How and where did forks originate?
By the 7th century, the nobles and royalty of the Middle East and the Byzantine empire began to use forks at the table for dining. (Until then, they had eaten with their fingers, using only knives for cutlery.) But this did not meet with the approval of the clergy, who considered it sinful to substitute metal forks for the natural forks (fingers) provided by God. It was not until the 16th century that forks gained acceptance in Italy. In 1533, forks were brought from Italy to France when Catherine de Medici married king Henry II. The French, too, were slow in accepting forks, because using them was thought to be an affectation. The French Monarch Louis XIV was known to have forbidden his children from eating with the forks their tutor had encouraged them to use. But gradually, the fork gained popularity and by the beginning of the 19th century, it had become an essential part of the French dinner table.
An Englishman named Thomas Coryate brought the first forks to England after seeing them in Italy during his travels in 1608. He initially faced much ridicule, as the English thought it unnecessary. But over the years, they became prized possessions made of expensive materials intended to impress guests. Small slender-handled forks with two tines were generally used for sweet, sticky foods or for foods such as berries which were likely to stain the fingers. By the mid 1600s, eating with forks was considered fashionable among the wealthy British. Forks used solely for dining were luxuries and thus markers of social status and sophistication among nobles.
