MEIR OF ROTHENBURG (c. 1215-1293)  , German rabbi and poet, was born in Worms c . 1215 . He played a great part in organizing the Jewish communal life of the middle ages . In 1286 for some unknown reason he was thrown into prison in Alsace, where he remained until his death in 1293 . His friends offered to find a ransom, but he declined the suggestion, fearing that the precedent would lead to extortion in other cases . He wrote glosses to the Talmud (tosaphot) and many Responsa of the utmost value for historical research . Through his disciples Asher ben Yebiel and Mordecai ben Hillel, Meir exercised much influence on subsequent developments of Judaism . He was also a liturgical poet of considerable merit . One of his finest elegies is translated into English in Nina Davis's Songs of Exile . See L . Ginsberg, Jewish Encyclopedia, viii . 437-440 .

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