Firearms
The first handguns required a free hand to ignite the gunpowder via the touchhole, compromising accuracy. The matchlock was developed to enhance precision, a movable armature that responds to trigger pressure by delivering a lighted match into the pan. Unreliable in inclement weather, the matchlock was replaced in the early 16th century by the wheel lock. Pulling the trigger released a grooved wheel held against a piece of pyrite. The wheel lock gave way to the snaphaunce, which held a flint that ran down rough steel to the flash pan, this preceded the flintlock developed by the French in 1612.
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