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<blockquote data-quote="Kid Charlemagne" data-source="post: 48600" data-attributes="member: 93">Well, Tolkien viewed his stories as set in a mythic &quot;prehistory&quot; of our Earth, so I think that any scientific process using earth elements would work; it's not a question of was gunpowder possible, it's a question of did anyone have it?I'd say that it's quite likely that the Wizards had the knowledge (or at least Gandalf and Saruman - Radagast probably wouldn't care for the stuff).&nbsp; Sauron certainly would have known.As Gary points out, there is some evidence of &quot;blasting powder&quot; being used.As for the Hobbits setting off the fireworks, its a long step from setting a lit candle to a wick of a firework to creating the firework in the first place. Knowing how to fire a gun doesn't give you the skill to make one.Tolkien's own prejudices against technology probably form the explanation for why such devices were never used by the forces of good as anything more than an amusement.&nbsp; Technology was for Saruman and Sauron to use in their attempts to subjugate, and gunpowder would qualify in that regard.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Kid Charlemagne, post: 48600, member: 93"] Well, Tolkien viewed his stories as set in a mythic "prehistory" of our Earth, so I think that any scientific process using earth elements would work; it's not a question of was gunpowder possible, it's a question of did anyone have it? I'd say that it's quite likely that the Wizards had the knowledge (or at least Gandalf and Saruman - Radagast probably wouldn't care for the stuff). Sauron certainly would have known. As Gary points out, there is some evidence of "blasting powder" being used. As for the Hobbits setting off the fireworks, its a long step from setting a lit candle to a wick of a firework to creating the firework in the first place. Knowing how to fire a gun doesn't give you the skill to [i]make[/i] one. Tolkien's own prejudices against technology probably form the explanation for why such devices were never used by the forces of good as anything more than an amusement. Technology was for Saruman and Sauron to use in their attempts to subjugate, and gunpowder would qualify in that regard. [/QUOTE]

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