A silly little memory of mediaeval warfare

[alice]

I seem to remember it being a thing in some battles for someone to come charging along with a banner or something and shouting "A Worthington! A Worthington!" What was that all about?

[hwhatting]

I seem to remember it being a thing in some battles for someone to come charging along with a banner or something and shouting "A Worthington! A Worthington!" What was that all about?

I didn't know that you're that old.

[alice]

I seem to remember it being a thing in some battles for someone to come charging along with a banner or something and shouting "A Worthington! A Worthington!" What was that all about?

I didn't know that you're that old.

You do now.

[Travis B.]

I googled "a worthington a worthington" and found absolutely nothing which referenced this.

[zompist]

Wikipedia has a list of battle cries, but nothing which resembles that. I choose to believe that alice is remembering, with some distortion, the Sikh battle cry Waheguru ji ka Khalsa (the brotherhood of pure ones belongs to the wondrous enlightener).

[Richard W]

Note quite a battle-cry, but cheering on Robin Hood's planned entry into an archery competition, we have, "A Lockesley! a Lockesley! if you win the golden arrow you shall be chief of outlaws in Sherwood Forest!".

I think it's a mix of a call to accompany a leader and "go <name>". On that basis, I'd suspect a use of French à, but a has so many origins that it could be quite a few things.

[alice]

Note quite a battle-cry, but cheering on Robin Hood's planned entry into an archery competition, we have, "A Lockesley! a Lockesley! if you win the golden arrow you shall be chief of outlaws in Sherwood Forest!".

I think it's a mix of a call to accompany a leader and "go <name>".

I believe this, with some distortion, is what I am remembering.