So, after a brief foray into Celtic history last week, this week we return to the less fantastical history of household items. This week begins our historical exploration of cutlery! If you live in Europe or America, it is part of your culture to eat with a fork, but why do we eat with forks and where did the fork come from? When we think of the design of the fork, our imaginations might have us believe that our humble table fork is the descendant of Poseidon’s mighty trident. Unfortunately, the actual history is a little more prosaic, but also quite troubled.
The fork was a bit of a latecomer to our tableware; and people were suspicious of the fork from the beginning due to its resemblance to the devil’s pitchfork. In fact, the name ‘fork’ is derived from the Latin word ‘furca’ which means pitchfork. The fork was also seen as excessively vain, as nobility who first used the fork were regarded as pompous as they refused to touch their food with their hands.
While the fork is now most widely used in the West, its origins are in the Middle East. The first forks were thought to have been used by nobility in Persia in the 7th century and later by the Byzantines in the 11th century. It journeyed to Europe in 1004, when Byzantine-born Venetian princess Maria Argyropoulina brought with her a case of two-pronged golden forks, which were used at her wedding to the son of the Doge of Venice. However, as Maria died of the plague in 1007, so too did the use of the fork. Forks were still used by kings and nobility across Europe in the following centuries; but it wasn’t until 19th century France that the fork become widely used by common people.
