Tea at Trianon: The Word ‘Freelancer’ Originates with Medieval Mercenaries

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

The Word ‘Freelancer’ Originates with Medieval Mercenaries

From Ancient Origins:

Even though the word freelancer often feels omnipresent, very few know its etymology. In fact, freelancers have been around for a long time. The word freelancer has been traced back to Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe, a romantic novel published in 1820 which is set in 12th century England. Ivanhoe was included in a list of 100 Novels that Shaped Our World compiled by the BBC, due to its influence in renewing interest in chivalric romance and the Middle Ages in general. But that’s not the only way in which Ivanhoe has left a mark. Within the novel, one mercenary makes reference to his “Free Lances,” a term to denote his paid army of mercenaries.
“I offered Richard the service of my Free Lances, and he refused them—I will lead them to Hull, seize on shipping, and embark for Flanders; thanks to the bustling times, a man of action will always find employment,” stated Maurice de Bracy, the leader of a gang of mercenaries known as the Free Companions in Scott’s adventure story. This made reference to the warrior’s lance being “free,” a term which denoted that he was free of any political allegiances. (Read more.)