The Meistersinger were German poet-singers, mostly from the 14th to 16th centuries, who belonged to craft guilds and wrote according to carefully taught rules. They were usually urban amateurs rather than court poets, and they developed a highly regulated style of lyric composition influenced by the earlier minnesingers.
Example
In the guild hall, the Meistersinger trained their verses to fit strict rules:
First came the measured opening line,
then the patterned rhyme,
then the final return to order.