Historical Note

It is said that gunpowder was first discovered in China, where, as early as 1161, an explosive of some sort was used in ‘noise makers’ that might have been firecrackers. In the West, the formula was undoubtedly discovered by alchemists in their endless and ultimately fruitless attempts to turn base metals into gold. The theory was that if only the accretions could be sloughed off, what remained would be pure gold. Newly discovered substances would be tested and combined with other substances, and it was probably by accident that someone stumbled on the result of mixing the right proportions of charcoal, saltpetre and brimstone. Because the alchemists of the Arab world were in general far in advance in their learning than their western counterparts, it seems reasonable to propose that the secret of the ‘black powder’ in the west originated with them.

The Church rigidly disapproved of science in general, and of the science of warfare in particular; in the twelfth century, an anathema was laid on those attempting to make or use ‘fiery substances’, and this probably referred to Greek Fire (a mixture of naphtha, bitumen, pitch, sulphur, oil and quicklime). The Knights Templar, however – who were universally suspected of dabbling in alchemy – apparently took no notice of the Church’s disapproval, and it is reasonable to suggest that their brothers in arms, the Knights Hospitaller, may also have been able to put aside their scruples when faced with the prospect of such a momentous discovery as the ‘black powder’.

It was not until around 1250 that gunpowder became known in England. Roger Bacon, born in 1212 or 1214 and curious about the nature of the world around him from the day he became aware, became known for his enquiring mind and his interest in the diverse and the bizarre. He seems to have discovered gunpowder in around 1247, where he makes a cryptic reference to it in a manuscript. In a later work he proposes the correct mixture as being seven parts saltpetre, five parts charcoal and five parts sulphur.

Gunpowder as the force to propel missiles was first recorded in the middle of the fourteenth century. It is said that the English at the Battle of Crecy in 1346 used some sort of explosive powder to propel bolts (with very little accuracy) from tubes. Men were very wary of it; the powder was so unstable that apparently it exploded if you stamped on it.

Alys Clare