Sad as it may seem, but many inventions and discoveries capable of advancing humanity along the path of progress were used primarily in the military sphere, that is, they served just to destroy people, and not to improve their lives. Among them is gunpowder. After its invention, it took almost six centuries before people realized that the energy released by the explosion could serve peaceful purposes.
Chinese, Arab or Greek?
Among scientists, disputes do not cease about who is the true inventor of gunpowder. Opinions are divided. According to one of the most common versions, this honor belongs to the Chinese, who even before our era managed to create a highly developed civilization and possessed many unique knowledge.
Supporters of a different point of view believe that gunpowder first appeared in the arsenal of the Arabs, who already in antiquity had sophisticated technologies based on advanced inventions for that time. In addition, in historical monuments there are often references to the so-called Greek fire, which was used to destroy enemy ships. Thus, in discussions about who invented gunpowder,ancient Hellas is also mentioned.
Opinion of skeptics
However, a serious argument that casts doubt on all three of the above hypotheses is the complexity of the chemical composition of gunpowder. Even in the most primitive version, it must include sulfur, coal and s altpeter, combined in strictly defined proportions. If the first two components are still found in nature, then s altpeter suitable for the production of explosives can only be obtained in the laboratory.
Franciscan Chemist
The first inventor of gunpowder, whose works are documented, is the German monk Berthold Schwartz, who lived in the XIV century and belonged to the Franciscan order. There is very little information about this man's life. His real name is known - Konstantin Anklitzen, but the date of birth is very vague - the end of the XIII century.
His passion in life was chemistry, but since in those days they did not see much difference between a scientist and a sorcerer, this occupation brought him great trouble, and once even led him to jail, where he was accused of witchcraft.
Servant of God who taught to kill
By the way, the history of the name that Schwartz Berthold bore was curious. If his second component was given during his monastic vows, then the first, which is a nickname and translated from German as the adjective "black", he received exclusively for his dubious, from the point of view of others, occupations.
It is known for sure that while in prison,he had the opportunity to continue his studies, and it was there that he made his great invention, which allowed people to kill each other much faster and in large quantities. To what extent these monastic works are compatible with the principles of Christian mercy and humanity is a topic for a completely different discussion.
The spark that sparked discovery
About the circumstances under which Schwartz Berthold first received the explosive, we know not from the records of a scientist, but from a legend that has come down from those ancient times. While in the Nuremberg prison (according to another version - in Cologne), he, as we have already said, was engaged in chemical experiments and once mixed the same sulfur, coal and s altpeter in a mortar.
The day was drawing to a close, and it was getting dark in the cell where he worked. To light a candle, the prisoner had to strike a fire - there were no matches then, and the spark accidentally landed right in the mortar, half covered with a stone. Suddenly there was a strong bang, and the stone flew off to the side. Fortunately, the experimenter himself was not harmed.
A mortar turned into a cannon
When the first fright (quite natural in such a case) passed, and the smoke dissipated, Schwartz Berthold refilled the mortar with the mixture, maintaining the previous proportions of the components. And another explosion followed. Thus, gunpowder was born. This event took place in 1330, and the era of firearms, previously unknown not only in Europe, but also in the world, began with it. By the way, the same indefatigable Schwartz Berthold was involved in the development of his first samples.
Expelled from prison after the explosions and inspired by success, he immediately tried to find a practical use for his infernal mixture. A creative thought told him that if the mortar was made large, filled with a mixture and picked up a worthy stone, one could cause great trouble to the enemy by first turning the entire structure in his direction.
The beginning of the era of firearms
The very first guns really looked like a mortar turned over on its side. They even began to be called mortars (from the Latin mortarium - "mortar"). Over time, their design lengthened and took on the shape of old cannons familiar to us from childhood, and the stones were replaced by cast-iron cannonballs.
Military equipment has always been at the forefront of progress. Soon, heavy and clumsy guns led their developers to think about creating light, elongated barrels with thin walls that could be held in the hands of a foot soldier. This is how muskets and arquebus appeared in the arsenals of European armies, which became the prototype of modern small arms systems.
Documentary evidence of who invented gunpowder
If the specific circumstances under which the discovery of gunpowder was made by Berthold Schwartz can be disputed, then his very authorship is not in doubt. There is a sufficient amount of documentary evidence for this fact. One of them is a record found in the archives of the city of Ghent and made in 1343. It says that under the city walls in collision withthe enemy used guns invented by a certain monk Schwarz Berthold.
The name of the monk-inventor is also mentioned in the decree of the French king John II the Good, issued in May 1354. In it, the monarch commands, in connection with the invention of the German monk Berthold Schwarz, to prohibit the export of copper from the kingdom and use it exclusively for casting cannons.
A life that remains a mystery
There is also a number of medieval evidence that Berthold Schwartz was the inventor of gunpowder. The biography of this person as a whole is rather vague, but the fact of his discovery is undeniable. The date of death of the one with whose light hand the battlefields began to be announced by cannonade is as unknown as the circumstances under which he passed away.
We don't know if it was a natural death, or, while continuing the experiments, the inquisitive scientist at some point did not calculate the charge, and he, like the sapper, was given the right to make a mistake only once. Since the whole life of this man is shrouded in mystery, and the discovery made by him is national pride, many German cities claim the right to be considered his homeland. This is Cologne, and Dortmund, and Freiburg, in which a monument to Berthold Schwartz was erected on the town square.
