An important yet ignored moment in history is the introduction of forks to England in the 1100s. They where invented in France by order of the king so that he could use them to replace the knives. At this point in time, knives where used instead of forks, shortening the lives of many of the king’s courtiers. One can simply imagine all the things that can go wrong while one is thrusting a chunk of beef into his mouth with a knife.
1) The man may sneeze, which would either kill him or maim him for life.
2) A freind may tell him a joke, causing him to laugh and slash his tongue- killing him and amusing/disgusting everyone else. (A tradition that continues to this day with milk comming out the victim’s nose)
3) He may forget what he was doing from either intoxication or a previously gained blow(s) to the skull and bite down on the knife, cracking several molars.
4) He may be slapped heartily on the back by an intoxicated freind or relative causing him to impale himself.
5) He may, in a drunken rage, pull the knife from his mouth and stab one his fellows, starting a fight.
6) He may become drowsy and fall asleep with the knife still in his mouth. Should his head fall back the knife will fall into his throught, should he fall forward he will be impaled. Either way he is dead.
7) After any of these happens the host of the meal will be left with the unpleasant and difficult job of cleaning up a lot of blood.
In England, the king, Henry II, had a loyal freind and advisor named Thomas Becket. Becket knew the value of the new French invention and set out to advise the king to begin manufacturing his own. The king, an advocate of tradition, attempted to reason against the creation of forks by claiming that he could simply use his hands. This lead to one of the most, and perhaps only, humorouse dialogue in the Middle Ages.
It was more or less as follows:
Becket: Forks are used to keep the nobles from knifing each other at dinner.
Henry II: Then I shall ban knives and we shall eat with our hands. What has a fork over hands?
Becket: Sire, the forks are washable.
Henry II: But so are the hands!
For obvious reasons, England did not become a major power in Europe until the mid 1600s.
However the slow advance of Middle Age England was not totally due Politicians (as it is today). It is aslo due to commoners who made up the majority of the populace.
Becuase of countless blows to head at a tender age, the average English peasant is tough, enduring, and a totall idiot. His idea of acomplishment is getting drunk on an entire bung (small barrel) of ale. Naturaly, he is married and his wife (who inflicts most of the blows to her spouses head with heavy, blunt objects) is far from pleased with the thought. It is highly likely that her husband will be killed while attempting to chug a whole barrel- the downside of which would be that she would have no one to harvest the crops. The husband is hard pressed to find an excuse for getting drunk so he gathers in a tavern with his equally stolid peers to find an excuse. They come up with the idea of accusing a local intelectual of sorcery and then giving him a trial. Excedingly pleased with themselves, they rush off into the country side and beat up a scholar. They then drap the dazed fellow to the village and hurl him into the pond. Should he float, he is obviously in legue with the devil and the villagers burn him alive, and then have an ale party to celebrate. Should he sink he is innocent and the villagers get drunk to drown their remorse.
Again this is another major reason the English did not become a superpower untill the 1600s.
Truth of the Day: If you still read these you have no life.