Origins of the Word "Freelance"

The word “freelance” was invented by the novelist Sir Walter Scott, to describe a type of medieval warrior that really existed. Most knights and men at arms were loyal to specific feudal overlords, through an exchange of mutual obligations. Some knights and men at arms were direct retainers, working for what was essentially a wage at the lord's own castle. The modern equivalent of this would be the “company man,” working directly at corporate headquarters.

Other knights were semi-autonomous, ruling small fiefs of their own. They didn't exactly own these fiefs as private property, because they had to pay a type of rent to their lord in the form of military service. The modern equivalent of this would be a franchise owner.

 

Still another type of warrior was the “free companion,” essentially a mercenary knight or man at arms. Free companions could serve and fight on a temporary basis for any lord who would have them. Sir Walter Scott, in one of his historical novels, referred to them as “free lances,” because their lances (and other weapons) were freely available to the highest bidder. It was a “this gun for hire” kind of situation.

 

So whether you're a freelance writer or a freelance marketing consultant, database person or engineer, your position in the modern economic system is equivalent to that of a “free companion” in the system of feudalism. You're a mental mercenary, a “gun for hire.” Self-mythologizing like that can really help get you through the work day!