Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-07
KNIFE, FORK,
AND SPOON

are even beginning to lose ground, as, for in
stance, in the case of asparagus and salads.
where fashion prescribes the use of the fingers.
Nevertheless, one can hardly imagine the time
when these instruments were regarded as
superfluous and often even as sinful luxury.
Our forefathers, who thought more of
rich meal ate, even as the Greeks and Romans.
in the most primitive way, that is to say, they
took the food with their fingers The spoon too
was quite superfous; for if they wanted to
partake of the sauce they simply squeezed
the bread into the shape of a spoon and dipped
it into the sauce or broth of the common bowl.
Prejudices Against Forks
THE fork is of relatively recent date. 1t
made its first appearance toward the end OF
the tenth century. Peter Galveston. favor
tie of King Edward H., had sixty-nine silver
spoons and three forks. But the chronicle of
that epoch adds that these forks were reserved
for the sole to eat pears with Queen
ClementIne of Hungary, IN 1929, had thirty
spoons and one fork. and Queen Anna of
Bourbon had even a golden one, which was
later inherited by Charles V. of France. The
first inventory where forks appear IN greater
number is that of Gabrielle d Estrees Gs9o).
She had twenty forks, which, however, served
only to toast bread with. and Gabrielle as
well the Prince de Condo, the sovereign as
well as the subject, all ate with their fingers.
As strange it may appear, they considered
it an offense against natural simplicity when,
at the beginning of the fifteenth century, some
patrician families of Italy adopted the custom
of using fork-a custom that according to
some authors, had been brought to Venice by
Byzantine Princess. curious pamphlet
written against the favorites of Henry III.
bears witness to the Indignation its introduce
ton aroused in France. Firstly" says the
anonymous author, they never touch the
meat with their hands but with forks" And
farther on, 1T is strictly forbidden in this
country to touch salad with the hands but
they rather touch their mouths with this
strange instrument than with their fingers.
In Scotland the use of the fork was a penal
offense. Moreover, there existed before the
introduction of the fork kind of code of good
manners to be observed by well educated per-
sons. The famous Erasmus (14o7-Is37) rec
ommends this: Seize with three fingers all
you want to take from the table and in
struction in the Book of ConvenienCy gives
this practical advice: Never touch your nose
with the hand in which you hold your meat
In England. where the fork had been intro
duced by Cargrate about 1908, it became quite
popular IN a very short time
Ancient Natives Had Knives
THE knife can look a longer past. Origi-
nally a weapon against enemies and beasts
of prey, it soon became one of the most impor-
tant tools of every day use Accordingly the
knife was found among peoples OF the lowest
phase of development, long before iron began
to be used in its manufacture. For want OF
the latter and other metals, primitive man
boo, wood, shells, and the sharp teeth of the
shark Later knives were made of stone.
specimens of which have been found by the
thousands in the explorations of prehistoric
burial places
Considerable progress in this direction was
attained by the negroes and aborlglnes OF
Siberia, who, though ignorant OF the prepara-
ton of steel knew how to employ iron in the
manufacture of cutting Instruments In this
respect they were therefore much in advance
of the civilized peoples OF Asia and Europe of
antiquity. The art of hardening iron and turn
ing it into steel then raised the knife to
instrument of universal use. The peasant the
gardener, the artisan the hunter, the warrior,
in short, the representatives of all kinds Of
human professions, changed the original and
simplest cuneiform Of the knife until they had
produced an instrument best adapted to their
particular interests.
The Spoon the Oldest of All
TIL spoon even as the knife, can look back on
a past lost in the depth of the hoariest
tiquity. The hollow of the hand, with which
primitive man carried the water to his mouth.
may have early suggested to him the idea of
producing an artificial instrument for this
purpose. Thus in the explorations made in
Assyria well made spoons of copper or bronze
have been found. The Egyptians too had
artstcally adorned spoons of wood and ivory,
which, however, seemed to have served less
for eating than for other purposes, such, for
instance. as the sprinkling of incense on the
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