In addition to the usual forks with four prongs, there are many more varieties of this cutlery of various shapes. Fine dining restaurants include two-barreled herring forks, a five-prong sprat fork, a lobster needle, and a three-prong oyster fork. Today, even children know how to use cutlery, and several centuries ago, the use of a fork was considered disagreeable and was condemned by the church.
Despite the fact that the oldest forks found by archaeologists belonged to the ancient Egyptians, in Europe these cutlery came into use only in the 1700s. A little later, they became popular in America. It is believed that False Dmitry brought the first fork to Russia. During the wedding feast, the impostor who married Marina Mnishek decided to demonstrate the fork to the guests, but this trick killed him. When the boyars were preparing a plan to overthrow False Dmitry, they used this evidence to prove to the common people the non-Russian origin of the liar.
In ancient times, according to archaeologists, forks were used to prepare and serve dishes. The cutlery found has two prongs. Used forks in ancient Rome. Most often they were made of bronze or silver. Presumably, in the Byzantine Empire, the table was already served with forks.
During the first millennium, cutlery resembling modern forks was common in Persia, most often used by representatives of the wealthy classes. In Western Europe, on the contrary, they preferred to eat with a spoon, a knife, or even with their hands.
The spread of surebets in Europe started in Italy. Perhaps one of the reasons for the popularity of these cutlery was the use of pasta. Forks began to appear on the tables of Italians in the 11th century, most likely due to the proximity to Byzantium. It was very convenient to eat spaghetti with forks, but gradually the Italians found that these cutlery was no less convenient for other dishes.
The distribution of forks was constantly opposed by the church. In particular, the Byzantine princess Theodore Anna Ducaine was unlucky. For the celebration of the wedding with the Venetian Domenico Selvo, she made sure that each guest had a fork on the table, and … lost it. The clergy regarded this as an act not pleasing to God. The guests sincerely believed that it was much more natural to eat with their hands, because, in their opinion, man was created with ten fingers. Several years later, the Byzantine bride died of an unknown illness. Many then considered that this was the punishment for using forks and showing disrespect for God.
Forks also played an important role at the wedding of the Italian Catherine de Medici and the French king Henry II, which took place in 1533. Katerina brought a collection of silver forks to the wedding, which caused a real stir among the royal families, everyone wanted to acquire the same appliances. This is how the fashion for the use of forks came to France.
In Spain, forks became popular in the 16th century, and in the 17th century, forks were heard in America. Interestingly, in 1630, the governor of Massachusetts had the first fork in all of colonial America. In England, forks came into wide use in the 18th century, and in 1860 the mass production of these cutlery began.
Forks are so popular in some countries that monuments are even erected in their honor. In our review unusual monuments plugs from America, Canada and Russia!
