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Miquelet lock is a modern term used by collectors and curators for a type of firing mechanism used in muskets and pistols. It is a distinctive form of
snaplock A snaplock is a type of lock for firing a gun or is a gun fired by such a lock. A snaplock ignites the (usually muzzle-loading) weapon's propellant by means of sparks produced when a spring-powered cock strikes a flint down on to a piece of hard ...
, originally as a flint-against-steel ignition form, once prevalent in the
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
,
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
, and Ottoman empires, Italy,
North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
, and the
Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the wh ...
s from the late 16th to the mid 19th centuries. The term ''miquelet lock'' was not recorded until the 19th century, long after the appearance of the mechanism in the 16th century, and is of uncertain origin. One commonly held view is that it was coined by British troops in the
Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain, ...
to describe the style of musket used by the Miquelet (militia) that had been assigned to the Peninsular Army of the
Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister o ...
. In most of Spain, it was traditionally called the ''llave de rastrillo'' ("rake lock"), and in Catalonia and Valencia it was called the ''pany de pedrenyal'' ("flint-lock") or simply ''pedrenyal'' ("flint"). There is often confusion, or at least a difference of opinion, as to what constitutes a
snaplock A snaplock is a type of lock for firing a gun or is a gun fired by such a lock. A snaplock ignites the (usually muzzle-loading) weapon's propellant by means of sparks produced when a spring-powered cock strikes a flint down on to a piece of hard ...
,
snaphaunce Swedish snaphance guns from the mid 17th century A snaphance or snaphaunce is a type of firearm lock in which a flint struck against a striker plate above a steel pan ignites the priming powder which fires the gun. It is the mechanical progressi ...
, miquelet and a
flintlock Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism itself, also known ...
. The term flintlock was, and still is, often applied to any form of friction (flint) lock other than the
wheellock A wheellock, wheel-lock or wheel lock is a friction-wheel mechanism which creates a spark that causes a firearm to fire. It was the next major development in firearms technology after the matchlock and the first self-igniting firearm. Its name is ...
with the various forms sub-categorized as snaphaunce, miquelet, English
Doglock A doglock is a type of lock for firearms that preceded the 'true' flintlock in rifles, muskets, and pistols in the 17th century. Commonly used throughout Europe in the late seventeenth century, it gained popular favor in the British and Dutch ...
, Baltic Lock, and French or "true" flintlock ("true" being the final, widely used form). Strictly speaking, all are flintlocks. However, current usage demands the separation of all other forms of flintlock from the so-called "true flintlock".


History

In the disastrous 1541 campaign of Algiers, weather conditions prevented the firing of
arquebus An arquebus ( ) is a form of long gun that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. An infantryman armed with an arquebus is called an arquebusier. Although the term ''arquebus'', derived from the Dutch word ''Haakbu ...
es. Problems were caused on both wheellocks and matchlocks, firstly by wind blowing away the
gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). Th ...
when the pan cover was opened during priming, and secondly, by rain wetting matches and gunpowder. The earliest known appearance of the miquelet lock was in Spain within three decades of the Algiers military disaster. The poet/novelist Ginés Pérez de Hita, in his historical novel ''Civil Wars of Granada'', alludes to his "" being in common use in
Xàtiva Xàtiva (, es, Játiva ) is a town in eastern Spain, in the province of Valencia, on the right (western) bank of the river Albaida and at the junction of the Valencia–Murcia and Valencia Albacete railways. It is located 25 km west ...
and
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area also ...
prior to and during the Alpujarras Rebellion (1567–1571). In his 1605 work ''
Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Western ...
'',
Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best know ...
says that in Catalonia their name was pedreñal, to the extent that pedreñal lock means miquelet lock, the long-barreled
wheel lock A wheellock, wheel-lock or wheel lock is a friction-wheel mechanism which creates a spark that causes a firearm to fire. It was the next major development in firearms technology after the matchlock and the first self-igniting firearm. Its name is ...
pistols were not called pedreñals. As both de Hita and Cervantes allude to pistols, pedrenales, and escopetas being in use that were not wheellocks, it is reasonable to suggest some form of flint-against-steel gunlock was in use by the late 16th century. Indeed, from about 1580 on, the listings in estate auctions increasingly referred to "arcabuces de rastrillo" and "escopeta de rastrillo". "Rastrillar", to comb or rake, perfectly describes the action of a flint down a battery (frizzen) face. Some listings used the term "llaves de chispa" (meaning spark locks, applied to all manner of flintlocks, miquelets included). Contemporaries did not use the term "miquelet" to describe any type of lock or firearm. Probably the oldest surviving example of what certainly qualifies as a patilla miquelet lock is item No.I.20 in the Real Armería,
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
. That unique item is a combination
lance A lance is a spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior or cavalry soldier (lancer). In ancient and medieval warfare, it evolved into the leading weapon in cavalry charges, and was unsuited for throwing or for repeated thrusting, unlike si ...
and double-barreled gun; its origin unknown, dated almost certainly before 1600. The archaic form of Spanish lock was further developed by Madrid and provincial gunmakers, almost certainly including the Marquart family of Royal gunmakers, into the Spanish patilla style now most associated with the miquelet.


Main characteristics

The miquelet lock, with its combined battery and pan cover was the final innovative link that made the "true"
flintlock mechanism The flintlock mechanism is a type of lock used on muskets, rifles, and pistols from the early 17th to the mid-19th century. It is commonly referred to as a "flintlock" (without the word ''mechanism''), though that term is also commonly used for ...
possible. It proved to be both the precursor and companion to the "true" flintlock. Two main forms of the miquelet were produced: The Spanish lock, where the mainspring pushed up on the heel of the cock foot and the two sears engaged the toe of the cock foot, and the Italian or Roman lock, where the mainspring pushed down on the toe of the cock foot and the sears engaged the cock on the heel of the foot. Neither form was confined exclusively to either country, that is, both Roman locks of Spanish manufacture and Spanish locks of Italian manufacture are not uncommon. The features most associated with the miquelet are the horizontal sears, acting through the lockplate, coupled with the external mainspring and the top jaw screw ring. Experts agree that the use of horizontally acting sears is the true defining feature because some variations of the miquelet do not have the external mainspring and/or the large top jaw screw ring. Another seemingly ubiquitous feature of the Spanish miquelets was the striated battery face, or put another way, vertically grooved frizzen. Initially, the striated face was a detachable plate dovetailed and often screwed to the battery. This allowed for the replacement of worn faces without having to rework or replace the complete battery. The detachable grooved face went out of fashion around 1660-1675, replaced by grooving made directly into the battery face, almost certainly due to improved heat treatment and tempering of the battery. The grooving was to a great extent eliminated by French-influenced Madrid gunsmiths around 1700. However, the practice of using both the detachable and integral grooved face was continued by many Spanish provincial gunsmiths as well as by North African and Ottoman lockmakers. The fully developed lock was known by various names, depending on region or variation of design. In Spain, it was known as the "llave española"; or simply the "patilla". The patilla is the classic Spanish miquelet and the designation of patilla is often used nowadays in lieu of miquelet. The term patilla derives from the fact that the front foot of the cock resembled a rooster foot. In Catalonia, it was "clau de miquelet." In Portugal, it was known as the "fecho de patilha de invenção." Indigenous variations of the patilla had names such as the "a la de invenciõn", later known as the "alla romana" or "romanlock" or simply, the "Italian." The Spanish miquelet is termed "alla micheletta" by Italian auctioneers. Serious writers and collectors in Europe eschew this term and use more precise, chronologically and geographically pertinent terminology, such as "alla borbona" for the Neapolitan (
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's admini ...
) variety of external-mainspring lock due to its association with the
Bourbons The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanish ...
and the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and all ...
. The French influence on the Spanish lock coincided with the accession of the Bourbon Felipe V in 1701 as king of Spain. This influence produced a type of lock known as the "llave a la moda" or more commonly as the "Madrid" lock as it was produced almost exclusively in and for that city. The Madrid lock is almost indistinguishable from the ordinary French flintlock, with the laterally-operating sears being the only Spanish connection to the classic patilla lock. The half-cock sear (usually round) engaged the top of a small projection often disguised as a rococo embellishment on the breast of the cock. A similar projection on the opposite side of the cock engaged the underside of the full-cock sear, which could be round, flat, or square. The French flintlock without any miquelet features was termed "llave a la francesa." It was used very little on weapons for private use, but was adopted under
Carlos IV , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father =Charles III of Spain , mother =Maria Amalia of Saxony , birth_date =11 November 1748 , birth_place =Palace of Portici, Portici, Naples , death_date = , death_place = ...
for use on military arms such as the Spanish Model 1752/1757 musket, although the French lock was later superseded by a miquelet patilla lock on the Model 1752/91 as the French style lock was deemed too fragile, a frequent complaint from colonial authorities. Locks using features from Spain, France and Italy, which retained the patilla external mainspring and lateral sear setup, came to be labeled "a las tres modas" (lock of three fashions). Without a doubt, this lock is the final development of the miquelet flintlock before the percussion era. It was produced in Spain and Italy. The "agujeta" lock or "la llave de transición", a contemporary of the patilla, was produced in
Ripoll Ripoll () is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Ripollès, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is located on confluence of the Ter River and its tributary Freser, next to the Pyrenees near the French border. The population was 11, ...
, a gun-making center in Catalonia. The lock was primarily fitted to a long-barreled pistol called a "pedrenyal" and also on long guns for a short period until the patilla became the predominant lock of manufacture in Spain. In Italy, the romanlock seems to have been the mechanical counterpart, and possibly the predecessor of the agujeta. The agujeta used a back catch on the cock in lieu of a half cock sear and the mainspring bore down on the toe of the cock as with the romanlock. A detached combination lock, wheellock and what is certainly an agujeta/romanlock form lock, in the Royal Artillery Museum, Turin, strongly suggests the agujeta/romanlock came to Spain from Italy, probably during a period of Spanish involvement there. The agujeta lock became firmly established early on in North Africa, most likely being crafted in imitation of Spanish imports. One example would be the Kabyle Musket (moukhala or moukalla), sometimes referred to as the Arab toe-lock. The miquelet is often termed the "Mediterranean" lock due to its widespread use in areas surrounding the Mediterranean, particularly in the Ottoman sphere of influence. As one author comments: "It was to Arabia and
Tartary Tartary ( la, Tartaria, french: Tartarie, german: Tartarei, russian: Тартария, Tartariya) or Tatary (russian: Татария, Tatariya) was a blanket term used in Western European literature and cartography for a vast part of Asia bound ...
and from there to Russia that the new Spanish lock found its way." The miquelet may have come to the attention of arms makers in Istanbul via long-established trade routes from Italian city-states through the port of Ragusa (Dubrovnik) to provinces on the Balkan Peninsula. Other avenues were probably provided by booty from corsair raids and/or from the many Ottoman-Euro conflicts of the period. The gunmakers of the Ottoman Empire adopted the conventional Spanish patilla in its basic form, albeit with an additional feature in the form of a fastening bridge between the cock screw and the frizzen screw. This bridge or long bridle had the effect of decreasing torsion on the cock axis. It also provided ample space for decoration to suit local traditions. A
percussion cap The percussion cap or percussion primer, introduced in the early 1820s, is a type of single-use percussion ignition device for muzzle loader firearm locks enabling them to fire reliably in any weather condition. This crucial invention gave rise ...
lock mechanism styled on the patilla and romanlock pattern miquelets was used on pistols and sporting guns right up to the advent of the cartridge firearm. Sculpturing of the hammer in the form of wildlife (lions, dogs, mythical beasts, or fish) was a common practice on these percussion miquelet locks. Miquelets fashioned in this way were particularly well represented by the gunmakers of
Eibar Eibar ( eu, Eibar, es, Éibar) is a city and municipality within the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country of Spain. It is the head town of Debabarrena, one of the '' eskualde / comarca'' of Gipuzkoa. Eibar has 27,138 inhabitants ( Eusta ...
.(Neal 1955:43 and Corry 1985:24)


See also

*
Caplock mechanism The percussion cap or percussion primer, introduced in the early 1820s, is a type of single-use percussion ignition device for muzzle loader firearm locks enabling them to fire reliably in any weather condition. This crucial invention gave rise ...
*
Firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...
*
Flintlock Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism itself, also known ...
*
Hand cannon The hand cannon (Chinese: 手 銃 ''shŏuchòng'', or 火 銃 ''huŏchòng''), also known as the gonne or handgonne, is the first true firearm and the successor of the fire lance. It is the oldest type of small arms as well as the most mechan ...
*
Matchlock A matchlock or firelock is a historical type of firearm wherein the gunpowder is ignited by a burning piece of rope that is touched to the gunpowder by a mechanism that the musketeer activates by pulling a lever or trigger with his finger. Before ...
*
Percussion cap The percussion cap or percussion primer, introduced in the early 1820s, is a type of single-use percussion ignition device for muzzle loader firearm locks enabling them to fire reliably in any weather condition. This crucial invention gave rise ...
*
Snaphance Swedish snaphance guns from the mid 17th century A snaphance or snaphaunce is a type of firearm lock in which a flint struck against a striker plate above a steel pan ignites the priming powder which fires the gun. It is the mechanical progressio ...
*
Snaplock A snaplock is a type of lock for firing a gun or is a gun fired by such a lock. A snaplock ignites the (usually muzzle-loading) weapon's propellant by means of sparks produced when a spring-powered cock strikes a flint down on to a piece of hard ...
*
Wheellock A wheellock, wheel-lock or wheel lock is a friction-wheel mechanism which creates a spark that causes a firearm to fire. It was the next major development in firearms technology after the matchlock and the first self-igniting firearm. Its name is ...


References


Bibliography

*Ágoston, Gábor. ''Guns for the Sultan: Military Power and the Weapons Industry in the Ottoman Empire.'' UK: Cambridge University Press, 2005 *Blackmore, Howard L. ''Guns and Rifles of the World.'' London: Viking Press, 1965 *Blair, Claude. Editor. ''Pollard's History of Firearms.'' New York: Macmillan, 1983, *Brinckerhoff, Sidney B. and Pierce A. Chamberlain. ''Spanish Military Weapons in Colonial America, 1700-1821.'' Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Stockpole Books, 1972 *Chapin, Howard M. and Charles D. Cook. Colonial Firearms Part I in ''Guns & Other Arms''. William Guthman, Editor. New York City: 1979 *Corry, Noel, Major. "The Miquelet Lock" ''The Gun Digest, 39th Edition.'' Northfield, Illinois: DBI Books, 1985 *Daskalov, Nikola, and Vyara Kovacheva. ''Weaponry of the Past.'' Sofia: Sofia Press, 1989 *Elgood, Robert. ''Firearms of the Islamic World in the Tareq Rajab Museum, Kuwait.'' London: I B Tauris, 1995 *Elgood, Robert. ''The Arms of Greece and Her Balkan Neighbors in the Ottoman Period'' New York: Thames & Hudson, 2009 *Graells, Eudaldo. "A Primer of Ripoll Gunlocks" in ''Arms and Armor Annual, Vol. I'' R. Held, Editor. Northfield, Illinois: DBI Books, 1973 *Held, Robert. ''The Age of Firearms. Second Revised Edition.'' Northfield, IL: DBI Books, 1970 *Held, Robert, Editor. ''Arms and Armor Annual, Vol. I'' Northfield, Illinois: DBI Books, 1973 *Lavin, James D. ''A History of Spanish Firearms.'' London: Herbert Jenkins, 1965 *Lavin, James D. "Spanish Agujeta-Lock Firearms" in ''Art, Arms, and Armour: An International Anthology, Vol.I: 1979-80.'' R.Held, Editor. Switzerland: Acquafresca Editrice, 1979 *Neal, W. Keith. ''Spanish Guns and Pistols.'' London: Bell, 1955 *Spencer, Michael. ''Early Firearms 1300-1800.'' Oxford: Shire Publications, 2008 *Winant, Lewis. "Getting the Gunpowder Going-Development of Ignition in Gunlocks" in ''Guns & Other Arms''. William Guthman, Editor. New York City: 1979


Further reading

*Blair, Claude. ''European and American Arms, 1100-1850'' New York: Bonanza Books, 2012 *Blair, Claude and Leonid Tarassuk, Editors. ''The Complete Encyclopedia of Arms and Weapons.'' New York: Simon & Schuster, 1982 *Brown, M. L. ''Firearms in Colonial America: The Impact on History and Technology, 1492-1792.'' Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian, 1980 *Carpegna, Nolfo di. ''Brescian Firearms from matchlock to flintlock.'' Rome: Edizioni De Luca, 1997 *Carpegna, Nolfo di. "A Summary of Notes on Central-Italian Firearms of the Eighteenth Century" in ''Art, Arms, and Armour: An International Anthology, Vol. I:'' 1979-80. R.Held, Editor. Switzerland: Acquafresca Editrice, 1979 *Chase, Kenneth. ''Firearms A Global History to 1700.'' Cambridge University Press, 2003 *Cipolla, Carlo. ''Guns, Sails, and Empires: Technological Innovation and European Expansion, 1400-1700.'' New York: Barnes and Noble, 1996 *Corry, Noel, Major. "Guns and Pistols of Kurdistan and the Caucasus". ''The Gun Digest, 42nd Edition.'' Northfield, Illinois: DBI Books, 1988 *Crosby, Alfred W. ''Throwing Fire-Projectile Technology Through History.'' Cambridge University Press, 2002 *Daehnhardt, Rainer, and W. Keith Neal, Translator and Editor. ''Espingarda Pferfeyta or The Perfect Gun.'' London: Sotheby Park Benet, 1974 *Garavaglia, Louis A. and Charles G. Worman. ''Firearms of the American West, 1803-1865.'' Albuquerque: UNM Press, 1984 *Given, Brian J. ''A Most Pernicious Thing: Gun Trading and Native Warfare in the Early Contact Period.'' Ottawa: Carleton University Press, 1994 *Hall, Bert S. ''Weapons and Warfare in Renaissance Europe.'' Baltimore: JHU Press, 1997 *Hayward, J. F. ''The Art of the Gunmaker, Volume I 1500-1660.'' New York: St Martin's Press, 1962 *Kelly, Jack. ''Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, & Pyrotechnics.'' New York: Basic Books, 2004 *Lenk, Torsten. ''The Flintlock: its origin and development.'' Translated by G. A. Urquhart, Edited by J. F. Hayward. New York: Bramhall House, 1965 *Lindsay, Merrill. ''One Hundred Great Guns.'' New York: Walker and Co., 1967 *Masini, Sergio and Gian Rodolfo Rotasso. ''Complete Book of Firearms.'' New York: Portland House, 1988 Translated by Valerie Palmer. Original Publisher: Mondadori, Milan *McNeill, William H. ''The Age of Gunpowder Empires, 1450-1800.'' Washington, D.C.: American Historical Association, 1989 *Murphey, Rhoads. ''Ottoman Warfare 1500-1700.'' New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers, 1999 *North, Anthony. ''An Introduction to Islamic Arms. Victoria and Albert Museum Introductions to the Arts.'' Owings Mills, Maryland: Stemmer House, 1985 *Parry, V.J., and
M. E. Yapp Malcolm Edward Yapp (born 29 May 1931) is a British historian, professor emeritus of modern history of Western Asia at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. Works * 'Two British historians of Persia', in Bernard Lewis & Peter Malc ...
, Editors. ''War, Technology and Society in the Middle East.'' London: Oxford University Press, 1975 *Peterson, Harold L. ''Arms and Armor in Colonial America 1526-1783.'' Harrisburg, Pa: Stockpole Books, 1956 *Peterson, Harold L. ''The Treasury of the Gun.'' New York: Golden Press, 1962 *Russell, Carl P. ''Guns on the Early Frontiers.'' Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1957


External links


Spanish miquelet lock pistols
* ttp://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/69336/rec/169 Firearms from the collections of the Prince of Liechtenstein an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on the "llave ala moda" style of miquelet locks, also known as the Madrid Lock (front cover shows an exquisite example). {{Early firearms Spanish inventions Firearm actions Early firearms