|
In the early years of this century attention focussed upon the work of Roger Bacon (1214-94). After graduating MA at Oxford he lectured for some years in Paris but in 1247 returned to Oxford where he later became a Franciscan Friar. Bacon was an intellectual giant, ages ahead of his time. At Oxford he concentrated on mathematics and scientific investigation on which subjects he wrote several learned treatises. In one of these, written about 1249, appears a chapter which had puzzled readers for centuries, but which in 1904 was found by LtCol HWL Hime RA (1840 - 1929) to be an anagram or cipher for the preparation of gunpowder. Bacon not only named the ingredients and the proportions then used (saltpetre:charcoal:sulphur 7:5:5) but also described the explosive properties of the mixture. He gave no indication it could be employed as a propellant.
Bacon's reason for the anagram is not hard to find. In 1233 Pope Gregory IX had founded the Inquisition, an organisation designed to ensure the faithful adhered to official religious doctrine - by torture and death if necessary. It hierarchy frowned upon scientific study almost as much as they did the black arts of magic and witchcraft. In the anagram Bacon had said the explosive effects of gunpowder resembled thunder and lightning. To say as much in plain language - and so tell the world - would have condemned him in the eyes of the Church as being in league with the devil, the penalty for which was to be burnt at the stake. Brother Roger had already been in trouble with his superiors over his scientific teachings; no doubt he did not wish to 'push his luck'!
Note that Bacon did not claim that he himself discovered gunpowder; he merely recorded its composition and described its explosive properties. There is a belief - but no proof - that he obtained the recipe from Arabian sources, possibly the same which described the refining of saltpetre mentioned above. Until further evidence comes to light, whoever actually discovered gunpowder will remain a mystery.
|
|
WL Ruffell Issue 75 September 1992 |
previous | index | next |
History Home Page | Old Comrades' Home Page
Send suggestions or comments to the Webmaster
Page last updated: December 7, 1998