how did table settings evolve to what they are today?

Question

i have been trying to remember where i read somewhere that the reason why knives at a table setting are placed with the blade facing the plate rather than outward was something to do with wartime - like in the middle ages, if the knife was outward that meant the country, clan or whatever was at war with another country, clan or whatever. does anyone know where i can find out why the table settings are the way they are, especially in relation with the knife's blade facing the plate or away from the plate? thanks in advance

Answer 1

The short answer is: tradition. People do it that way because people have done it that way.
The placement of the implements, though, is fairly pragmatic. The spoons and forks (in a formal setting) are placed in order of use from the outside in. The knives are placed with the sharp edge towards the plate to avoid cutting one's hands when picking up the soup spoon. The forks are placed as they are to keep the eating surface (the tines) off the table surface.
As far as the "clans at war" - I think that is probably a corruption of the military trial tradition of the English Navy. When an officer was court-marshalled, the officer's side-arm (a dirk or dagger) was taken from him and placed before the highest officer on the court bench. Tradition had it that when a verdict was reached, the officer would know on entering the room what that verdict was: if he was innocent, the blade would be placed crosswise; if he was guilty, the blade would be oriented towards him, handle towards the court.
In the table setting, the butter knife is placed in a similar position, with the grip of the knife to the diner's right. This is to facilitate use, not to indicate the guilt or innocense of the bread, however.
Hope that helps.

Answer 2

When Europe moved on to the period of kings after Feudalism, ceremony became extremely important to build national unity and create a new culture for the newly formed country. France was the leader of this advance, and countries like Britain followed the suit. France was considered the pinnacle of popular culture during this time and elaborate table settings were a big part of ceremony. The more ceremony you had, the higher you were seen on the social pyramid. They had a utensil for every type of food. Now, we have moved to just fork, spoon, and knife but you will often see several sizes of cutlery at fancy restaurants or celebrations like weddings. Before this, most people would drink their soup directly from a bowl and stab food with a knife or a two pronged fork. Ceremony for eating habits were created in order to show sophistication, wealth, high social standing, and advancement. Many peasants, in fact, most people during the period when these habits were developing, still ate with daggers while the aristocracy used the complicated table wear. Did you know that people used to share the cups of drink with the person next to them? This represented trust and friendship (and was also just considered a norm), Lastly, I'm sure what you say of the knife tradition has some truth to it, but it was certainly not used by all cultures.

Answer 3

The first answer seems sensible and comprehensive. The only thing I would add is that I don't go with the knives facing inward theory that you suggest as originally people didn't use dinner knives as we know them to cut up their food, but their daggers. Also, did you know that forks were a much later invention than knives, and that plates were only used later as well. In medieval, and Tudor times, food tended to be eaten off bread.