Hilda Roderick Ellis Davidson FSA (née Hilda Roderick Ellis; 1 October 1914 – 12 January 2006) was a distinguished English scholar. She held academic positions at the University of Cambridge and was a key figure in “The Folklore Society,” with a focus on Celtic and Germanic religion and folklore.
Davidson graduated from Newnham College, Cambridge, and served as a Fellow at Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, for much of her career. Her expertise lay in the interdisciplinary study of Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, and Old Norse religion and folklore, where she authored numerous influential works. As a prominent member of The Folklore Society, she contributed significantly to establishing folklore studies as a scientific discipline. Throughout her career, Davidson mentored many aspiring scholars, with a particular emphasis on supporting talented women in pursuing academic careers.
Davidson was a Christian and active in the Church of England, but her treatment of the Norse faith and culture was exemplary and still a standard setter.
Every Heathen should have some or all her excellent books. I got my first books by her when I was enrolled in Norse Mythology course at the University of Colorado (CU) in the late 1970’s. CU has for at least for the last 50 years had an excellent selection of offerings on Norse Mythology and other Germanic themes. Several Professors currently popular in the Heathen/Viking world taught there are teaching there.
We always recommend Heathens read both Eddas and we require that from applicants. After that we suggest you read sources such as Saxo, Tacitus, Ibn Fadlan, and others and go to serious scholars like H.R. Ellis Davidson, Jacob Grimm, Neil Price, and Rudolf Simek before listening to a You Tube Guru. Invest in an Old Norse Dictionary would be a good idea.
Here are just a few of her many works:
“Gods and Myths of Northern Europe (Harmondsworth, 1964)
"Hostile magic in the Icelandic sagas” Folklore essays (London, 1973)
“The Lost Beliefs of Northern Europe” (London, 1993)
“Myths and Symbols in pagan Europe” (Syracuse, 1988)
“Pagan Scandinavia” (London, 1967)
“Roles of the Northern goddess” (London, 1998)
“The Viking Road to Byzantium” (London, 1976)
“The Road to Hel: A Study of the Conception of the Dead in Old Norse Literature” (1943)
Shown is a copy of one of my original classroom books from the late 1970’s. Religion with homework. We do ours. Our Skoli Rigs (Rig’s School) will be offering a Younger Futhark Class to Tribe members starting in November. What continuing education program does your Norse group, community, Kindred, or Tribe offer? If nothing, hmmm, then maybe you need to answer the question posed in “Voluspa” “Would you know more?”
The Chieftain of the Tribe
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