A table fork

I've been wondering about the origins of everyday artifacts in my home.

How about the fork - the kind you put on your dinner table? I thought the common table fork would be a very old invention, but it seems it's actually a relatively recent addition to the table. Sure, in some cultures it would never have been thought of - where chopsticks serve the same purpose. But in the western world, how did we last so long with dirty fingers after every meal. This entry became a bit of a detective story - for better or worse - like evolutionary psychology.

I'm sure every modern western home has a full set of forks, perhaps not all matching. Here's a picture of a fork I found in my kitchen drawer - from an 8-place setting by William Fraser (Nortica style). And I found a lot of other forks about too - i.e., the kind I'm trying to convince my kids to use (see picture).

Maybe you live in a home with an extravagant four-fork place setting (dinner fork, salad fork, fish fork, dessert fork - I'm sure there are more), as any newylwed is bound to be aware of. How luxurious to arrive at someone's home to be entrusted with a set of forks for your own personal use! It seems only yesterday that you had to bring your own fork, or worse, make do with a single communal serving fork in the middle of the table (at a Greek or Roman table). (On a side note, when Charles I of England introduced the first modern table setting in 1633 he said: "It is decent to use a fork." Did this begin the fork's rise?)

So why did it take so long for such a useful tool to become a success? Even after it was introduced into Europe, in Italy, it still took around 500 years to become widely accepted across all classes.

Maybe it's because there have been surprisingly few innovations in eating over time. The introduction of a new one is then bound to be resisted. "If it ain't broke don't fix it."

Maybe some people did actually think they were unnecessary. A member of the Venetian clergy said, when the fork first made its appearance in Venice from Byzantium in the 11th century, "God in his wisdom has provided man with natural forks - his fingers. Therefore it is an insult to Him to substitute artificial metallic forks for them when eating." But this was probably said out of prejudice, fear of cultural change, and distrust of the Byzantine princess who brought the detested artifact and who was betrothed to an heir to the Doge.

Another thought is that, contrary to what you might think, forks are not so obvious to use. Just try to teach a toddler how to use a fork. Spoons? No problem for them. Fingers? A no-brainer. Chopsticks? They're just long fingers aren't they? My kids will stab a piece of food, lift the fork towards their mouth, remove the food with their fingers, stick the fingers into their mouth, and put the fork down, mission accomplished. Which is apparently what early fork users thought they were for: shaking the sauce off.

Should you be scared of a fork? Think of the sell: "Go on, it's easy! Just put this thing with sharp metal spikes into your mouth. Watch your tongue!" Early forks were very sharp with quite long metal tines so that the precious metal would wear down more slowly. The French reportedly thought they were dangerous, but probably they just didn't trust the Italians, who, after getting used to the Byzantine gift, spread them to Europe.

Was it the fork's association with nastiness? The word fork comes from the Old English forca ("forked instrument used by torturers"), which was "appropriated" from the Latin furca ("pitchfork"), a farming implement. In another nasty association (to some tastebuds) parsnips are named after the Latin word pastinaca from pastinum ("two-pronged fork", from the shape of the root).

Finally, maybe it was because the fork took so long to evolve: "I'll wait for version 2.0." After its controversial arrival in Italy in the 11th century it took over 500 years to spread throughout Europe and the New World. But these forks were of the two-tine variety. It wasn't until the 17th century that two more tines were added. And then the bowl shape. The final innovation, electro-plating, completed the fork's evolutionary appearance in every kitchen drawer and dinner table. Oh, and don't forget the spork.

My feeling is that it was hygiene, cleanliness, and civilized manners that probably provided the right evolutionary environment. These swept through Europe starting in the 16th century, requiring a good quality fork (chopsticks already lost the game in Europe, but that must be another story.) And the rest is (recent) history.

(The evolution of the pitchfork and other agricultural forks is much more difficult to assemble, but these artifacts are out of scope of Artifactology.)

Links:
A history of the table fork (from the Society for Creative Anachronism, who are concerned about using the right kind of fork in the right way)
Another history of the fork
A history of the fork in England
Roman silverware and dishes (at Kidipede)


Next post: the pillow.