Table Manners And First Code Of Correct Behavior Were Introduced In Egypt 2,500 B.C. By Ptahhotep

Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com – Louis XIV, known as Louis the Great or the Sun King (1638 – 1715) couldn’t stand bad table manners. The Sun King is today remembered as a royal who preferred art over politics. He was also a king who introduced very complicated rules of how to do basically anything, including dining.

Around 1669, King Louis the Great became the “first person in Europe to offer his guests a place setting with knives, forks, and spoons; he ordered the knives should have rounded ends to prevent injury should things turn ugly.” ¹

Ancient Egyptians were familiar with table manners in 2,500 B.C. Credit: BasPhoto – Adobe Stock

The use of forks was still a new trend, and many were reluctant to use forks. “When the first forks appeared, they caused a sensation, but getting people to use them for eating was not easy. Not only were forks very expensive, but they were also disapproved by the Church and people did not know how to use them.” ²

The Church argued God had created humans with fingers so they could touch and eat God’s food. People may have listened to the Church, but obviously, they didn’t pay much attention to these warnings. The Church’s disapproval did not stop people from producing gold and silver forks that wealthy families in Tuscany wanted to have at the dining table.

Slowly the etiquette of eating evolved in Europe. People washed their hands before dinner and stopped blowing their noses into their palms during the meal.

One would think table manners were introduced in Europe, but that’s wrong. Europeans suddenly felt they had “discovered” what should be considered proper manners at the table. However, these table manners and dining etiquette were introduced in Egypt about 2,500 B.C.

“During the Fifth Dynasty (2,500 B.C. – 2,350 B.C), Egyptian Vizier Ptahhotep, occasionally known as Ptahhotep I, Ptahhotpe or Ptah-Hotep wrote several instructions based on his wisdom and experiences.

His precious text contains advice on how to live your life and much of what he wrote is still highly relevant today.” ³

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