Berthold Schwarz, German Alchemist

Berthold Schwarz was a legendary German (or in some accounts Danish or Greek) alchemist of the late 14th century, credited with the invention of gunpowder. The first reference to Schwarz is found in an anonymous manual of pyrotechnics, preserved in various 15th century copies. The relevant passage credits an alchemist and master of arts, Master Berthold, with the accidental discovery of gunpowder, without giving any further details as to time or place. Feldhaus (1910) thinks that reports of a Master Berthold in the early 15th century, should be taken seriously as historical testimony of an alchemist Berthold, called the Black, member of the Order of St. Bernhard, who developed a recipe for effective gunpowder in 1380, and who was possibly executed as a magician some years later. The recipes given in the 15th century German manuals for pyrotechnics would then be directly derived from the recipe as developed by Berthold. In 1853, a monument to Berthold Schwarz was erected in Freiburg

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Alchemist Alchemy Bernhard Berthold Chemistry Explosives Gunpowder Pyrotechnics Schwartz Schwarz

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