Rabbi Meir ben Baruch, the Maharam of Rothenburg, was born in Worms between 1215 and 1220, into a long line of rabbis. His first teacher was his father, Rabbi Baruch. He continued his studies in Würzburg under Rabbi Isaac ben Moses of Vienna, author of the Or Zarua, and then in France at the yeshivot of the Tosafists, among them Rabbi Yechiel of Paris. He remained there until 1242 and witnessed the burning of the Talmud in Paris.

Returning to Germany, he served as rabbi in several communities, among them Rothenburg ob der Tauber, which gave him his name and where he opened a yeshiva in his home. He settled in Worms after his father's death in 1281. Regarded as the foremost rabbinic authority of Ashkenazi Jewry, his students included the Rosh (Rabbi Asher ben Yechiel), Rabbi Mordechai ben Hillel (the Mordechai), Rabbi Shimshon ben Tzadok, author of the Tashbetz, and Rabbi Meir HaKohen, author of the Hagahot Maimoniyot.

His main legacy is his responsa, of great historical value; English sources speak of some 1,500 of them. He also wrote Tosafot on tractate Yoma, a commentary on the Mishnaic orders of Zeraim and Taharot, and liturgical poems, including Sha'ali Serufa Ba'esh, a lament for the burning of the Talmud recited among the Tisha B'Av kinot in the Ashkenazi rite.

In 1286, under Rudolf I, he left Germany with his family, probably intending to go to the Land of Israel. Recognised on the way, he was arrested and imprisoned in the fortress of Ensisheim, where he wrote a commentary on Taharot from memory. The emperor demanded an enormous ransom; according to the tradition recorded by the Maharshal, the Maharam refused to let it be paid, citing the rule that captives are not redeemed for more than their value, so as not to encourage such extortion.

He died in captivity on 19 Iyar 5053 (1293), according to his tombstone. His body was ransomed only fourteen years later by Alexander ben Shlomo Wimpfen, who was buried beside him in the old Jewish cemetery of Worms (Heiliger Sand).