Fold, tuck, gather, pucker and pleat your way to a glorious table with the remarkable array of napkins and napkin rings that are available today. Ironically, these alluring table dressings were once strictly utilitarian.
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Napkins came first, dating back at least to ancient Rome. But by the Middle Ages, they had vanished from tables, leaving diners to wipe their fingers on tablecloths and tunics. This may have helped facilitate a rebirth by the end of that period, and napkins made an impressive comeback as large, luxurious, fringed cloths (about the size of today’s bath towel), worn draped over a diner’s left shoulder or arm.
By the mid-17th Century, napkins had shrunk in size and moved to necks to protect the lavish lace collars of the period. And by the 19th Century, they were being used on laps and kept neatly in line between meals by the newly invented napkin ring. Far from merely ornamental, this device was used to keep track of who owned each napkin, since linens were reused by members of middle-class families over a period of several days.
Today, both products have come a long way. Napkins are no longer just sensible squares of cloth for wiping up, and napkin rings are used at meals instead of in-between–thanks to the washing machine. And both these items help any table go from plain to impressive when theyre selected with a bit of panache.