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Rat, the Cat, and Lovel the dog, the

Rat, the Cat, and Lovel the dog, the,
in the political rhyme:

The Rat, the Cat, and Lovel the dog
Rule all England under the Hog,

refer to three adherents of Richard III : Sir Richard Ratcliffe (killed at Bosworth, 1485 ), Sir John Catesby (d. 1486 ), and Francis , first Viscount Lovell ( 1454 – ?88 ; his skeleton was found in a vault, where he had evidently starved to death). The Hog is a reference to the boar that figured as one of the supporters of the royal arms.

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