nd the central authority was weak. Gunpowder was able tochange all of that though. The castle walls could not stand up to the force of a cannon andcame tumbling down. Because of this monarchies got more and more absolute power. Who invented the first gun we may never know, for history is very confusing onthis point, but it is a historical fact that on February 11th, 1326, the Republic of Veniceordered cannon and bullets for the defense of its castles and villages, while in 1338 cannonand powder were provided for the protection of the ports of Harfleur and l'Heure againstEdward III.The advantage of gunpowder went to whomever could make it the fastest as didmost advantages in those days. Gunpowder was at that time made from a mixture ofsaltpetre, sulfur and charcoal. Sulfur was fairly easily to obtain because it was mined in anearly pure state in Sicily. Charcoal also could easily be obtained, because it is made fromany wood that was handy, although alder and hazel were preferred.The hard part of making gunpowder came to the saltpetre. Saltpetre was the veryheart of the explosive force and it is only formed naturally by the decomposition of animaland vegetable matter. And, unfortunately, the accumulation of this was insufficient, forunless a heap of the matter could stay reasonably dry for some considerable time thedeposits of saltpetre were washed away by rain as quickly as they were formed. In places like England there were very few localities where the weather conditionswere good enough to support making saltpetre so the saltpetre, now so such a necessatyfor war, had to be gotten elsewhere. Luckily the lack of hygine and squalid livingconditions of the people of those days yielded a ready, if disturbing source of saltpetre.In medieval days the houses of everyone but the very wealthy had plain soil floors.These floors were covered with rushes which probably stayed there for two or three yearsand just had a fresh layer added to them from...
