add two artificial fingers to them? Let him show you how easy it is to deal with these ridiculous pitchforks.

Koriath wanted to show his art. But the very first piece of meat he took from the dish plopped off the fork onto the tablecloth. There was no end to laughter and jokes. The poor traveler had to hide his fork back in his pocket.

It took at least fifty years before forks became fashionable in England.
(c) compiled from the materials of the Internet publications by N. Konopleva, "Science and Life" No. 1, 2003;
E. Kolodochnikova, "Popular Science Historical Journal".

The fork appeared in the dining room of Europeans in the 15th century. Before that, both kings and slaves ate food with spoons, knives and their own hands. The first forks were flat, two-pronged and rather awkward. Gradually acquiring a modern shape, the device with teeth began to "grow" with many modifications: forks appeared for desserts, fish, salads and other dishes.

Dining fork

The dinner fork is a regular four-pronged fork, intended for the use of second courses. Served with a table knife. The dining room is taken in the left hand, the knife in the right. In order to separate the meat from the main piece, the fork is turned over with the curved side up and stuck into the meat at a slight angle. Cut a piece with a knife and send it with a fork into the mouth. To take a side dish from a plate, turn the fork over with the curved side down and use it like a spoon, helping yourself with a knife.

Fish fork

The fish fork is smaller than the dinner fork. It has four or three flat teeth. Sometimes two pairs of denticles are separated in the middle by a shallow notch. In good restaurants, a knife is served with the fish; if it is not available, two forks are used to eat the fish. If you are served a whole piece of fish, press it one against the plate and use the other fork to separate the fish meat from the bones. After eating this piece, turn the piece over to the other side and repeat the process. Ideally, a neat fish skeleton should remain on the plate after you finish eating.

Salad fork

The salad fork has four prongs and a wide base. This shape was given to the fork specifically so that with its help it was possible to use salads of different types. A salad knife is served with a salad fork. They use a salad fork in the same way as a dining one: they turn it over with the curved side up and stick it into large pieces or leaves, cutting them off with a knife. When serving finely cut salad, use the fork as a spoon.

Dessert fork

The dessert fork is the smallest fork with two or three shortened prongs. There are dessert forks designed for pies, cakes and pastries, and special two-pronged forks for fruits. If the dessert knife is not served, then the dessert fork is held in the right hand: the pieces of dessert are separated with the edge of the fork, pricked and sent to the mouth. During the buffet table, a baking fork is used: a device with a wide, pointed extreme tooth. These cut pieces of baked goods with a prong like a knife, holding a plate of dessert in one hand.

Word fork (English fork) comes from the Latin "fulka", which means garden pitchfork. The fork, as a cutlery, was familiar to the ancient Greeks. At that time, forks were relatively large, had only two massive, straight prongs and served to serve large chunks of meat over dishes. Another early reference to the fork can be found in the Old Testament, Book of Samuel 2:13 ("When someone offered a sacrifice, the priestly lad, while cooking meat, came with a fork in his hand.").

By the 7th century AD, in Asia Minor, the fork had become a symbol of wealth and power and was used by royal families during feasts. From the 10th century, forks spread to the territory of the Byzantine Empire, where only aristocrats used such cutlery. From there, in the 11th century, the fork was brought to Venice by a Byzantine princess who became the Doge's wife. However, in Italy, the fork did not find use for a long time (more on that later) and only by the 16th century gained popularity. It is not difficult to guess that in the rest of Europe this necessary cutlery appeared only at the end of the 16th century. And it spread only to the 18th.

Today, we take the fork for granted. In addition, the ease of use has not yet been canceled. Why, then, was the fork making its way to our table so slowly?

The fact is that, despite the fact that, as we remember, in Greece, meat was laid out on dishes with a fork, it was accepted by hand. Also ate and Ancient Rome... This habit was so deeply rooted in the hearts of people that it was not easy to supplant it. With the beginning of the spread of Christianity, the position of the fork only shook: the fact is that, preaching monotheism, Christians naturally waged a "war" against the pantheons of the gods of Rome, Greece, Egypt ... It was decided that since only God and the Devil exist, then all the old gods were written into demons - servants of the Devil, who have power over the individual elements of nature, and thus confuse the minds of people with their imaginary power. Accordingly, much of what had to do with the ancient gods was declared forbidden - including the fork: Poseidon's trident. In addition, the pitchfork was also assigned an unseemly role: the persistent expression "The Devil's pitchfork" has survived to this day.

Thus, unlike the "eastern barbarians", all "enlightened Europeans" up to the 16th century ate mainly with their hands, or at worst with a knife. When the fork appeared in England, it was simply ridiculed. “Why do we need a fork, if the Lord Himself gave us hands,” approximately the same sentiments reigned throughout Europe at that time. So the path of acceptance of the fork was very thorny.

Now let's talk about why it is customary to put the fork with the cloves down when setting the table. There are several theories on this score: according to the first of them, once during a feast, King George the 5th was upset by something and, in a fit of anger, fiercely loaded his fist on the table ... As a result, the monarch's hand fell on the teeth of the fork, and his mood deteriorated even more ...

According to another version, since the fork was a luxury item for a long time, it often boasted to know the fame of the master who made this or that piece of tableware. Since the stamp and engraving were applied to the reverse side, the fork was also placed so that its origin could be discerned from afar.

According to the third version, which is again associated with the English royal court, there was a tradition to cut off all the corners of a sandwich served with tea. And so that God forbid the monarch did not suspect hostility towards his person, the fork was held only with its teeth down. For the same reason, the knife was placed with the blade inward to the plate, so that finding such a dangerous object on the table did not look like a threat.

Another interesting point, the modern European tradition suggests holding a fork with the cloves down during the meal. Americans, on the other hand, prefer to use e with the tines up. This feature has been played up in several films, where American spies were exposed only because they ate with a fork, as is customary in their homeland. So if you are an enemy agent, take the trouble to learn the traditions of the local population.

The fork is perhaps the most mysterious of all cutlery. Some say that this is the youngest cutlery, others say that forks were used in ancient times.

It is hard to imagine, but the National Museum of Naples contains a found in one of the ancient graves. She is more than two and a half thousand years old.

The exact time of the invention of the fork is unknown. In some countries, it was known even in ancient times, although at that time it had only one prong (and whether it is a fork - it is still worth arguing). But the ancient Romans added one more to her. It’s a pity that they used a fork only to pull out the meat boiled in the boiler. Then this meat was eaten without the aid of appliances.

The ancient Romans and Greeks, while talking about beauty, ate with their hands. Roman poet Ovid taught them to eat with your fingertips and wipe them on bread after eating. Later in Greece, special gloves with rigid tips were worn on the hands.

Something similar to a modern fork, with only five, and sometimes a large number of teeth, appeared in Asia in the 10th century. A hundred years later, this invention reached Europe, but the fork became widespread only by the 16th century: a sharp awl, with which food and ate was pricked, was replaced by a fork with two teeth.

There is information that the fork appeared in Europe and finally formed as a cutlery in the enlightened time - at the end of the 11th century, and even has a completely exact date and place of birth. There is evidence that the fork was born in 1072 year in Byzantium in the city of Constantinople in the imperial palace. It was made in one copy of gold, and its handle was decorated with mother-of-pearl inlaid on ivory. This fork was intended for the Byzantine princess Maria of Iverskaya, the widow of the Emperor Michael Duca. She can be safely considered the inventor of the fork - she invented and ordered it herself, as a subject of imperial dignity, considering it humiliating for herself to eat with her hands.

After 100 years, the fork came from Byzantium to Italy, where it was first made in two copies - for the Venetian Doge and the Pope. A fork was made at that time with two prongs and was rather a kind of indicator of the monarch's prestige, and not at all a cutlery. It was considered more convenient eat with your hands or.

French kings first began to eat with a fork, and not with their hands, only at the end of the 14th century. All attempts to introduce the plug into use met with stubborn resistance from the Church. Several pamphlets were written against the fork, in which the fork was denounced as a vivid example of the corruption of morals, and its use at the courts of monarchs was viewed as godlessness or even a connection with the devil.

In the pamphlet "Isle of Hermaphrodites", published at the end of the 16th century and directed against the minions of the French king Henry III, who adhered to a non-traditional sexual orientation, it is said as something extraordinary that they never touched meat with their hands. but they used forks, "no matter how hard it costs them."

Nevertheless, the fork is beginning to win back its right to be a cutlery. The first mentions of forks in Europe date back to the 14th century: for example, there were several forks in the treasury of the Duke of Breton John II. True, they did not eat meat with them, but fruit or fried cheese.

Peter Galveston, the favorite of King Edward II of England, had 69 silver spoons and three forks with which he ate a pear.

In the inventory of the wealth of the Hungarian queen Clementia for 1328, thirty spoons and one fork of gold are mentioned. Charles V had from 1379 several gold forks with cuttings inlaid with precious stones, which were used for the rare desserts served at the most exquisite courtyards of the time.

The French queen Jeanne d'Evreux left after her death one fork, carefully packed in a small chest, and 64 spoons.

The fork came to England at the beginning of the 17th century, but they began to use it constantly at court during the reign of Elizabeth, and, at first, it was believed that bringing food to the mouth with a fork, and not with your hands - queen's privilege. The rest of the subjects did it with their hands, wearing gloves. It was only in 1860 that the mass production of cutlery was launched in England.

By the end of the 18th century, in almost all European countries, a dining room with a sharp end gave way to a knife with a rounded blade. There was no longer the need to prick pieces of food on the knife, since this function performed a fork.

The Russian history of the fork begins in the 18th century. In the 17th century, even at the royal table, only a knife and a spoon were used. The cut pieces were taken either by hand, or "whatever was more capable."

The fork appeared in Russia in 1606, it is believed that Marina Mnishek brought it. At his wedding feast in In the Kremlin Marina with a fork shocked the Russian boyars and clergy. This fork became almost a pretext for a popular uprising against False Dmitry. The argument was deadly simple: since the tsar and the tsarina eat not with their hands, but with some kind of spear, it means that they are not Russians and not monarchs, but a product of the devil. Even the word fork itself finally entered the Russian language only in the 18th century, and until that time this object was called "spear" and "Viltsy".

The Russian people's prejudice against the fork was long and lasting. But the Russian aristocracy, not without the help of Peter I, joined this cutlery as an element luxury. The first forks were with two prongs and were only owned by very wealthy people. At tsarist receptions, forks were placed on the plates only for especially distinguished guests. Pyotr Alekseevich himself used a fork everywhere. His orderly always carried a knife, fork and spoon with him, serving them to the king during his meal. The Russian people began to use the fork only in the 19th century.

Until the 20th century, among the broad popular masses, the fork did not at all was known for remaining belonging to the aristocrats and educated. The Russian people considered a fork uncomfortable and unnecessary, as evidenced by the saying "With a spoon - what with a net, with a fork - what I will milk." The people were accustomed to the fork, in essence, the Soviet government with its system of mass public canteens, where an aluminum fork was relied on for every visitor. Until now, superstitions reflect a wary attitude towards the fork - it is believed that it should not be given - this is a sign of arrogance.

Currently, the fork is the most popular and frequently used piece of kitchen utensils.

Nowadays, the idea that it is more convenient to take solid and fatty foods from the plate not with your fingers, but with a fork, seems reasonable and simple. The fork is the youngest of the cutlery. Usually its appearance in everyday life is attributed to the Middle Ages, but this is not entirely true; its prototype appeared much earlier. Archaeological discoveries have shown that this sharp instrument was used even in ancient egypt and Mesopotamia. The culture of using a common fork during a meal was common in ancient Greece and Rome, but in all cases it was a large device with two prongs for pulling meat out of a cauldron or vat. The Neapolitan Archaeological Museum contains a fork found in the ancient city of Paestum in southwestern Italy. She is about two and a half thousand years old. In the new Rome, that is, the Byzantine Empire, the fork was also used, and it was from there that it began its march into the world, but in a new capacity. It happened under very amusing circumstances.

Public opinion

In the 11th century, a Venetian doge married a Greek princess. By this time, in the Byzantine world, forks were already used at the table, at least in the Venetian chronicle we read that the princess brought food to her mouth with the help of two-toothed golden forks, but in Venice this caused a terrible scandal. The novelty seemed like refinement on the verge of blasphemy. How can you disdain God-given food and bring it to your mouth with some kind of nasty forks! After some time, the princess fell ill with some disgusting disease, which Saint Bonaventure, without hesitation, declared God's punishment.

However, starting from the 13th century, the fork is like individual device for food, mentioned in descriptions of household items of European monarchs. For example, in 1297 it was named a personal item of King Edward 1. It was also mentioned in 1379 among the jewels of the French king Charles 5.

The Italians were especially fond of this subject, about which medieval culinary manuscripts and descriptions of feasts in the literary works of that time. Many historians point to Italy, or rather, Venice as the birthplace of the European plug. According to one of the greatest connoisseurs of the history of modern gastronomy, Jean-Louis Flandrin, the fork "was allegedly invented in Venice, and in the 14-15th centuries it became known in Italian homes, and later, in the 16-17th centuries, reached the neighboring countries of Italy." But by and large, at the end of the Middle Ages, the fork still appears as a tool used to take food from a common dish.

Procession in Europe

In the 14-16 centuries, forks remain a whim of the rich, and in France, at the same time they stopped eating from a knife and used a one-tooth fork, such as an awl, to prick pieces of food on it.
For a long time, using a fork at the table was considered extravagant, funny and even a little dangerous. In the second half of the 16th century, the fork, which appeared in the court routine of the French king Henry 3, strengthened the rumor about his licentiousness.
Louis 14 could not grasp the meaning of the fork for a long time. He even forbade the Duke of Burgundy to eat with a fork in his presence, and only at the end of his life did the monarch take pity on the unfortunate courtyard and admitted that she was useful.
Back in the 17th century, the fork remained a luxury item available only to the upper class for a simple reason. That they were made of precious metals.
Forks came to England only in 1611. It is believed that they were brought from his European journey by the traveler Thomas Coryet, for which he was jokingly nicknamed Furcifer, which meant the fork-bearer. In 1608, while traveling to Italy, he kept a diary, supplemented by notes about what impressed him especially. There, among other things, there is such an entry:

“When Italians eat meat, they use small pitchforks made of iron or steel and sometimes silver. They cannot be forced to eat with their hands, they think that it is not good, because not everyone has clean hands. "

Before heading home, Coriet acquired such a pitchfork. Their shape was not much like a modern fork - this device had only two prongs, and the handle, decorated with a knob, was very tiny. In England, the new instrument was met with skepticism. The British considered a fork overkill and preferred to use their hands. It took at least half a century before forks were used as a replacement for fingers.

Military regulations

However, suspicions hung over the fork for a very long time. For example, even in 1897, the charter of the Royal Navy prohibited sailors from using a knife and fork while eating. These cutlery, in the opinion of the British Admiralty, undermined discipline and engendered effeminacy among the lower ranks, but the fork managed to break through the wall of mistrust and make its way to life.

As already mentioned, the first European forks were made of gold and silver and had two teeth. They were used mainly to serve meat or fruits to guests from a common dish or when cooking meat, while they continued to take the main food with their hands.

By the beginning of the 19th century, the fork received a third tooth, and by the last decade of the same century, it acquired the usual four-tooth appearance. Before that, she was already known in Italy, where she adapted herself for eating pasta.

In the middle of the 18th and early 19th centuries, Europe learned a huge number of new products. Recipes for exquisite dishes were developed that required special attention. As a result, the rules of etiquette became more complicated, and many types of specialized knives, spoons and forks appeared. There are dozens of types of forks - ordinary and snack, for meat, side dishes, fish, fruits, seafood, and so on, but what is hidden behind all this variety of forks? The main motive is one - the desire to leave your hands clean, because eating and getting dirty is embarrassing and embarrassing. "The fork," says Ellias, a historian of European everyday life, "is nothing more than the embodiment of a certain standard of shame and awkward situations."