Knives and Forks = cutlery and flatware :-)

My earlier post on Saxon Times got me wondering about cutlery - where did the fork come from? In medieval times, dinner guests brought their own knives, spoons and cups to dine with. No forks.

According to the BBC site, forks are a recent invention, replacing a second knife to hold the diner's food while the main knife is used to cut food before lifting it to the mouth. So that mystery did not last long.

But I can now impress folk with my knowledge that forks are not strictly cutlery (only cutting tools are): they are silverware or flatware or tableware (for us poor folk without silverware). Cutlery is provided by a Cutler.

But is the BBC site totally correct about forks not being cutlery? Modern usage includes forks as utensils, so I think not.

But does one lay, "knives and forks" or "forks and knives"? Does it depend on whether you are right- or left-handed? Is it regional? This is something I don't know, and perhaps research should be done.