The arms of the family of James Cottrell in Lancashire are “Azure, three mascles or”, with the crest “a silver cat passant guardant”. The arms of the branch of the family at Horton in Cheshire are identical except for the addition of a lion rampant between the mascles. The arms of the Rathmell branch of the family near Settle in Ribblesdale are “Azure three mascles or over all a bendlot gules”. It is possible to arrange the three mascles so as to fit perfectly into the pentangle, and in the Rathmell arms we have the introduction of the colour red to complete the shield of Sir Gawain: “… þe schelde, þat was of schyr goulez / Wyth þe pentangle depaynt of pure golde hwez”Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, 619-620.
