Axel E.W. Müller, Gunpowder Technology in the Fifteenth Century: A Study, Edition and Translation of the Firework Book. Royal Armouries Research Series, 3. Woodbridge, Suffolk: The Boydell Press, 2024, 378 pp.

The introduction of gunpowder technology into late medieval Europe brought new forms of violence as well as indirect transformations in military strategy, urban fortification designs, and even different types of wounds that physicians struggled to understand and treat. In addition, it generated a host of new texts on technical subjects that made their way into manuscript and eventually printed book culture. This volume by Axel Müller presents a critical edition and English translation of one of the most popular texts from this genre, the so-called “Firework Book” explaining how to prepare, preserve, and utilize different types of gunpowder. The edition is based on a 15th-century manuscript in New High German that currently resides in the Royal Armouries collection at Leeds, and it includes a transcription and translation of the entire text, along with commentary and analysis.