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. World Of Wonders
Wonders Of Our Planet
Forks
Forks have been known since the time of Moses and the pharaohs:
they are even mentioned in the Old Testament.
One subject, different roles
Surprisingly, such a familiar, everyday thing as a fork, for many centuries caused controversy and even wars, was perceived as an attack on religious foundations. In a word, her path to our table was long and thorny.
Only in the 16th century did they begin to use it in enlightened Europe. And before that, they ate with a spoon and even with their hands. And after all, it cannot be said that mankind only then thought of this simple invention! What are you talking about, the first bone forks were found in the burials of the Kijia people, who lived on the territory of modern China in the Bronze Age.
Forks have been known since the time of Moses and the pharaohs: they are even mentioned in the Old Testament. Bronze, copper, silver, iron forks were in Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome. True, they were used only in the kitchen: with large two-toothed or three-pronged straight forks with a powerful handle, they pulled out pieces of meat from the boiler, removed animal carcasses from skewers.
This was the end of the role of the fork: then the food was taken by hand and carried into the mouth. True, even here it was not without etiquette: the ancient Roman poet Ovid taught his contemporaries not to grab meat or vegetables with their fingers, but to take them with their fingertips, which should then be wiped not with a hollow toga, but with bread.
Oriental tricks
Centuries passed, culture developed, including the culture of the meal. A feast is not just satisfying hunger. This is the enjoyment of delicious food, interesting conversation, communication, even music, and therefore the environment requires an appropriate one. Exquisite crockery, embroidered tablecloths... And against such a background, you have to eat with your hands everything that you can't pick up with a spoon? Oh, how ugly... Some particularly squeamish people came up with the idea of putting on special gloves for dinner, which they threw away after use. It got too expensive.
In the 7th century in the East, they finally thought of adapting a fork from the kitchen for feasts. Reduced, of course, five times - and here is the first timid attempt to chop a piece on a fork and bring it to your mouth. Drum roll... Hooray! The process has begun!
By the 10th century, the entire East was already using table forks. Who is richer - gold and silver, who is simpler - copper and bronze. Sizes - from tiny for berries to quite solid for meat and fish; the number of teeth is from two to six. Whoever likes it. And it seems that it was from the East that the fork came to Byzantium.
And perhaps not. There is a version that the fork appeared in Byzantium in the 11th century on its own, and not at all as an element of a foreign culture. It was invented by a noble lady.
fashionable thing
Once upon a time there lived in Constantinople in the 11th century Princess Mary of Alan, the widow of Emperor Michael VII Doukas. The high-born lady considered it humiliating to eat with her hands and ordered to make a special device for herself in a single copy. Thus, the first fork appeared in Byzantium, moreover, it was gold, two-toothed, with a handle inlaid with mother-of-pearl and ivory.
The princess proudly sat down at the table with her personal fork, which struck the whole aristocracy on the spot. And very soon the Byzantine nobility began to use forks, appreciating all the elegance and convenience of the invention of Mary of Alana.
So the fork turned into a symbol of belonging to a high class, to the nobility, which should not get their hands dirty at the table. And in this role went on a tour of the world. Namely, to Venice, where another Byzantine princess brought the fork.
Devilish machinations
Here the fork had to endure a lot. For the first time, the Venetians saw her in 1004 during the wedding feast of the Doge (the Doge is the head of the republic in medieval Venice and Genoa. - Ed.) Giovanni Orseolo with the Byzantine Princess Mary. When the guests plunged their hands into the dishes with dishes, the newlywed took out an elegant fork from a golden case, picked up a piece of food with it and brought it to her lips. The guests gasped and ... were indignant. They considered that the Byzantine pride thus humiliated Venice, made it clear the difference between the refined court of Constantinople and the provincial European state. In short, the fork failed.
The second attempt took place 70 years later. And again, with a fork, a Byzantine princess appeared in Venice - this time Theodora Anna Doukas. In 1075, she became the wife of Doge Domenico Selvo and began to instill oriental habits in the Venetian court.
She not only used the fork herself, but also demanded the same from the courtiers. Against her I rebelled the Church. Preacher Pierre Damiani called on the princess herself and on everyone who picks up a fork, heavenly punishments, for this object is the weapon of the devil. After all, Satan has a pitchfork in his hands, and I and the fork are the same, only smaller in size.
By the way, the satanic pitchfork with which sinners are tormented in hell is nothing but the trident of Neptune. In the midst of the struggle against paganism, all the ancient gods were declared evil spirits. So the trident, similar to a pitchfork, fell into the hands of the devil.
When Theodora Anna died a few years later of gangrene, the Church announced that the Lord had punished the wicked for the fork.
Oddly enough, this had no effect on the Venetians. Pasta lovers quickly realized that eating hot, slippery pasta with a fork is much more convenient than eating with your hands. And they boldly began to wield the "devil's tool" at the table. Moreover, in St. Mark's Cathedral - the main one in Venice - at the "Last Supper" Christ and St. Peter ... eat with a fork and a knife. The fork won!
Galloping across Europe
From Venice, the fork, of course, began to spread throughout Europe and was initially rebuffed everywhere. For example, Queen Anne of Austria, whom we all remember thanks to the Three Musketeers, simply kicked out those who tried to use a fork from the table. Her son Louis XIV, the famous Sun King, ate with his hands, calling his fingers "royal cutlery". Only in 1684 did the ruler of France dare to touch the fork.
In England and Germany, forks appeared in noble houses at the end of the 17th century, but the Church stubbornly continued to curse this demonic invention. For example, the famous composer of the 17th century, Claudio Monteverdi, after having dinner, read three prayers to atone for sin - the use of a fork. Well, in Italian monasteries - strongholds of the true faith, forks were not used until the 18th century.
Yes, monks! Until 1897, sailors in the British Royal Navy were forbidden to use forks, as they "weaken discipline and courage." And indeed: there is no beast more terrible than a fork ...
By the end of the 18th century, all of Europe was already using a knife and fork at the table. Because of this, by the way, the shape of table knives has changed: the blades have become rounded at the end. After all, from now on, having a fork, it was not required to prick pieces on a knife.
On the home side
The fork came to Rus' from Poland. And again there was a wedding, and again everything ended badly. On May 8, 1606, False Dmitry I married Marina Mnishek, and the newlyweds took out forks at the feast. Than they discovered their traitorous nature. The clergymen and boyars present immediately realized that before them was not a legitimate tsar at all, but an impostor and a Polish fosterling who had come to shake holy Rus'. You yourself know how sad it all ended - both for False Dmitry, and for Marina, and for Rus'.
The word “fork” itself was not used until the 18th century: the device was called a horn and was suspected of having a devilish essence in it. At the very least, harmful foreign influence. However, it was possible for selected people to eat with a fork. So, at the feasts of the sovereign Alexei Mikhailovich, spoons and bread were placed on the common table, but the autocrat and the most honored guests were served a separate “plate and forks” (small pitchforks). As you can see, the fork was still the prerogative of the king.
The situation was radically changed by Peter I: he not only shaved the beards of the boyars, but also ordered his subjects to use cutlery. The aristocracy went towards the reformer tsar, but the common people did not accept the innovation. Until the end of the 19th century, peasants managed the old fashioned way: with a spoon and hands.
The fork became truly popular only after the revolution thanks to catering, where everyone was given not only a spoon, but also a fork.
By the way, what about the spoon? Is her story boring and mundane? In no case! A spoon is not only a cutlery, but also a kind of “magic wand”. About her next time.
Interesting Facts
The set of equipment of the German soldier during the Second World War included a combined spoon-fork. Connected by a rivet, the devices could rotate freely and be fixed in one line.
