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A silly little memory of mediaeval warfare

Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 9:38 am
by 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?

Re: A silly little memory of mediaeval warfare

Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 12:18 pm
by hwhatting
alice wrote: Fri Feb 25, 2022 9:38 am 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.

Re: A silly little memory of mediaeval warfare

Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 1:39 pm
by alice
hwhatting wrote: Fri Feb 25, 2022 12:18 pm
alice wrote: Fri Feb 25, 2022 9:38 am 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.

Re: A silly little memory of mediaeval warfare

Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 4:06 pm
by Travis B.
I googled "a worthington a worthington" and found absolutely nothing which referenced this.

Re: A silly little memory of mediaeval warfare

Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 5:37 pm
by 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).

Re: A silly little memory of mediaeval warfare

Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 6:41 pm
by 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.

Re: A silly little memory of mediaeval warfare

Posted: Sat Feb 26, 2022 4:35 am
by alice
Richard W wrote: Fri Feb 25, 2022 6:41 pm 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.