With the decline of feudalism and chivalry and the development of the industries the middle class acquired a social prominence which roused dormant ambitions and developed latent abilities. The craftsmen had formed societies with strictly graded membership, a most elaborate set of statutes and rigid ceremonial of initiation. They were as much a social as an intellectual manifestation being developed to mutual improvement and recreation, and music entered largely into their program. Association with Minnesingers who were not of noble rank and who, instead of bearing the title _Ritter_ (knight), were called _Meister_ (masters), gradually awakened the desire of the good burghers to emulate the example of the aristocracy and cultivate song in the manner of _Minnegesang_. The story that Emperor Otto I was founder of _Meistergesang_ (master song), and gave to twelve masters, among them Heinrich Frauenlob, Barthel Regenbogen, and Klingsohr, something like a charter, has long been proved a myth, since the emperor and these personages were not even contemporaries. But the fact that Frauenlob, who was one of the last Minnesingers, is claimed as one of the founders of _Meistergesang_, shows how closely the latter followed upon the former. There is little doubt, however, that the master-song was first cultivated in a _Meistersingschule_ (school of master song) in Mayence, whence it spread to other cities, foremost among them Nuremburg, Augsburg, Regensburg, Ulm, and Munich. The _Meistersingschulen_ recruited their members from the singing-schools of the artisan guilds. Candidates were subjected to a rigorous examination and had to account not only for their previous life, their family connections, moral standing, and religious convictions, but had to pledge themselves to hold the ideal of their art, to live a pure and worthy life, and to be loyal and helpful to the fellow-members of the school. There were 'school-friends,’ 'scholars,’ 'poets,’ and 'singers.’ Above them in rank were four _Merker_--markers or judges; one of whom had to compare the text of the song with the scriptural passage upon which it was founded, while the second judged the syllabic accent, the third the rhyme, and the fourth the tune. The highest grade was that of _Meister_, a title conferred upon him who was capable of fixing the standard of both text and music. Prize contests were a feature of the public performances and carried on the tradition of the song tournament of chivalry. The meetings were held in church. The prize consisted of a string of ornamental coins, a bunch of artificial flowers, or the permission at the end of the meeting to stand at the church door and receive from the parting audience a fee in current coin. The spirit of mediæval artisan life and of scholastic formalism was paramount in the organization and all its activities. It is admirably reflected in Richard Wagner’s _Meistersinger von Nürnberg_