Wee Free: Difference between revisions

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit Next edit →

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Revision as of 14:39, 30 January 2022 edit AndrasSkot (talk \| contribs) Extended confirmed users 6,083 edits Restored revision 1063589587 by NOLA1982 (talk): Not an improvement. The conservative Presbyterians, liberals and Pratchett fans might need the information to make sense of the usage of Wee Free Tags: Twinkle Undo ← Previous edit		Revision as of 22:23, 5 September 2024 edit undo Chris the speller (talk \| contribs) Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers 860,697 edits m →Politics: replaced: Prime Minister → prime minister Tag: AWB Next edit →
(11 intermediate revisions by 7 users not shown)
Line 1: {{Short description\|Scottish epithet}} The term '''Wee Free''' was an [[epithet]] commonly used to distinguish two [[Scottish Presbyterian]] Churches after the union of 1900: [[Free Church of Scotland (since 1900)\|The Free Kirk]] and The [[United Free Church of Scotland\|United Free Kirk]]. Since the United Free were approximately 25 times larger, but hard to distinguish without some knowledge of Scottish history and theology, the rhyming Scottish [[diminutive]] became used as an epithet of the post 1900 Free Kirk. The epithet Wee Free was also applied to a small group in the 1918 [[Liberal Party (UK)\|Liberal]] Party who on principle did not want to go into coalition with the [[Conservative Party (UK)\|Conservative]] Party. The [[Independent Liberal Party (UK, 1918)\|Wee Free Liberals]] either did not get, or refused, [[Coalition Coupon\|the coupon]] signed by [[David Lloyd George]] of the Liberals and [[Bonar Law]] of the Conservatives.<ref>{{cite book \|last1=Beaverbrook \|first1=Lord \|title=The Decline and Fall of Lloyd George \|date=1963 \|publisher=Duell, Sloan and Pearce \|location=New York \|page=14 \|edition=first \|url=https://archive.org/stream/declineandfallof006894mbp#page/n23/mode/2up/search/wee \|access-date=30 December 2017}}</ref> The ''Wee Free'' in modern usage is used, usually in a pejorative way, of any small group who because of their, arguably obscure, religious principles choose to remain outside or separate from a larger body. A Wee Free attitude might show as a preference for being part of a smaller but ideologically sound group rather than a larger compromised one.<ref>{{cite news \|last1=Maguire \|first1=Patrick \|title=Vince Cable's "exotic spresm" moment disguises bigger questions for the Liberal Democrats \|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2018/09/vince-cable-s-exotic-spresm-moment-disguises-bigger-questions-liberal-democrats \|access-date=18 September 2018 \|agency=New Statesman \|date=18 September 2018}}</ref> == Origin == In 1900 the Free Church ~~was~~had been the second largest Presbyterian church in Scotland ~~after~~since the 1843 [[Disruption of 1843\|Disruption]], its exit from the "Auld Kirk" ~~in 1843 known as~~ (the ~~[[Disruption~~Church of ~~1843\|Disruption]]~~Scotland).<ref>{{cite news \|title=Church at crossroads over issue of gays in the clergy \|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/church-at-crossroads-over-issue-of-gays-in-the-clergy-1-1655004 \|access-date=29 April 2017 \|publisher=The Scotsman \|date=23 May 2011}}</ref> In the years leading up to 1900 the [[Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900)\|Free Kirk]] and the more theologically liberal [[United Presbyterian Church (Scotland)\|United Presbyterian Church]] aligned themselves with each other, with full union as the goal. This led to [[Articles Declaratory of the Constitution of the Church of Scotland\|Declaratory Articles]] being passed by their [[Presbyterian polity#General assembly\|General Assemblies]], changing or clarifying their doctrine so that there would be no barrier to union. The Free Kirk's Declaratory Act of 1892 was objected to by a minority some of whom formed the [[Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland]], which continues to this day. Eight years later when Scotland's second and third largest Presbyterian denominations formally unified, a small group within the Free Church chose to stay outside the union. They were given the epithet the Wee Free Church (or Wee Frees) and, since they ~~appealed~~litigated tofor a share of the church's endowment ~~Caesar~~<ref>{{cite book \|last1=Moncrieff \|first1=A. R. Hope \|title=Bonnie Scotland \|date=1922 \|publisher=A. & C. Black \|location=London \|page=240 \|edition=2nd \|url=https://archive.org/stream/scotland00moncuoft#page/240/mode/1up/search/%22house+of+lords%22 \|access-date=27 April 2017}}</ref> through the Scottish Courts and right up to the House of Lords, they became well -known and the phrase passed into common usage. The Lords decision in the case of [[Bannatyne v Overtoun]] was in favour of the small body, a decision which surprised many. == Background == Line 9: == Politics == [[~~National~~Independent Liberal ~~Club#Inter-war~~Party ~~years~~(UK, 1918)\|The Wee Free Liberals]],<ref>{{cite book \|title=The Campaign Guide \|date=1922 \|publisher=The National Unionist Association \|location=London \|pages=80–82 \|edition=14 \|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112087696206;view=1up;seq=92 \|access-date=29 April 2017}}</ref> ~~included~~including [[Donald Maclean (British politician)\|Donald Maclean]] ~~who~~, were [[Liberal Party (UK)\|Liberals]] ~~but~~who did not go into the [[Lloyd George ministry\|coalition]] of [[David Lloyd George]] with the [[Conservative Party (UK)\|Conservatives]] of [[Bonar Law]] when he took over as prime minister from [[H. H. Asquith]] as(Asquith remained Liberal Party leader, although he was out of Parliament between the ~~Liberals~~[[1918 United Kingdom general election\|1918 general election]] and the [[1920 Paisley by-election]]). There were around 31 Wee Free [[List of United Kingdom MPs\|MPs]] although political boundaries were not black and white.<ref>{{cite book \|last1=Douglas \|first1=Roy \|authorlink=Roy Douglas (academic) \|title=A History of the Liberal and Liberal Democrat Parties \|date=2005 \|publisher=A&C Black \|location=London \|page=185 \|isbn=978-1-85285-353-2 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z_MLf1cci3wC&q=list+of+wee+free+liberals&pg=PA185 \|access-date=30 December 2017}}</ref> == Modern ~~Usage~~usage == Denominations other than the Free Church are also regularly called Wee Frees in the press. For example, the epithet has been used about the [[Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland\|Free Presbyterians]],<ref>{{cite news \|last1=Munro \|first1=Alasdair \|title=Scottish independence: Self rule would be a 'provocation of God' say Wee Frees \|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/scottish-independence-self-rule-would-be-a-provocation-of-god-say-wee-frees-1-2363261 \|access-date=29 April 2017 \|publisher=The Scotsman \|date=19 June 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news \|last1=Burns \|first1=Janice \|title=Bible-basher Beat Children With Leather Belt \|url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/bible-basher-beat-children-with-leather-belt-959564 \|access-date=29 April 2017 \|publisher=The Daily Record \|date=1 July 2012}}</ref> and even the [[United Free Church of Scotland\|United Free]],<ref>{{cite news \|last1=Duke \|first1=Barry \|title='Wee Frees' minister wins lottery but his church won't see a penny of the dosh \|url=http://freethinker.co.uk/2010/11/11/%E2%80%98wee-frees%E2%80%99-minister-wins-lottery-but-his-church-wont-see-a-penny-of-the-cash/ \|access-date=29 April 2017 \|publisher=The Free Thinker \|date=11 November 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news \|title=Obituary – Craigie Aitchison \|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/6860258/Craigie-Aitchison.html \|access-date=29 April 2017 \|publisher=The Telegraph \|date=21 December 2009}}</ref> (a remnant of the very body the name was supposed to distinguish from), ~~are~~its ~~called~~greater bypart having united with the ~~epithet~~Church of Scotland in 1929. The Free Church has publicly tried to distance itself from the name, calling it a "derogatory and offensive slur".<ref>{{cite web \|title=Media enquiries \|url=https://freechurch.org/contact/media-enquiries \|publisher=Free Church of Scotland \|access-date=23 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news \|title=Free Church in plea over nickname "Wee Frees" \|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-21545940 \|access-date=22 February 2013 \|work=[[BBC News]] \|date=22 February 2013}}</ref> However, some people both inside<ref>{{cite news \|title=Such a messy schism \|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12215222.Such_a_messy_schism/ \|access-date=29 April 2017 \|publisher=The Herald \|date=1 February 2000}}</ref> ~~the denomination~~ and outside<ref>{{cite news \|title=Spendidly Pointless Second City Debate \|url=https://www.ft.com/content/6f4d18a6-7f3f-11e2-89ed-00144feabdc0 \|access-date=29 April 2017 \|publisher=The Financial Times}}</ref> ~~don't~~the denomination do not mind, even if it causes some to cringe. [[David Robertson (minister)\|David Robertson]], a Free Church minister, uses a version of it in his blog<ref>{{cite web \|last1=Robertson \|first1=David \|title=The Wee Flea \|url=https://theweeflea.com/ \|access-date=29 April 2017}}</ref> after being called a flea by a well -known atheist.▼ [[Terry Pratchett]]'s [[Wee Free Men]] or [[Nac Mac Feegle]]s are about 6 inches tall, have blue skin being heavily tattooed and all have red hair. The Feegles are often drunkards, who are [[niggardly]]<ref>{{cite web \|last1=Breebaart \|first1=Leo \|last2=Kew \|first2=Mike \|title=The Wee Free Men Annotations \|url=https://www.lspace.org/books/apf/the-wee-free-men.html#p168 \|website=APF \|publisher=The L-space web \|access-date=1 May 2017}}</ref> and enjoy fighting and stealing. The immense strength and rowdiness of these pictsies (from [[Picts]])<ref>{{cite news \|title='My Wee Frees are Glasgow smurfs' Pratchett denies trying to parody Scottish churches \|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/11988370._apos_My_Wee_Frees_are_Glasgow_smurfs_apos__Pratchett_denies_trying_to_parody_Scottish_churches/ \|access-date=29 April 2017 \|publisher=The Herald \|date=25 April 2003}}</ref> means that they will fight anything, and they have a fondness for headbutting creatures far larger than themselves. The Wee Free Men is currently being adapted into a film by Terry's daughter Rhianna<ref>{{cite web \|url=http://narrativia.com/wee-free-men-announcement.html \|title=Wee Free Men announcement \|website=narrativia.com \|access-date=2016-07-19}}</ref> along with [[The Jim Henson Company]] famous for their muppets. ▲Denominations other than the Free Church are also regularly called Wee Frees in the press. For example the [[Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland\|Free Presbyterians]],<ref>{{cite news \|last1=Munro \|first1=Alasdair \|title=Scottish independence: Self rule would be a 'provocation of God' say Wee Frees \|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/scottish-independence-self-rule-would-be-a-provocation-of-god-say-wee-frees-1-2363261 \|access-date=29 April 2017 \|publisher=The Scotsman \|date=19 June 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news \|last1=Burns \|first1=Janice \|title=Bible-basher Beat Children With Leather Belt \|url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/bible-basher-beat-children-with-leather-belt-959564 \|access-date=29 April 2017 \|publisher=The Daily Record \|date=1 July 2012}}</ref> and even the [[United Free Church of Scotland\|United Free]]<ref>{{cite news \|last1=Duke \|first1=Barry \|title='Wee Frees' minister wins lottery but his church won't see a penny of the dosh \|url=http://freethinker.co.uk/2010/11/11/%E2%80%98wee-frees%E2%80%99-minister-wins-lottery-but-his-church-wont-see-a-penny-of-the-cash/ \|access-date=29 April 2017 \|publisher=The Free Thinker \|date=11 November 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news \|title=Obituary – Craigie Aitchison \|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/6860258/Craigie-Aitchison.html \|access-date=29 April 2017 \|publisher=The Telegraph \|date=21 December 2009}}</ref> (the very body the name was supposed to distinguish from) are called by the epithet. The Free Church has publicly tried to distance itself from the name calling it a "derogatory and offensive slur".<ref>{{cite web \|title=Media enquiries \|url=https://freechurch.org/contact/media-enquiries \|publisher=Free Church of Scotland \|access-date=23 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news \|title=Free Church in plea over nickname "Wee Frees" \|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-21545940 \|access-date=22 February 2013 \|work=[[BBC News]] \|date=22 February 2013}}</ref> However some people inside<ref>{{cite news \|title=Such a messy schism \|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12215222.Such_a_messy_schism/ \|access-date=29 April 2017 \|publisher=The Herald \|date=1 February 2000}}</ref> the denomination and outside<ref>{{cite news \|title=Spendidly Pointless Second City Debate \|url=https://www.ft.com/content/6f4d18a6-7f3f-11e2-89ed-00144feabdc0 \|access-date=29 April 2017 \|publisher=The Financial Times}}</ref> don't mind, even if it causes some to cringe. [[David Robertson (minister)\|David Robertson]], a Free Church minister, uses a version of it in his blog<ref>{{cite web \|last1=Robertson \|first1=David \|title=The Wee Flea \|url=https://theweeflea.com/ \|access-date=29 April 2017}}</ref> after being called a flea by a well known atheist. == The Wee Wee Frees == [[File:Churches of Scotland timeline.svg\|thumb\|500px\|Timeline showing the evolution of the churches of Scotland from 1560 including pejorative epithets]] There is no group specifically known as the Wee Wee Frees. Groups coming out of the Free Church include the [[Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland\|Free Presbyterian Church]]<ref>{{cite web \|last1=Evans \|first1=Andrew \|title=Sabbath on Skye \|url=http://digitalnomad.nationalgeographic.com/2013/09/20/sabbath-on-skye/ \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923031128/http://digitalnomad.nationalgeographic.com/2013/09/20/sabbath-on-skye/ \|url-status=dead \|archive-date=September 23, 2013 \|website=Digital Nomad 20 September 2013 \|date=20 September 2013 \|publisher=National Geographic \|access-date=29 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news \|last1=Peterkin \|first1=Tom \|title=Spinster's £1m to Wee Wee Frees \|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1416287/Spinsters-1m-to-Wee-Wee-Frees.html \|access-date=29 April 2017 \|publisher=The Telegraph \|date=16 December 2002}}</ref> in 1893 from which the [[Associated Presbyterian Churches]] split in 1989. [[Free Church Continuing\|The Free Church (Continuing)]] sometimes is labelled with the derogatory ''Wee Wee Free'' or even ''Wee Wee Wee Free'' term.<ref>{{cite news \|last1=Cramb \|first1=Auslan \|title=The 'sinners' set sail for the Hebrides \|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/3651571/The-sinners-set-sail-for-the-Hebrides.html \|access-date=18 September 2018 \|agency=The Telegraph \|publisher=Telegraph Media Group Limited \|date=13 April 2006}}</ref> == In literature == [[Terry Pratchett]]'s [[Wee Free Men]] is an epithet for his [[Nac Mac Feegle]] who appear in some of his [[Discworld]] novels. He denied they are [[caricatures]] of Scots or churchmen, saying, "The Nac Mac Feegle are not Scottish. There is no Scotland on Discworld. They may, in subtle ways, suggest some aspects of the Scottish character as filtered through the media, but that's because of quantum."<ref>{{cite web \|last1=Breebaart \|first1=Leo \|last2=Kew \|first2=Mike \|title=The Wee Free Men Annotations \|url=https://www.lspace.org/books/apf/the-wee-free-men.html \|website=APF \|publisher=The L-space web \|access-date=1 May 2017}}</ref> == See also == Line 34 ⟶ 32: [[Category:Epithets]] [[Category:Ethnic and religious slurs]] [[Category:Political ~~terms~~terminology in the United Kingdom]]