Johann Christoph Wagenseil

Johann Christoph Wagenseil (Nuremberg, 1633 – Altdorf, 1708) was a German scholar whose interest for musicians lies chiefly in his study of the Meistersinger, the mastersingers of Nuremberg. In the eighteenth century he was called "Polyhistor celeberrimus" on account of the breadth of his learning.

Before taking up university chairs, he travelled through almost all the countries of Europe as tutor (Hofmeister) to young patricians, an experience that broadened his knowledge and opened the doors of several learned societies. In 1665 he obtained a doctorate in law from the University of Orléans. He then taught public and canon law, history and oriental languages at the municipal university of Altdorf, where he served twice as rector and as dean of the faculty of law. His catalogue of works runs to 88 titles.

Among them, the appendix to his Latin history of Nuremberg stands out. In it he treated the origins of the Meistersinger, their tablatures and customs, and included musical examples by Müglin, Frauenlob, Marner and Regenbogen. His contemporaries already doubted his reliability, but his treatise, the first of its kind, remains an important source. It served as the basis for texts by Jean Paul and E. T. A. Hoffmann, and also for the libretto and a large part of the music of Wagner's opera.