Did you know?
Think it’s hard being a freelancer?....you used to have to shoot an arrow!
To be a freelancer you used to prove you could shoot an arrow!
The word Freelance is now ubiquitous but many think that it is a new phenomenon....they are very wrong. Like most things, it is a reincarnation of something that came to the world many years ago & even it’s ‘modern’ name was created over 200 years ago.
Admittedly, over 200 years ago there was a distinct shortage of web or java developers & Uber was a just a mere thought but the word stood for the same principle in that people pursued a career that did not have long term commitment to one employer. And, as the well known advert states, it did exactly what it said on the tin! They were lancers for hire!
Not only have the skillsets moved forward over that time but also the dress code. We do now have a more relaxed attitude to office attire as well as dress down Friday & it could also be said that the previous Freelancer dress could prove extremely uncomfortable in the desk environment.
The oldest reference to the word “freelance” is disputed but dates back to around the start of the 19th century. The word appeared in The Life and Times of Hugh Miller by Thomas N. Brown (1809) & later in 1820 where Sir Walter Scott mentioned it in his book, Ivanhoe, written in 1819, where a feudal lord refers to the paid army he's assembled:
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.
Hired soldiers were important pieces of major military campaigns after circa 1000 A.D. and before we had the word freelance records from the Middle Ages show that most often, hired soldiers were called stipendiarii (they were given a stipend for fighting) or simply mercennarius ("mercenaries").
The word gained broader meanings including referring to a politician with no political affiliation.....or an Independent in these modern times.
One could say the lance has been replaced by the Mouse...but FreeMice is not as catchy!....
