It's an intriguing question and the answer lies in some less-familiar ignition systems preceding the appearance of the French flintlock--namely the snaphaunce and the miquelet.
There's a tendency to assume firearms evolved in a linear way--the matchlock, followed by the wheellock, then the snaphaunce, miquelet and finally the flintlock.
The Plaza de la Reina can be found behind the cathedral, and from here you get a beautiful view of the
Miquelet, the most famous bell tower in the city.
Several will be shown at the revamped Herbert, including a pair of flintlock holster pistols dating back to 1680 and a
miquelet flintlock rifle thought to come from Spain, North Africa or Turkey in the 17th or 18th century.
No one seems able or willing to tell him exactly what happened to his predecessor, also called Hans, though the first Hans' stuff remains in the house he's given and the insistent, possibly senile
Miquelet (Rafel Ramis) believes he'll be back at any moment.
The Frazier gun uses a spark-producing ignition system commonly referred to by the relatively modern term of
miquelet. This was a strongly built, reliable and virtually weatherproof lock.
Ignition was usually via flintlock, but some snaphances and
miquelets were also seen.