With the classic Spanish patilla style miquelet lock, the mainspring pushes up on the heel of the hammer and both sears engaged the toe of the foot.With the Italian or Roman style miquelet lock, the mainspring pushes down on the toe of the hammer and the sears engaged the hammer on both the toe and heel.Patilla style miquelet lock inlaid with gold and silver, late 1600sChiselled and pierced patilla style miquelet lock
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, originally as a flint-against-steel ignition form, once prevalent in the Spanish, Portuguese, and Ottoman empires, Italy, North Africa, and the Balkans from the late 16th to the mid-19th century.
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 to describe the style of musket used by the Miquelet (militia) that had been assigned to the Peninsular Army of the Duke of Wellington.[1] 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, snaphaunce, miquelet and a flintlock. The term flintlock was, and still is, often applied to any form of friction (flint) lock other than the wheellock with the various forms sub-categorized as snaphaunce, miquelet, English Doglock, 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".[2]
History
In the disastrous 1541 campaign of Algiers, weather conditions prevented the firing of arquebuses. Problems were caused on both wheellocks and matchlocks, firstly by wind blowing away the gunpowder 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.[3]
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.[7]
Probably the oldest surviving example of what certainly qualifies as a patilla miquelet lock is item No.I.20 in the Real Armería, Madrid. That unique item is a combination lance and double-barreled gun; its origin unknown, dated almost certainly before 1600.[8]
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.[9]
Main characteristics
The miquelet lock, with its combined battery and pan cover was the final innovative link that made the "true" flintlock mechanism 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.[10]
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.[11]
Spanish miquelet grooved battery face
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.[12]
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) variety of external-mainspring lock due to its association with the Bourbons and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
Llave a la moda style miquelet lock by Alonzo Martinez, circa 1730, showing location of the sears and punzón
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.[13]
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 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.[14]
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.[15]
North African moukhala musket showing agujeta lock characteristicsCastilian agujeta on a long gun depicted in a Puga painting circa 1636
The "agujeta" lock or "la llave de transición", a contemporary of the patilla, was produced in Ripoll, 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.[16]
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.[17]
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 and from there to Russia that the new Spanish lock found its way."[18]
An exquisite Caucasia pistol clearly showing the fastening bridge of the miquelet lock circa 1800Spanish percussion miquelet lock
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.[19]
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.[20]
A percussion cap 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.[21]
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.
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. Its invention gave rise to the cap lock mechanism or percussion lock system which used percussion caps struck by the hammer to set off the gunpowder charge in rifles and cap and ball firearms. Any firearm using a caplock mechanism is a percussion gun. Any long gun with a cap-lock mechanism and rifled barrel is a percussion rifle. Cap and ball describes cap-lock firearms discharging a single bore-diameter spherical bullet with each shot.
A muzzleloader is any firearm in which the user loads the projectile and the propellant charge into the muzzle end of the gun. This is distinct from the modern designs of breech-loading firearms, in which user loads the ammunition into the breech end of the barrel. The term "muzzleloader" applies to both rifled and smoothbore type muzzleloaders, and may also refer to the marksman who specializes in the shooting of such firearms. The firing methods, paraphernalia and mechanism further divide both categories as do caliber.
In firearms terminology, an action is the functional mechanism of a breech-loading firearm that handles the ammunition cartridges, or the method by which that mechanism works. Actions are technically not present on muzzleloaders, as all those are single-shot firearms with a closed off breech with the powder and projectile manually loaded from the muzzle. Instead, the muzzleloader ignition mechanism is referred to as the lock.
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 as the true flintlock, that was introduced in the early 17th century, and gradually replaced earlier firearm-ignition technologies, such as the matchlock, the wheellock, and the earlier flintlock mechanisms such as the snaplock and snaphaunce.
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 from its rotating steel wheel to provide ignition. Developed in Europe around 1500, it was used alongside the matchlock and later the snaplock (1540s), the snaphance (1560s), and the flintlock.
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 progression of the wheellock firing mechanism, and along with the miquelet lock and doglock are predecessors of the flintlock mechanism.
The pepper-box revolver or simply pepperbox is a multiple-barrel firearm, mostly in the form of a handgun, that has three or more gun barrels in a coaxially revolving mechanism. Each barrel holds a single shot, and the shooter can manually rotate the whole barrel assembly to sequentially index each barrel into alignment with the lock or hammer, similar to rotation of a revolver's cylinder.
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". The term is also used for the weapons themselves as a whole, and not just the lock mechanism.
The lock of a firearm is the mechanism used to initiate firing. It is a historical term, in that it generally refers to such mechanisms used in muzzle-loading and early breech-loading firearms. Side-lock refers to the type of construction, in which the individual components of the mechanism are mounted either side of a single plate. The assembly is then mounted to the stock on the side of the firearm. In modern firearm designs, the mechanism to initiate firing is generally constructed within the frame or receiver of the firearm and is referred to as the firing or trigger mechanism.
A snaplock is a type of lock for firing a gun or is a gun fired by such a lock.
A trigger is a mechanism that actuates the function of a ranged weapon such as a firearm, airgun, crossbow, or speargun. The word may also be used to describe a switch that initiates the operation of other non-shooting devices such as a trap, a power tool, or a quick release. A small amount of energy applied to the trigger leads to the release of much more energy.
A hammerless firearm is a firearm that lacks an exposed hammer or hammer spur. Although it may not literally lack a hammer, it lacks a hammer that the user can pull directly. One of the disadvantages of an exposed hammer spur is the tendency to get caught on items such as clothing; covering the hammer by removing the spur reduces this tendency.
The frizzen, historically called the "hammer" or the steel, is an "L"-shaped piece of steel hinged at the front used in flintlock firearms. The frizzen is held in one of two positions, opened or closed, by a leaf spring. When closed, it is positioned over the flash pan so as to enclose a small priming charge of black powder next to the flash hole that is drilled through the barrel into which the main charge has been loaded. When the trigger is pulled, the hammer or cock which includes a shaped piece of flint held in a set of jaws with a scrap of leather or thin piece of lead, snaps forward causing the flint to scrape downward along the frizzen's face, throwing it forward into the open position and exposing the priming powder. The flint scraping along the steel causes a shower of sparks to be thrown into the pan, thereby igniting the priming powder therein and sending flames through the touch hole, which in turn ignites the main charge of black powder in the breech of the barrel, driving the projectile out of the muzzle.
The hammer is a part of a firearm that is used to strike the percussion cap/primer, or a separate firing pin, to ignite the propellant and fire the projectile. It is so called due to the fact that it resembles a hammer in both form and function. The hammer itself is a metal piece that forcefully rotates about a pivot point.
The Kalthoff repeater was a type of repeating firearm that was designed by members of the Kalthoff family around 1630, and became the first repeating firearm to be brought into military service. At least nineteen gunsmiths are known to have made weapons following the Kalthoff design. Some early Kalthoff guns were wheellocks, but the rest were flintlocks. The capacity varied between 5 and 30 rounds, depending on the style of the magazines. A single forward and back movement of the trigger guard, which could be done in 1–2 seconds, readied the weapon for firing. The caliber of Kalthoff guns generally varied between 0.4–0.8 in (10–20 mm), though 0.3 in (7.6 mm) caliber examples also exist.
The Moukahla or moukalla was a type of musket widely used in North Africa, produced by many tribes, clans and nations.
The M1752 Musket was a muzzle-loading firearm invented in 1752 and used by the Spanish Army from then until it was widely replaced by the much more effective Minié rifles during the mid-19th century. The M1752 was the first standardized long gun utilized by the Spanish military and was deployed in Spain's American colonies, where it saw action during the Battle of Havana. Spain also provided around 10,000 up to 12,000 muskets to the American rebels during the Revolutionary War.
Henry Nock (1741–1804) was a British inventor and engineer of the Napoleonic period, best known as a gunmaker. Nock produced many innovative weapons including the screwless lock and the seven-barrelled volley gun, although he did not invent the latter despite it commonly being known as the Nock gun. He was a major supplier to the military during the Napoleonic wars. His high quality duelling pistols and double-barrelled shotguns were much sought after and it is largely through Nock that the latter became the weapon of choice for hunters.
A double-barreled wheellock pistol was crafted by German gunsmith Peter Peck for Charles V in 1540. It is one of the oldest surviving European pistols. It is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
↑ Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra; Diego Clemencín (1839). El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha. E. Aguado, impresor de cámara de S.M. y de su real casa. pp.228–. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
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, ISBN0-600-33154-7
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
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, 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
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).
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