Meistersinger was one of a group of German poet-musicians who treated literary art as a sort of craft or trade. The name meistersinger means mastersinger.
The tradition of the meistersingers began in the late Middle Ages when middle-class poets tried to revive the declining art of wandering poet-musicians called minnesingers (see Minnesinger). Sometime between the late 1200’s and the late 1400’s, the meistersingers developed rules for song composition and organized song schools modeled after medieval guilds. Members passed examinations for admission and promotion. Singing competitions were held and prizes were awarded. Most meistersingers were business people or craftworkers. The meistersingers reached their peak in the early 1500’s, though the tradition continued into the 1800’s.
In the early period, the Tabulatur (rulebook) permitted composition only to prescribed melodies. But by the 1500’s, original compositions were required to gain the title of meister. Poetic themes were usually instructive stories. Meistersingers did not produce great literature but achieved lasting fame through Richard Wagner’s opera Die Meistersinger.
