Posted: November 29, 1999 at 08:01:25: by shadowfax
: : : Gandalf is known in the Shire for his wonderful fireworks. I believe it is also stated that of all the fireworks his (Gandalf's)were the best. This implies that others also made fireworks. Since fireworks use gunpower or flash powder, it appears that one or both existed in Middle Earth. Does gunpowder exist in Middle Earth? Are there other instances where the use of gunpowder may be implied or infered. Comments?: :
: : Wow. the first thing I've ever read here, and it's a great question.
: : I've wondered about this too. The fireworks that he does are certainly created with magic as well, if not alone based on what he creates with them. He does however "bring" the fireworks with him, so that implies something with powder i guess. : : I have hoped that it wasn't gunpowder because that's sort of a stretch for it to exist without any weapons being used with that technology. And if you do have weapons with that technology, you're straying to far from the swords and sorcery genre. : Well, the Chinese did "invent" gunpowder and it was used only for ceremonial purposes (ie. fireworks) at first. Ghengis Khan later discovered it's ability as a weapon. : So it's not too far a stretch for it to exist without its use as a weapon. The explosion caused by orcs at helm's Deep suggest some primitive form of gunpowder. The chinese were the "first" to invent gunpowder, but it is likely that it was re-invented independantly in Europe in the late Middle Ages. One of the candidates for inventing this was the monk and alchemist Bertold Schwarz who lived in Freiburg in Germany. I am not sure about the date.
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