Gunpowder appeared in Europe in the 1350's and primitive cannons followed soon thereafter. These cannons, named bombards by their Italian inventors, often scared the enemy more than they hurt him. The early siege cannon was unwieldy and unreliable, the early cast-iron or bronze barrels being both too heavy and too weak for widespread use. The solution came in developing better methods for smelting iron and brass. The Cannon of the 16th and 17th centuries, cast using improved blast furnaces, began the true era of artillery.