Praetorius, Prätorius, Prætorius was the name of several musicians and scholars in Germany.

In 16th and 17th century Germany it became a fashion for educated people named "Schulze," "Schultheiß," or "Richter" (which means "judge"), to Latinise their names as "Praetorius," referring to a former official position called "Praetor urbanus."^{[citation needed]}

• Anton Praetorius (1560–1613), pastor, fighter against the persecution of witches and against torture
• Bartholomaeus Praetorius (c.1590–1623), composer and cornettist
• Christoph Praetorius (died 1609), composer, and uncle of Michael
• Franz Praetorius [de] (1847–1927), semitist and Hebraist
• Jacob Praetorius the Elder (c.1520–1586), composer and organist, and father of Hieronymus the Elder
  • Hieronymus Praetorius the Elder (1560–1629), composer and organist, son of Jacob the Elder, father of Jacob, Hieronymus and Johann
    • Jacob Praetorius the Younger (1586–1651), composer, organist and teacher, son of Hieronymus the Elder, brother of Johann and Hieronymus
    • Hieronymus Praetorius the Younger (1595–1651), clergyman, theologian, physicist and university professor, son of Hieronymus the Elder, brother of Jacob and Johann
    • Johann Praetorius (1595–1660), organist and composer; son of Hieronymus the Elder, brother of Jacob and Hieronymus
• Ida Praetorius (born 1993), Danish ballerina
• Johann Praetorius (musician) (1634–1705), educator, astronomer and musician
• Johannes Praetorius or Johann Richter (1537–1616), mathematician and astronomer
• Johannes Praetorius (writer) (1630–1680), writer and polymath, real name Hans Schultze
• Matthäus Prätorius (1635–1704), pastor, priest, historian, ethnographer
• Michael Praetorius (c.1571–1621), composer, music theorist, and organist
• Stephan Praetorius (1536–1603), theologian

• "Praetorius (Courante)", a song by Blackmore’s Night from their 2001 album Fires at Midnight
• Cary Grant plays Dr. Noah Praetorius in the film People Will Talk (1951), directed by Joseph Mankiewicz).
• Praetorius (1965), West German film directed by Kurt Hoffmann

• Pretorius
• Scultetus
• All pages with titles containing Praetorius

Surname list

This page lists people with the surname Praetorius.
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