Roger Bacon

Lore & Background

Bacon was born in Ilchester, Somerset, England, in the early 13th century; his birth date is uncertain, with the only source being a statement from his 1267 Opus Tertium. He studied at Oxford and became a Master there, lecturing on Aristotle. He taught at the University of Paris from 1237 or later, then left by 1247. He became a Franciscan friar in 1256 or 1257. By the mid-1260s, he sought patrons and, through Guy de Foulques (later Pope Clement IV), was commissioned in 1266 to write. He sent the Pope his Opus Majus, Opus Minus, and other works in 1267 or 1268. After Clement's death in 1268, Bacon lost his protector; he may have been imprisoned or placed under house arrest around 1277–1278, though this is disputed. He returned to the Franciscan House at Oxford sometime after 1278 and died around 1292.

Reader's Guide

Roger Bacon’s significance lies in his early advocacy for studying nature through empiricism, intertwining his Catholic faith with scientific inquiry. He is considered one of the earliest European proponents of the modern scientific method, alongside his teacher Robert Grosseteste. Bacon applied the empirical approach of Ibn al-Haytham to observations found in Aristotle’s texts, and his own experimental testing proved crucial when his results contradicted Aristotelian predictions. His linguistic work is noted for an early exposition of a universal grammar. Bacon was also partially responsible for revising the medieval university curriculum by adding optics. His major work, the *Opus Majus*, was sent to Pope Clement IV in 1267 at the pope’s request. Although gunpowder was first invented in China, Bacon was the first in Europe to record its formula. In the early modern era, he was regarded as a wizard, particularly famed for the story of his mechanical or necromantic brazen head. Twenty-first-century re-evaluations, however, emphasize that Bacon was essentially a medieval thinker, with much of his “experimental” knowledge derived from books in the scholastic tradition.

Did You Know?

• Bacon was known by the scholastic accolade Doctor Mirabilis.
• He was the first in Europe to record the formula for gunpowder, though it was first invented in China.
• Bacon's family were considered royal partisans during the Second Barons' War, leading to their property being seized.
• He was fluent in several languages and noted corruptions in scripture and Greek philosophical works due to mistranslation.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"De Secretis Operibus Artis et Naturae et de Nullitate Magise, Ch. 6, in a reference to Bacon's knowledge of gunpowder, as quoted by Thomas Thomson, The History of Chemistry (1830) Vol. 1, p. 36." — Roger Bacon "Mix together saltpetre, luru vopo vir con utriet [powdered charcoal], and sulphur, and you will make thunder and lightning, if you know the method of mixing them." — Roger Bacon "De Secretis Operibus Artis et Naturae et de Nullitate Magise, Ch. 11, in a reference to Bacon's knowledge of making gunpowder, as quoted by Thomas Thomson, The History of Chemistry (1830) Vol. 1, p. 36." — Roger Bacon "To ask the proper question is half of knowing." — Roger Bacon