When was the fork invented?
Quick Answer
Forks for cooking and serving are ancient, but eating forks spread slowly. When a Byzantine princess used a golden fork in Venice around 1004, church critics called it sinful vanity. They only became common in Europe in the 1600s and 1700s.
The Full Story
Large two-pronged forks were used for carving and serving in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. Small forks for eating appeared in the Byzantine Empire and the Middle East, where wealthy diners used them by around the 7th to 10th centuries. Europe was far slower. Around 1004, the Byzantine noblewoman Maria Argyropoulina married the son of the Doge of Venice and brought a little golden fork with her. Instead of touching her food with her fingers, she had it cut up and raised it to her mouth with the fork. The churchman Peter Damian later condemned her luxury, and when she died young some saw it as divine punishment. Forks slowly caught on in Italy during the Renaissance, reached France with Italian fashion in the 1500s, and the English traveller Thomas Coryat was mocked for using one in 1608. Only in the 18th century did the fork become normal at most European tables.
Key Facts
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"The fork was once considered an insult to God"
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