How Did People Eat in the Past?

Before forks made their grand entrance onto European tables, people mostly ate with their hands, assisted by a knife and, occasionally, a spoon. This made clean hands an essential part of every meal. Handwashing was a ritual: water was poured from a jug or hands were dipped into a bowl. Bowls were preferred, since enthusiastic pouring could easily soak the food, or the unfortunate guest sitting nearby. These washing vessels were often anything but boring. Jugs were decorated with mythical creatures or shaped like lions and griffins, proving that even hygiene could be stylish.

Goblets, spoons and expanding..

When it came to drinking, options ranged from simple horns to elegant chalices and goblets. Glass was rare and expensive in the Middle Ages, so ceramic vessels were far more common and surprisingly fashionable. High-quality ceramics, often imported from Andalusia and Aragon and crafted by skilled Arab artisans, featured rich designs blending Islamic and Christian motifs. Silver and pewter cups existed too, but mostly for aristocrats who could afford them.

Spoons, on the other hand, have a long history. They were used in ancient Egypt, and the Romans even had two types: one for eating eggs, shellfish, or medicine, and another flat, leaf-shaped spoon called the ligula, used to spear food, essentially a proto-fork. In the Middle Ages, spoons were mostly wooden and relatively rare, but by the late medieval and early modern periods, they became household staples. As their popularity grew, so did their variety; gold, silver, ivory, even crystal spoons appeared, especially in England, where wealthy families engraved them with their family crests.

Knife – old friend and fork – cursed fellow  

Knives were humanity’s longtime companions, dating back to prehistoric times. However, table knives emerged later, introduced by migrating peoples. In the Renaissance, knives with rounded tips became common. Guests were often expected to bring their own knives, because table service was not yet guaranteed. Italy was among the first places where knives were regularly provided at the table. Knives served multiple purposes: cutting meat, spearing food, and, in the case of large carving knives, allowing hosts to portion meat for their guests.

Forks had the hardest journey of all. Large forks appeared in Roman times, mainly for kitchen use. Eating forks emerged in Byzantium and Italy in the 10th and 11th centuries. According to tradition, the fork first appeared on a Western European table in 955 at a Venetian wedding feast. However, after the Great Schism of 1054, forks, associated with the Eastern world, were condemned as sinful or even demonic in the Catholic West. As a result, their use declined for centuries. But, fortunately, forks managed to return in Italy during the 14th and 15th centuries and slowly spread across Europe. Catherine de’ Medici introduced them to France in the 16th century, though widespread acceptance took time. England resisted even longer, by the early 18th century, only about 10% of households used forks and knives. By the 18th century, however, forks finally became common among Europe’s middle and upper classes.

Plates, unlike forks, had been around since the Middle Ages. From the 16th century onward, they were made not only of wood but also of pewter, tin, and silver. Around this time, it also became customary, at least among the wealthy, to provide each guest with their own plate, knife, spoon, cup, and eventually a fork. Napkins were introduced as well, and yes, they were changed during the feast.

Conclusion

Cutlery didn’t appear overnight. It slowly evolved from tools of survival into symbols of civilization. Knives came first, followed by spoons, and finally forks, after centuries of suspicion and religious disapproval. The rise of cutlery marked a shift away from eating with bare hands and toward what we now recognize as “civilized” dining. A small change, perhaps, but one that forever transformed how we eat.

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#history #middleages #earlymodernperiod #europeanhistory #knives #forks #spoons #cutlery   

Sources:

Weiss Adamson, Melitta, Food in Medieval Times, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2004

Sarti, Raffaella, Živjeti u kući. Stanovanje, prehrana i odijevanje u novovjekovnoj Europi (1500.-1800.), Zagreb: Ibis grafika, 2006