128 A CITY OF MANY WATERS 



Queen Isabella and Mortimer resolved to strike terror into 

 their hearts. Edmund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent, the 

 king's own uncle, lay a prisoner in Winchester Castle : him 

 they condemned to death. Early one morning he was led 

 upon the scaffold outside his prison, but not one of the 

 eight executioners could be induced to raise a hand 

 against a person so deeply beloved. All day the earl 

 stood there waiting till some one should release him from 

 his misery, till at last, in the evening {ad horam vesper- 

 tinam), they found a wretch in the Marshalsea who, to 

 save his own neck, struck off the head of the condemned 

 man. 



But this is anticipating. In the meanwhile Winchester, 

 though still a royal residence, fell steadily behind in the 

 struggle for' supremacy with the Mercian capital. In 

 importance, she had to own herself surpassed by London, 

 but in precedence of dignity, not just yet. As late as 

 1269 her citizens vindicated their rights, though in rather 

 ambiguous fashion. Henry iii. was to wear his crown at 

 a State banquet in Westminster ; the men of Winchester 

 claimed their ancient office as cupbearers, which the men 

 of London disputed. The easy-going king, to avoid 

 worry, decided to dispense with the ceremony of cup- 

 bearing altogether, on which the Londoners withdrew 

 in dudgeon, leaving the Wintonians to enjoy their 

 dinner. 



But that was the last spark. A few years later and 

 the position to which Winchester had receded was 

 accentuated by an ignoble squabble for the second place. 

 When David, the brother of Llewellyn of Wales, was 

 executed at Shrewsbury in 1283, his head and quarters 

 were assigned for exposure in the principal towns of the 



