The fable also appeared as a cautionary tale in Nicholas Bozon's Anglo-Norman Contes Moralisés (1320), referring to the difficulty of curbing the outrages of superior lords.Les contes moralisés de Nicole BozonParis, 1889, pp.144–5; archived here It was in this context too that the story of a parliament of rats and mice was retold in William Langland's allegorical poem Piers Plowman.William's Vision of Piers Plowman by William Langland, edited by Ben Byram-Wigfield (2006), Prologue, lines 146–181; online text here The episode is said to refer to the Parliament of 1376 which attempted unsuccessfully to remedy popular dissatisfaction over the exactions made by nobles acting in the royal name.
