Wheellock Pistol
By the 1570s, French gunmakers had developed a wheellock that, compared with German locks, was a compact and elegantly shaped mechanism. Combined with lighter barrels, the new lock gave French firearms a distinctive appearance enhanced by restrained but elaborate decoration in various techniques. Further technical innovations during the seventeenth century––like the flintlock of French design and improved forms of guns and pistols––won French gunmakers a leading role in Europe. French models and ornamental patterns were followed widely and greatly influenced the forms and decoration of firearms in other countries. A contributing factor in this trend was the massive emigration of Protestant craftsmen who fled France in the late seventeenth century to avoid religious persecution.
