| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Afetbinttuzani |
Posted - 12 May 2008 : 04:08:56
My son asked me this evening --as he and the other PCs where about to dig into a dinner at the Lonesome Tankard in Eveningstar-- whether people eat with cutlery in Cormyr or whether it's just a knife and fingers, as one imagines it having been in medieval times. I haven't read many FR novels but I can't think of any direct references to the use of forks. Can anyone help me with this?
Cheers,
Afet |
| 11 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 13 May 2008 : 14:41:04
quote:
Originally posted by Afetbinttuzani
quote:
Originally posted by freyar
Not that this exactly has anything to do with FR, but not all real-world cultures that had forks actually ate with them. When I was a kid, I used to work in re-enactments of mid-late 18th century life in a Moravian (Czech-German religious group) settlement in North Carolina. Apparently one of their beliefs at the time was that poking yourself with a fork while eating could call the devil (fork, pitchfork, you know), so they used forks to hold food while cutting and fed themselves with their knives. Let me tell you that it can be quite tricky to keep things balanced!
It's not hard to imagine why that tradition died out. In evolutionary terms, I imagine that someone who puts a knife in her mouth while holding a perfectly good fork in her other hand would be somewhat less likely to pass on her genetic material.
Afet
Not only that, but it seems like poking oneself with a fork really isn't all that likely a scenario. |
| Afetbinttuzani |
Posted - 13 May 2008 : 13:46:08
quote:
Originally posted by freyar
Not that this exactly has anything to do with FR, but not all real-world cultures that had forks actually ate with them. When I was a kid, I used to work in re-enactments of mid-late 18th century life in a Moravian (Czech-German religious group) settlement in North Carolina. Apparently one of their beliefs at the time was that poking yourself with a fork while eating could call the devil (fork, pitchfork, you know), so they used forks to hold food while cutting and fed themselves with their knives. Let me tell you that it can be quite tricky to keep things balanced!
It's not hard to imagine why that tradition died out. In evolutionary terms, I imagine that someone who puts a knife in her mouth while holding a perfectly good fork in her other hand would be somewhat less likely to pass on her genetic material.
Afet |
| freyar |
Posted - 13 May 2008 : 12:29:39
Not that this exactly has anything to do with FR, but not all real-world cultures that had forks actually ate with them. When I was a kid, I used to work in re-enactments of mid-late 18th century life in a Moravian (Czech-German religious group) settlement in North Carolina. Apparently one of their beliefs at the time was that poking yourself with a fork while eating could call the devil (fork, pitchfork, you know), so they used forks to hold food while cutting and fed themselves with their knives. Let me tell you that it can be quite tricky to keep things balanced! |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 13 May 2008 : 05:32:44
Ah, but what about the spork?  |
| Afetbinttuzani |
Posted - 13 May 2008 : 04:39:33
quote:
Originally posted by The Hooded One
Etiquette is different for "the house" (someone whose PAID hospitality you have temporarily purchased, i.e. a stay at an inn).
I thought as much. Thank you again, THO.
For anyone interested, here are a few images I found of medieval style two pronged forks and personal cutlery sets:
http://www.jelldragon.com/spoons.htm
http://www.by-the-sword.com/acatalog/images/ah-3251-da.jpg
http://www.ragweedforge.com/tr-kfs.jpg
http://www.celtic-smith.cz/foto/mece26m.jpg
Cheers,
Afet |
| The Hooded One |
Posted - 12 May 2008 : 23:50:36
Yes, of course. One would always use what was provided by a host (that is, someone whose PERSONAL hospitality you have accepted, even as an anonymous guest admitted to a large-seating noble's feast or revel). Etiquette is different for "the house" (someone whose PAID hospitality you have temporarily purchased, i.e. a stay at an inn).
love,
THO |
| Afetbinttuzani |
Posted - 12 May 2008 : 16:23:26
Thank you, milady. The description and, particularly, the cultural information are very helpful. Should I assume it would, however, be rude to use your own cutlery at the home of a person of status (noble, wealthy merchant, etc.)?
Afet |
| The Hooded One |
Posted - 12 May 2008 : 14:51:53
One note re. cutlery: most spoons are deep-bowl (can be used as a small ladle, so can REALLY "dip sauce" or sample soup) and most forks have just two tines; if you've ever seen or used a bone-handled roast-serving fork (the big one that holds down the meat whilst you carve with a knife or electric carving knife held in your other hand), you'll have the correct idea of what most Faerunian eating-forks look like. Most peddlers, caravan staff, pilgrims, and other travelers have a sheathed eating knife-and-fork at their belts, and use them for choice, even when dining in an inn (not considered an insult to refuse the "house" cutlery and use your own, but IS considered an insult for the house never to offer you any).
love to all,
THO
P.S. The above is from Ed's notes. Also: washing-up "on the trail" when a stream is nearby is usually accomplished by scrubbing with handfuls of sand and rinsing by dipping in the running water. |
| Afetbinttuzani |
Posted - 12 May 2008 : 13:41:01
That's great. Thank you.
Afet |
| The Sage |
Posted - 12 May 2008 : 07:05:43
Ed's said that wealthy households tend to wash their eating-forks and other cutlery in sinks, supplied by plumbed clean water from rooftop cisterns. Most others wash their the dishes [mainly platters, skillets, tankards, eating-forks and cooking knives] in washbasins. So I'd assume this means that there's a broad enough use of forks and knives among both the wealthy and more "common" peoples in Cormyr.
And, there's also the table customs and eating ettiquete used during noble feasts as well. An example of such a feast was played out in the novel Stormlight [Chap. IV], at Firefall Keep in Cormyr.
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| Kuje |
Posted - 12 May 2008 : 04:29:01
Aurora's catalog lists three different forks, six different spoons, and seven different knives. So, I'm assuming some places know how to use forks. :) |
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