The History of Spoons, Forks and Knives
For modern society, especially those who live in urban areas, they prefer to eat using spoons, forks and knives. Before these cutlery, humans in the past only used their hands to pick up and put food into their mouths. Each of these cutlery has a different history and they were found not simultaneously.
Spoon
The spoon is one of the oldest cutlery. Compared to other cutlery, spoons are needed more because they are needed to scoop up food. In the past, ancient spoons were made using natural materials such as shells or formed stones, and at first spoons did not have handles.It is not known exactly when the spoon was found. Ancient humans at that time used animal bones to make handles for spoons. Other archaeological evidence uncovers the fact that as early as 1000 BC, the ancient Egyptians used spoons for religious purposes. The spoons were made of materials such as ivory, wood, and inscribed stone, but they were also decorated with hieroglyphics (ancient Egyptian writing).
Meanwhile, during the Greek and Roman Empires, spoons were made of bronze and silver. But the spoon is only used by the rich. In England, the first documented evidence of spoons was in 1259 AD, during the reign of King Edward I.
The king keeps the spoons in the cupboard. So spoons are not only used for eating, but also in ceremonies, decoration and to show wealth and power. For example, the coronation of every English king was always followed by a ritual in which the new king would be anointed by a ceremonial spoon.
During the Tudor and Stuart periods, the spoon played an increasingly important role. It was customary during this period to give spoons as a christening gift. Originally a spoon gift set consisted of 12 spoons but was later added to a total of thirteen in honor of the figure of Christ.
This practice gave birth to the tradition of baptismal spoons and was common among all social classes at the time. The only difference is the material the spoon is made of. Usually for the upper class, their spoons are made of silver or gold and copper or brass for the lower class of society. Spoon designs changed throughout the Renaissance and Baroque periods before finally reaching a standardized spoon around the 18th century.
Fork
It is thought that the earliest table forks were made in Ancient Egypt. The Qijia culture (2400-1900 BC) which is part of China is also known to have used forks. A thousand years later, the fork's popularity in the Western world spread via the Silk Road to Venice. One of the earliest recorded evidence of a fork in Venice is from a story that dates back to the 11th century, namely the marriage of the Byzantine princess, Theodora Anna Doukaina to Domenico Selvo. In this marriage the golden fork was used as part of the dowry.
The popularity of the fork began to grow during the 16th century AD due to trend setter Catherine de Medici. She helped popularize fork (as well as pasta, olive oil, chianti and the separation of sweet and savory) on French tables after marrying King Henry II.
Knife
Since prehistoric times, knives have had dual uses, both as weapons and cutlery. This is quite logical because humans need a tool to cut food. However, the shape of the new knife began to be formed specifically so that it could be used on the table during the Bourbon Dynasty in France. source : http://www.historydk.com/2016/07/history-sendok-garpu-dan-pisau.html
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