Table Knives in the Middle Ages

The wealthy nobles and clergy carried theirs in handsome sheaths of tooled and decorated leather. Poorer people simply stuck their knives into their belts or a stocking…

 

Innkeepers didn't provide table knives for their guests in the Middle Ages, and most hosts didn't either. So people took their knives with them when they traveled. The wealthy nobles and clergy carried theirs in handsome sheaths of tooled and decorated leather. Poorer people simply stuck their knives into their belts or a stocking.

In the homes of well-to-do Christians, knives with different-colored handles were used to help celebrate certain religious holidays. For example, knives with black handles made of ebony were brought out during Lent as a symbol of Christ's suffering. Then on Easter, knives with white handles made of ivory symbolized His resurrection.– From James Cross Giblin’s book, “From Hand to Mouth”, 1987

🍽️Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber of The RSVP Institute of Etiquette, is the Site Editor of the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Table Knives in the Middle Ages

Some English table knives of the 1400s were said to have handles made from unicorn horns. Such handles were prized because the horn of a unicorn was believed to act as a charm against poison. ~ A favorite image of Etiquipedia’s shows a servant cutting trenchers of bread in a detailed banquet scene. This image is from a woodcut by German artist M. Wohlgemuth, 1491

Some English table knives of the 1400s were said to have handles made from unicorn horns. Such handles were prized because the horn of a unicorn was believed to act as a charm against poison. The handles probably came from the narwhal, a sea creature with a single long tusk. Until the 1600s, people thought narwhal tusks were really unicorn horns.

Innkeepers didn't provide table knives for their guests in the Middle Ages, and most hosts didn't either. So people took their knives with them when they traveled. The wealthy nobles and clergy carried theirs in handsome sheaths of tooled and decorated leather. Poorer people simply stuck their knives into their belts or a stocking.

In the homes of well-to-do Christians, knives with different- colored handles were used to help celebrate certain religious holidays. For example, knives with black handles made of ebony were brought out during Lent as a symbol of Christ's suffering. Then on Easter, knives with white handles made of ivory symbolized His resurrection.– From James Cross Giblin’s book, “From Hand to Mouth”, 1987

🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

How Fashion Dictated Utensil Design

Portrait of a Dutch woman wearing a “ruff” collar, by Jan Antonisz van Ravesteyn (1570-1657). From the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Henry Goldman, 1912, in the 1987 book, “From Hand to Mouth”

Apostle spoons first appeared in the 1400s, when the Christians of Europe were deeply religious, and images of Christ, His apostles, and the saints of the Roman Catholic Church could be seen everywhere. It was a time when Christian families said special household prayers before and after every meal, and believed that the apostles had the power to influence their lives.

The spoons were found in all parts of Europe, including France, Germany, Italy, the Low Countries, and Britain. Some were made of silver and were available only in complete sets. Others were made of cheaper metals, such as pewter, and were sold individually. Families handed down their treasured Apostle spoons from generation to generation, and people often gave an Apostle spoon to a newborn baby as a birth present. These spoons were engraved with the child's name and the date and place of birth.

Changes in fashion sometimes dictated the design of spoons. In the late 1500s, both men and women started to wear big, stiff lace collars called “ruffs.” Before then, most spoons of the Middle Ages had fairly short stems. Now the stems had to be made longer so that people could get food safely past the ruffs and into their mouths. At the same time large soup spoons came into wider use, because people wearing ruffs couldn't risk lifting their bowls and drinking the soup. – From James Cross Giblin’s book, “From Hand to Mouth”, 1987

🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia