: : But gunpowder doesn't come from fire; it doesn't really have anything to do with fire.

: : I don't really understand your reasoning. What you seem to be inferring is something like saying that if Gandalf had very pretty, nicely scented candles (and the only thing they have to do with fire, like fireworks, is the fact that you light them) then his knowledge and aquisition of them would come from his command of fire.

: : Also, there must have been others in ME who used fireworks since Gandalfs fireworks are complimented using a superlative ie. they are the best, implying that there must be other fireworks to which they are being compared.

: The element of fire is present in more than actual fire, just as there is water in more places than the sea. The element fire is contained to some degree in practically all substances, but especially in substances such as gunpowder which are highly flammable. Fire is also the element of change, because there are few lasting things that can be made without it. Gandalf's mastery of this elemnt shows it was his mission to bring about change.

: Gandalf's fireworks were magical, and not feats of craftsmanship (as dwarven fireworks might have been). We never actally hear of Gandalf spending weeks making them, and I doubt that he did. That wasn't his mission. He was able to command fire out of everything. He could, for example, command his staff to light up. He could probably even make fireworks appear in the sky without any substrate to work on. This sort of firework does not necessarily require gunpowder, but can be pure fire commanded by a wizard.

I can see that we are talking about totally different things. I was talking about fireworks such as we have in modern times that are chemical compounds that react highly exothermically when "fired", what you seem to be talking about is some kind of magic fireworks that Gandalf could make instantly appear out of nothingness.

I suppose you could be right but I don't buy it.