Hilda Ellis Davidson

Hilda Ellis Davidson
Born	(1914-10-01)1 October 1914 Bebington, Cheshire, England
Died	12 January 2006(2006-01-12) (aged 91) Dartford, Kent, England
Spouse	Richard Robertson Davidson ​ ​ (after 1943)​
Children	2
Awards	Katharine Briggs Folklore Award (1988)
Academic background
Education	Newnham College, Cambridge (MA, PhD)
Thesis	Eschatology and Manticism in Old Norse Literature (1940)
Academic advisors	Hector Munro Chadwick Nora K. Chadwick
Academic work
Discipline	Folklore studies
Institutions	The Folklore Society Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge
Notable students	Jacqueline Simpson
Main interests	Ancient Celtic religion Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon religion and Old English literature British folklore Germanic paganism, mythology, folklore and culture Old Norse religion, mythology and literature Scandinavian folklore Viking Age
Notable works	Gods and Myths of Northern Europe (1964) Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe (1988)

Hilda Roderick Ellis Davidson FSA (born Hilda Roderick Ellis; 1 October 1914 – 12 January 2006) was an English folklorist. She was a scholar at the University of Cambridge and The Folklore Society, and specialized in the study of Celtic and Germanic religion and folklore.

A graduate of Newnham College, Cambridge, Davidson was a Fellow at Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, throughout much of her career. She specialized in the interdisciplinary study of Celtic, Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse religion and folklore, on which she was the author of numerous influential works. Davidson was a prominent member of The Folklore Society, and played an active role in the growth of folklore studies as a scientific discipline. Throughout her career, Davidson tutored a significant number of aspiring scholars in her fields of study, and was particularly interested in encouraging gifted women to pursue scholarly careers.