Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

Philip · 17th February 2016, 07:22 AM

Ricky and Sten,

Thanks for posting photos of the interior and exterior of your locks. Mechanically, what you guys have is a Portuguese hybrid design called "fecho meio a portuguesa e meio a francesa" -- a lock half in the Portuguese style, half French. These were in vogue during the latter 17th and into the following century.

The Portuguese component consists of what you see on the exterior: a miquelet-style hammer with pivoting dog and the odd angular frizzen-spring. These are derived from the purely Portuguese "fecho de molinhas" or spring lock, which first appeared in the closing decades of the 16th cent. and remained popular for another 175 years in Portugal. The molinhas lock boasted a rather complex sear arrangement which was probably influenced by earlier Iberian wheellocks. The important thing to note is that the molinhas always had an internal mainspring; there is another Portuguese lock called the "fecho de anselmo" which has a large exterior spring which presses downward like that of the Italian "alla romana" locks, but don't let me get carried away and start confusing you!

The French component is what you see inside the lockplate. The "guts" are those of the classic "French" flintlock which was to become the norm in most of Western Europe, plus Britain and America, from the late 17th through early 19th centuries. Note here that the Portuguese version incorporates the French mechanism at its earliest and most unrefined level of development -- the tumbler is not supported by a bridle as with later locks. This has functional consequences since it makes the mechanism prone to falling out of adjustment as parts wear down with repeated use.

The indigenous flintlocks of Portugal are unique in a number of respects, with no exact parallels outside the country. For one reason or another, they never gained traction outside the country, and even in their birthplace the French flintlock along with Italian and Spanish-style miquelets were to eclipse all of them as the 18th cent. wore on. Contrast this to the Castilian miquelet "de patilla" which was used throughout the Ottoman Empire and Iran, or the Spanish "agujeta" lock which you see on the majority of Algerian guns.

However, enough of the fechos de molinhas and the Luso-French hybrids were on guns brought by the Portuguese to sub-saharan Africa that factories in Liege, Belgium which produced cheap trade guns for the African market before World War I also cranked out very rough versions of these locks for export. One of the locks in your photos, the rather newish-looking one, is undoubtedly from this production.

17th February 2016, 07:22 AM	#20
Philip Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: California Posts: 1,036	Portuguese style lock Ricky and Sten, Thanks for posting photos of the interior and exterior of your locks. Mechanically, what you guys have is a Portuguese hybrid design called "fecho meio a portuguesa e meio a francesa" -- a lock half in the Portuguese style, half French. These were in vogue during the latter 17th and into the following century. The Portuguese component consists of what you see on the exterior: a miquelet-style hammer with pivoting dog and the odd angular frizzen-spring. These are derived from the purely Portuguese "fecho de molinhas" or spring lock, which first appeared in the closing decades of the 16th cent. and remained popular for another 175 years in Portugal. The molinhas lock boasted a rather complex sear arrangement which was probably influenced by earlier Iberian wheellocks. The important thing to note is that the molinhas always had an internal mainspring; there is another Portuguese lock called the "fecho de anselmo" which has a large exterior spring which presses downward like that of the Italian "alla romana" locks, but don't let me get carried away and start confusing you! The French component is what you see inside the lockplate. The "guts" are those of the classic "French" flintlock which was to become the norm in most of Western Europe, plus Britain and America, from the late 17th through early 19th centuries. Note here that the Portuguese version incorporates the French mechanism at its earliest and most unrefined level of development -- the tumbler is not supported by a bridle as with later locks. This has functional consequences since it makes the mechanism prone to falling out of adjustment as parts wear down with repeated use. The indigenous flintlocks of Portugal are unique in a number of respects, with no exact parallels outside the country. For one reason or another, they never gained traction outside the country, and even in their birthplace the French flintlock along with Italian and Spanish-style miquelets were to eclipse all of them as the 18th cent. wore on. Contrast this to the Castilian miquelet "de patilla" which was used throughout the Ottoman Empire and Iran, or the Spanish "agujeta" lock which you see on the majority of Algerian guns. However, enough of the fechos de molinhas and the Luso-French hybrids were on guns brought by the Portuguese to sub-saharan Africa that factories in Liege, Belgium which produced cheap trade guns for the African market before World War I also cranked out very rough versions of these locks for export. One of the locks in your photos, the rather newish-looking one, is undoubtedly from this production.