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Miquelet lock is a modern term used by collectors and curators, largely in the English-speaking world, for a type of firing mechanism used in muskets. It is a distinctive form of snaplock, originally as a flint-against-steel ignition form, once prevalent in Spain, Portugal, Italy, the Balkans, North Africa, the Ottoman Empire and throughout Spain's colonies 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 to describe the style of musket used by the Miquelet (militia) that had been assigned to the Peninsular Army of the Duke of Wellington.〔(Held 1970:75)〕 In most of Spain, it was traditionally called the "llave de rastrillo", and in Catalonia and Valencia it was called the "llave de pedreñal" or simply "pedreñal". 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 flintock". 〔(Blackmore 1965:28 and Blair 1983:67)〕 ==History== After the disastrous campaign of Algiers (1541) where "wind and rain" prevented the firing of arquebuses, Charles I of Spain might have expressed to his gunmakers the urgent need to devise an ignition mechanism less prone to failure in bad weather. 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. In less than three decades, a lock did appear that is known today as the miquelet lock. The poet/novelist Ginés Pérez de Hita, in his historical novel ''Civil Wars of Granada'', alludes to his "escopeta de rastrillo" being in common use in Xàtiva and Valencia prior to 1567 (revolt start) and during the Alpujarras Rebellion that ended in 1571. Cervantes says in the "Don Quixot" (in 1604) that in Catalonia their name was pedreñal, to the extent that pedreñal lock means miquelet lock, the long-barreled wheel lock 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. 〔(Lavin 1965:158-159) 〕 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. 〔 (Lavin 1965:157-8; Spencer 2008:30; and Blackmore 1965:Fig 780-781)〕 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. 〔 (Neal 1955:II-5 and Lavin 1955:266-267)〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Miquelet lock」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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