SC - Tablewear

[Alderton, Philippa]

Well, since you asked, I had been discussing this with Stefan several months
ago, and this is what he sent me. I haven't changed anything, so I think all
appropriate credits are attached.

##################################

forks-art - 3/27/95

From: Rosemary Goodheart (3/26/95)
To: Mark Harris

A History of the Table Fork

Dennis Sherman/Master Robyyan n'Tor d'Elandris

Many people in the SCA think of the table fork as either "out of period" or
"very late period." Often people insist that the only period forks have two
tines. Actually, table forks were known and used before the year 1000 in the
middle east [Boger, Giblin]. Forks made before 1600 with as many as five
tines
still exist today. What is the real history of the table fork? Let us see.

The fork came to Europe through Italy's nobility in the eleventh century.
Throughout the next five hundred years, the table fork spread throughout
Europe,
and into the lesser social classes. By 1600, the fork was known in England,
although rare and viewed as an Italian affectation, while in Italy even the
merchant classes were using forks regularly.

We can deduce that forks were not common by looking at various inventories
and
wills from the Middle Ages. The few forks listed were made of precious
materials, and presumably kept primarily for dazzle and ostentation. They
may
also have been used as investment pieces for the value of the materials used
[Bailey]. Some specific examples include:

   The Will of John Baret of Bury St. Edmunds, 1463: "Itm J. yeve and
beqwethe
   to Davn John Kertelynge my silvir forke for grene gyngor"[Bailey]
   The Jewelhouse inventory of Henry VIII: "Item one spone wt suckett fork
at
   the end of silver and gilt"[Bailey]
   Inventory of property left by Henry VII: "Item, one Case wherein are xxi
   knives and a fork, the hafts being crystal and chalcedony, the ends
garnished
   with gold" [Hayward]
   "Item, one Case of knives furnished with divers knives and one fork,
whereof
   two be great hafts of silver parcel-gilt, the case covered with crimson
   velvet" [Hayward].

Forks also appear in an inventory of silverware in Florence, taken in 1361
[Giblin], in inventories of Charles V and Charles VI of France [Bailey], and
in
Italian cookbooks of the late 1400's [Giblin]. All these references do not
mean
that forks were common - the fork was known only to the very uppermost
classes,
and seldom used even among them.

A Byzantine princess introduced the table fork to Europe in the eleventh
century. The story varies slightly depending on the source, but the essence
is
that a nobleman, probably Domenico Selvo (or Silvio), heir to the Doge of
Venice, married a princess from Byzantium. This Byzantine princess brought a
case of two- tined table forks to Venice as part of her luggage. Forks seem
to
have been novelties in Byzantium, but not unknown. Many examples can be
found in
Byzantine art, according to Boger and Henisch.

The princess outraged the populace and the clergy by refusing to eat with
her
hands:

  "Instead of eating with her fingers like other people, the princess cuts
  up her food into small pieces and eats them by means of little golden
  forks with two prongs."[Giblin]

  "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."[Giblin]

The princess apparently died before very long, of some wasting disease,
prompting Peter Damian, Cardinal Bishop of Ostia to write,

  "Of the Venetian Doge's wife, whose body, after her excessive delicacy,
  entirely rotted away"[Henisch]

Other evidence of the fork coming to Europe from the east is given in a
letter
by a Franciscan monk to Louis IX of France. He discusses the eating habits
of
the Tartars in the middle of the thirteenth century:

  "With the point of a knife or a fork especially made for this purpose -
  like those with which we are accustomed to eat pears or apples cooked in
  wine - they offer to each of those standing around one or two
  mouthfuls."[Henisch]

This fragment of a letter and listings in inventories and wills link the
fork
with fruits and sweetmeats. We also see the fork was used to eat dishes that
included a sticky sauce or that might stain the fingers [Boger, Bailey]. At
one
time, this practice was primarily that of courtesans, prompting the Church
to
ban the fork as an immoral influence [Gruber].

The fork would be used to spear a piece of food, lift it from the plate or
serving bowl, and shake any excess sauce from it. Then one would pluck the
food
from the fork using the tips of the fingers and place the morsel in the
mouth.
The early forks were small, with short straight tines, and therefore
probably
used only for spearing and holding food, rather than scooping. The curve
with
which we are familiar in the modern fork was introduced in France in the
seventeenth century [Boger.]

Forks were known and used in Spain, at least by the upper classes, by the
time
of the Armada. A large assortment was recovered from the wreck of La Girona,
which sank off the coast of Ireland in 1588. La Girona carried Don Alonso de
Leiva and his retinue, who apparently traveled well equipped. Don Alonso is
known to have entertained the Duke of Medina Sidonia before the Armada
sailed,
"in grand style, with musical accompaniment, at his table sumptuously set
with
silver plate and cutlery and gold-plated candelabra [Flanagan]." This
cutlery
included a large number of forks, with anywhere from two to five tines.
These
tines are all straight, as opposed to curved, although the five tined
variety
appears to be slightly splayed at the points. The many pieces recovered are
fragmentary - either tines or handles, but few pieces still joined. The
handles
include a simple baluster stem with a terminal in the form of a hoof, to
elegant
handles with terminals in the form of serpents or of human torsos, among
others.
One wonders what was the purpose of so many different styles of fork.

Thomas Coryat of Odcombe, near Yeovil, in a book titled "Coryat's Curdities
Hastily gobbled up in Five Months Travels in France, Savoy, Italy, &c.,"
published in London, 1611, claims to be one of the first Englishmen to use a
fork. We see from his writing that while forks were almost unknown in
England,
they were common in Italy and not unusual in other parts of Europe.

  I observed a custome in all those Italian Cities and Townes through which
  I passed, that is not used in any other country that I saw in my travels,
  neither do I thinke that any other nation of Christendome doth use it, but
  only Italy. The Italian, and also most strangers that are commorant in
  Italy, doe alwaies, at their meales use a little forke when they cut the
  meate; for while with their knife, which they hold in one hand, they cut
  the meate out of the dish, they fasten their forke which they hold in
  their other hande, upon the same dish, so that whatsoever he be that
  sitteth in the company of any others at meate, should unadvisedly touch
  the dish of meate with his fingers, from which all at the table doe cut he
  will give occasion of offence unto the company as having transgressed the
  lawes of good manners, insomuch for his error he shall be at least
  browbeaten, if not reprehended in words. This forme of feeding I
  understand is generally used in all places of Italy, their forks being for
  the most part made of yron or steele, and some of silver, but those are
  used only by gentlemen. The reason of this their curiosity, is because the
  Italian cannot by any means endure to have his dish touched with fingers,
  seeing all men's fingers are not alike cleane. Hereupon I myselfe thought
  good to imitate the Italian fashion by this forked cutting of meate, not
  only while I was in Italy, but also in Germany, and oftentimes in England,
  since I came home, being once quipped for that frequent using of my forke
  by a certain learned gentleman a familiar friend of mine, one Mr. Lawrence
  Whittaker, who in his merry humour, doubted not to call me at table
  Furcifer, only for using a forke at feeding but for no other cause.

The humor is, according to Bailey, in the use of "Furcifer" as a pun,
meaning
fork-bearer, and also gallows-bird.

Ben Jonson also used forks as the basis of humor in two of his plays. In
"Volpone" (1606), Sir Politick Would-be instructs Peregrine most humorously
on
correct behavior while in Italy, including "Then must you learn the use and
handling of your silver fork at meals." [Act IV Scene I]. And in "The Devil
is
an Ass" (1616):

  MEERCROFT, the projector. Upon my project of the forks . . .

  SLEDGE. Forks! What be they?

  MEERCROFT. The laudable use of forks, brought into custom here as they are
  in Italy to the sparing of napkins . . .

In a slightly more serious vein, Henisch quotes a letter by one Montaigne,
of
the late sixteenth century, as follows:

  I could dine without a tablecloth, but to dine in the German fashion,
  without a clean napkin, I should find very uncomfortable. I soil them more
  than the Germans or Italians, as I make very little use of either spoon or
  fork.

The earliest fork known to have been made in England is now in the Victoria
and
Albert Museum. It bears the crests of John Manners, 8th Earl of Rutland and
his
wife Frances, daughter of Edward Lord Montagu of Boughton [Bailey]. It is
two-tined and squarish, made of silver, and bears the London hallmark for
1632-3
[Hayward].

In other parts of Europe, it became customary to make knives and forks in
sets.
Better quality knives of the sixteenth century came in sets of a dozen or
more
contained in a leather case, and included a fork to be used for serving
[Hayward]. This case or "stocke" is what the inventories of Henry VIII refer
to.
Only very wealthy households would provide knives for guests. It was much
more
common for people to carry their own cutlery with them [Hayward, Bailey].
Even
the inns were not equipped with tableware, expecting the traveller to
provide
their own [Bailey]. As forks became more common, sets of knife and fork,
often
with a sheath or case for the pair, came into use. Some travelers had a
collapsible or folding set of knife, fork, and spoon [Giblin], much like
today's
camping tableware.

So, there are a variety of table forks available for use in the period of
the
SCA. The persona most likely to use a fork would be a rich, late period
Italian,
while the least likely would be an early period Englishman (or Saxon, or
Briton). A poor persona would be very unlikely to use a fork at any time in
the
SCA period. The richer, later period, and closer to Italy a western European
is,
the more likely they are to use a fork at table.

Sources

Bailey, C.T.P. Knives and Forks. London: The Medici Society, 1927.

Boger, Ann. Consuming Passions: The Art of Food and Drink. Cleveland:
Cleveland
Museum of Art, 1983.

Flanagan, Laurence. Ireland's Armada Legacy. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan,
1988.

Giblin, James Cross. From Hand to Mouth. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1987.

Gruber, Alain. Silverware. New York: Rizzoli International Publications,
Inc.,
1982.

Harrison, Molly. The Kitchen in History. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons,
1972.

Hayward, J.F. English Cutlery, sixteenth to eighteenth century. London:
Victoria
and Albert Museum, 1956.

Henisch, Bridget Ann. Fast and Feast, Food in Medieval Society. University
Park,
PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1976.

Millikin, William M. "Early Christian Fork and Spoon", The Bulletin of the
Cleveland Museum of Art, 44(Oct. 1957), 185+.


Webbed by Wolfgang Rotkopf <rodmur at ecst.csuchico.edu>

Phlip

Nolo disputare, volo somniare et contendere, et iterum somniare.

phlip at morganco.net

Philippa Farrour
Caer Frig
Southeastern Ohio

"All things are poisons.  It is simply the dose that distinguishes between a
poison and a remedy." -Paracelsus

"Oats -- a grain which in England sustains the horses, and in
Scotland, the men." -- Johnson

"It was pleasant to me to find that 'oats,' the 'food of horses,' were
so much used as the food of the people in Johnson's own town." --
Boswell

"And where will you find such horses, and such men?" -- Anonymous