dients of gunpowder in his book De Secretis.But it was not until 1267 that he specified a formula, in a letter to Pope Clement IV. Thisformula called exact mixtures of the three chemicals that when mixed correctly and litwould make a small explosion. At this point Bacon must have had knowledge of thepower of what he dicovered because the letter that he wrote it in was written in a simplecode. In all of Bacons writings, however, he never took claim to the invention ofgunpowder. This is often thought because Bacon got his information directly from theChinese or from a middle man, who most likely would have been the Arabs. Somehistorians trace gunpowder through the Middle East around 850 AD when a Taoist bookwarned of three specific elixir formulas as too dangerous to experiment with. Still at this point gunpowder was not used in war. However it wouldnt take longbefore Bacons findings would find their way into the hands of more violent people thanan English Monk. Also there is that matter that there is a difference between makinggunpowder and using it in war. Escpially since gunpowder has little effect without either agun or cannon. The first recorded use of gunpowder in European warfare was at the siege of Metzin 1324. The attackers had iron vases that they packed the newly discovered explosiveinto. Iron or stone balls placed on top of the vases could be fired at the enemy withgreat force. And in a document from Florentine in1326 for the first time specifically usedthe word cannon. Up until that time, the balance of advantage in a siege lay with the defenders. Ifthey had enough food, water, and a small number of soldiers they would be able to hold afortress for a long time. Knocking down the walls of a castle use to be a job for catapultsand battering rams, both of which had very little effect on damaging the walls. Climbing uphigh walls with ladders was a dangerous task. Therefore rebelling barons were hard forkings to keep in check, a...
