[Sca-cooks] Muslims with Guns

[Terry Decker]

Needham, Joseph, Science and Civilization in Ancient China; Cambridge,
1954-.

The first reference to the preparation of gunpowder noted appears in a
Taoist alchemy text from the 9th Century.  The evolution of gunpowder
weapons appears to begin in the 10th Century.  Metal gun barrels were being
made by the beginning of the 14th Century.  The first known Chinese use of
cannons is in mid-14th Century.

The first European reference is found in the writings of Roger Bacon from
1268.  It is possible he learned of gunpowder from William of Rubruck.

The earliest documented use of cannon in Europe is at the Siege of Cividale
(Northern Italy) in 1331 by two German knights.  (Contamine,Phillipe, War in
the Middle Ages.)

Bear