We all use cutlery. They are such an integral part of our life that we do not even think about the fact that they might not be. As, however, of all man-made objects surrounding us. Here, it would seem - an ordinary plug, which we use since childhood. After all, once it did not exist, which means that someone invented it.
When and by whom was the fork invented? Who owns such a wonderful invention? Unfortunately, an exact answer to this question is impossible. The history of the cutlery familiar to us begins from ancient times, and the name of the person who used it for the first time, history has not conveyed to us. But the process of development and improvement of this useful subject is extremely interesting.
The oldest fork known to us is kept in the Neapolitan National Museum. She was found in Italy, and her age is more than 2.5 thousand years. According to historians, the ancient Romans used the plug, though no one ate then. The fork was used in order to get meat boiling in it from the boiler, which was eaten by hand (in those days it was not considered bad form at all). However, along with the death of the Roman Empire, forks also died. True, later they were reinvented.
In the 9th century, the first mention of a fork as a cutlery appeared in the Middle East. The inhabitants of the West then already used a spoon and knife, however, some dishes were extremely uncomfortable to eat with these devices, so most of the people (with the exception of aristocrats who ate with two knives) continued to eat “uncomfortable” food with their hands.
But the most common opinion among historians is connected with the revival of the fork in 1072 in Constantinople. Then the first, as it is believed, the fork was made in only one copy, especially for the Princess of Byzantium Maria Iverskaya, who is considered to be the inventor of the forks.
The princess did not want to eat with her hands, considering it humiliating, and she herself came up with a new cutlery specially for herself (of course, the princess was not aware of the fact that it was once invented by the inhabitants of Rome). The princess’s fork was made of gold, her handle was decorated with mother of pearl inlay on ivory. True, this fork differed from the modern one, known to us, not only by the high cost of the materials from which it was made, but also by the number of teeth: there were only two of them, and they were straight, and not curved, as now. With such a fork, pieces of food could only be strung, not scooped up. It is clear that such a fork did not bring much convenience in eating, so initially it became not so much a cutlery as an indicator of the prestige of the monarchs.
The invention, which was considered not so much convenient as original, began its journey around the world. In 1379, the fork appeared on the table of Charles V, king of France, on the royal table of England a bizarre two-prong settled three centuries later. The fork arrived in Russia in 1606, thanks to Marina Mnishek. The victorious march of the forks across Russia was continued by Peter the Great, as you know, a zealous admirer of everything European.
However, not everything in the history of the fork was as smooth as it might seem. So, for example, at the court of Louis XIV, famous for its chic feasts, there were no forks yet. More precisely, they certainly existed, but few dared to use them. The man who used the fork while eating was ridiculed for being too sophisticated. Monastic statutes forbade monks to eat with a fork; they called it a doge "devilish invention." What can I say - even in the 19th century, sailors of the English fleet were forbidden to use a plug, it was believed that the use of this device would turn harsh sailors into sissies.
Since then, the fork has changed and gained incredible popularity. However, attempts to improve this device do not stop to this day. Famous designers come up with new and new types of forks, and, as you know, maybe for our distant descendants just such forks will become an everyday cutlery.