October 3

Ever since Warhol made his point about fame, everyone wants to know the answer to the question ‘when do my fifteen minutes start?’ For Welshman Dayfdd ap Gruffyd, Prince of Gwyedd, the last Welsh ruler of Wales[i], they started on the 3rd in 1283 when, according to reliable sources, he became the first person to have been executed by drawing and quartering[ii]. He survived the drawing part, which if done properly can take an extraordinarily long time, and watched as his intestines were boiled. He did not survive much beyond that because the quartering is always effective on the first try. The international response to this development was swift and decisive and resulted in a total blockade of the importing of vowels to Wales.

[i] He became ruler of Wales when his brother Llywelyn ap Gruffydd was murdered
[ii] Beginning in the 13th century, the punishment for treason was hanging, drawing and quartering. In a bold-faced case of discrimination based on gender, only males guilty of treason were executed in this manner. Women guilty of treason were simply burnt at the stake.