Intruders and Cowan’s to Freemasonry

The Tyler’s duties are to be armed with a drawn sword to keep off all intruders and cowans to Masonry. An intruder is one who thrusts himself in without right or leave, which seems straightforward, so what is a cowan? In Scotland, in the year 1598 the first of the Schaw Statutes banned Masters and Fellows of the Craft from employing or working with cowans, or to be liable to a substantial fine. A cowan was Scots term for a working mason who had not been admitted as a fellow, having served his time as an apprentice. In Scotland, this would be someone without the ‘mason word’. Of course, a cowan would be an intruder, but it is presumably thought necessary to make it clear that especial care was required against someone who knew the techniques of the craft, and therefore would be able to pass himself off as a mason – if it were not for the lack of the mason word. It is of particular relevance now, when rituals can be purchased and when so many have seen parts of masonic ceremonies on the television. There is more risk that such people can pass themselves off as masons, if we do not test them properly