In Europe, it is surmised that Roger Bacon knew much about earliest gunpowder but some of his codes are yet to be deciphered. but some of his codes are yet to be deciphered. In his book "De Secretis Operibus Artis et Naturae" of 1248, Bacon gives the formula for gunpowder disguised as an anagram. In "Opus Majus" of 1268, saltpeter and firecrackers are discussed and he describes the use of gunpowder to make crackers. the first mention of gunpowder by Roger Bacon in 1248. Ulrich Bretscher's casts his vote for earliest gunpowder to Marcus Graecus, the pseudonym of an unknown medieval alchemist whose "Liber Ignum per Comburandum Hostes" might be dated earliest to c.1250 and contains a formula for genuine strong 'gun powder'.

The Wikipedia article about the History of Gunpowder presents strong evidence that gunpowder was first invented in China. Earliest gunpowder may have been discovered by alchemists in the 9th century. This article has a photograph of what is believed to be the earliest formula for gunpowder published in the Chinese Wujing Zongyao in 1044 AD. "The first reference to gunpowder is probably a passage in the Zhenyuan miaodao yaolüe (真元妙道要略), a Taoist text tentatively dated to the mid-800s." ... "Needham (1986) argues that gunpowder was first used in warfare in China in 919 as a fuse for the ignition of another incendiary, Greek fire. The earliest depiction of a gunpowder weapon is a mid-10th century silk banner from Dunhuang that shows a fire lance, precursor of the gun.[9] The earliest depiction of a gun is a sculpture from a cave in Sichuan dating to the 1100s of a figure carrying a vase-shaped bombard with flames and a cannonball coming out of it.[10][11] The oldest gun ever discovered, dated to 1288, has a muzzlebore diameter of 2.5 cm; the second oldest, dated to 1332, has a muzzle-bore diameter of 10.5 cm."

"In 1260, the personal arsenal of Song Dynasty Prime Minister Zhao Nanchong caught fire and exploded, destroying several outlying houses and killing four of his prized pet tigers.[25] The Gui Xin Za Zhi of 1295 records that a much bigger accident took place at Weiyang in 1280, at an arsenal used primarily for the storage of trebuchet-launched bombs: ..." Cannons were in India by c.1350, but may have been introduced earlier by the Mongols.

And what of Islam, forever the favorite culture for transmitting advanced technology to a barbaric, ignorant Europe in the Middle Ages? "The Arabs acquired knowledge of gunpowder some time after 1240, but before 1280, by which time Hasan al-Rammah had written, in Arabic, recipes for gunpowder, instructions for the purification of saltpeter, and descriptions of gunpowder incendiaries."

The oldest surviving manuscript illustration of a gunpowder weapon in Europe was published in a manuscript by Walter de Millete, titled "De Officilis Regnum" (The Duties of a King), dated to 1326. The picture shows a vase shaped cannon that fires a vase shaped projectile, ignition is by a slow match, fastened to the end of a cane. There is a royal account of Edward III dated to 1338, that refers ship cannons. "On February 11 of that same year, the Signoria of Florence appointed two officers to obtain canones de mettallo and ammunition for the town's defense. A reference from 1331 describes an attack mounted by two Germanic knights on Cividale del Friuli, using gunpowder weapons of some sort.[41] The French raiding party that sacked and burned Southampton in 1338 brought with them a ribaudequin and 48 bolts (but only 3 pounds of gunpowder). The Battle of Crécy in 1346 was one of the first in Europe where cannons were used." In 1350, Petrarch wrote that the presence of cannons on the battlefield was 'as common and familiar as other kinds of arms'. However, archeological hard evidence is the bottom line. Iron handgonnes dating to the first half of the 14th century have been found in Sweden, Switzerland and Majorica.

The Handgonne is of great importance as the earliest hand held gunpowder weapon developed in Europe. The word 'gonne' make us think of 'gun' and 'hand gun' which is misleading. These earliest 'gonnes' are best compared to small cannon and most could be manipulated by one or two men while hand held. Invented in ?Europe in the early 1300s, they were used until the early 1500s. Made from wrought iron or cast bronze, gonnes could be held under the arm, over the shoulder or rested on a fork hammered into the ground. Large, heavy gonnes required two men to manipulate.

As barrels grew longer, handgonnes needed a hook to absorb the recoil, and they became known as hackebuts. Other methods to absorb the recoil shock included lengthening the stock, bracing the gonne against the ground, firing over the shoulder, or under the arm with appropriate stock structures added on. Over time, firing from the shoulder became a favorite choice. Corned powder was invented in the early 1400s and catalyzed an even wider use of handgonnes. Moistened gunpowder dries, is formed into corn granules. The flame lights them all before a significant explosion occurs. The flash pan and the slow match also led to the widespread use of gonnes, as they could now be used in rainy weather. Handgonnes were used extensively in the Hussite Wars of 1426-32.