Roger Bacon was a Franciscan friar, based in Oxford, who also wrote several philosophical works. He is often feted as the champion of empirical methods, in contrast to the Scholastic methods (based primarily on tradition and received authority) that held sway at the time. Amongst the many interests and observations he detailed in his works was arguably the first European description of the ingredients of gunpowder. He had probably been privy to a view of some Chinese fireworks, most likely brought to England through his fellow Franciscan, William of Rubruck, who had travelled across Asia.
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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Roger Bacon states formulas for gunpowder". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 July 2012 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=6057, accessed 23 November 2024.]
