John George Robertson

“ The literary value of the Meistersinger poetry was hardly in proportion to the large part it played in the life of the German towns of the 15th and 16th centuries. As the medieval lyric decayed, more and more attention was given to the externals of poetic composition, the form, the number of syllables, the melody; and it was such externals that attracted the interest of these burgher-poets. Poetry was to them a mechanical art that could be learned by diligent application, and the prizes they had to bestow were the rewards of ingenuity, not of genius or inspiration. ”

“ The rules of the art were set down in the so-called Tabulatur or law-book of the gild. The meetings took place either in the Rathaus, or town hall, or, when they were held—as was usually the case—on Sunday, in the church; and three times a year, at Easter, Whitsuntide and Christmas, special festivals and singing competitions were instituted. At such competitions or Schulsingen judges were appointed, the so-called Merker, whose duty it was to criticize the competitors and note their offences against the rules of the Tabulatur. ”