Miquelet lock
![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.](/Images/godic/202501/27/Patilla_Style_Miquelet_Lock5445.jpg")
![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.](/Images/godic/202501/27/Italian_Style_Miquelet_Lock,_AKA_Romanlock5445.jpg")
![Patilla style miquelet lock inlaid with gold and silver, late 1600s](/Images/godic/202501/27/Miquelet_Lock,_late_1600s,_Spain,_steel_inlaid_with_gold_and_silver_-_Cleveland_Museum_of_Art_-DSC089155445.JPG")
![Chiselled and pierced patilla style miquelet lock](/Images/godic/202501/27/Platine_silex_miquelet_XVI_Turquie5445.jpg")
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 and pistols. 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.