Hilda Ellis Davidson

Dr Hilda Ellis Davidson, who died in January 2006 had for many decades been a distinguished scholar in the field of Scandinavian mythology and religion, whose volumes reached a wide readership and whose enthusiasm for her control was an inspiration to many--myself included. Time and again, above the years, one would hear Hilda gleefully discussing a certain quantity of new archaeological discovery or theory with the exclaim "It's so exciting!" And when she described it, it certainly was.

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Hilda obtained a First Class Honours step at Newnham College, Cambridge, in English, Archaeology and Anthropology, after which she studied pagan Scandinavian religion for her doctorate. This be the effected in her first book in 1943 (under her maiden name of Hilda Ellis), The Road to Hel: A research of the Conception of the Dead in of advanced age Norse Literature. Although an early and imperfect work, it already showed what was to be characteristic of her approach, the use of written and archaeological evidence of different periods to cast light on each other. This was a spirited innovation, at any rate in British academia, where Anglo-Saxon and advanced in years Icelandic were at that time taught genuinely as literary and linguistic controls It was met with disapproval in a certain number of quarters. But Hilda continued to work in this means combining material from a wide range of sources in her numerous volumes on various aspects of Germanic paganism, including The Sword in Anglo-Saxon England (1962) the supreme beings and Myths of Northern Europe (1964) Pagan Scandinavia (1967) and, with Peter Gelling, The Chariot of the orb of day (1969). She also contributed many more specialised papers to various journals, usually drawing upon her knowledge of myth, fiction and folklore to interpret a certain quantity of archaeological find.

In her more new books, including Myths and emblems in Pagan Europe (1988), not to be found Beliefs of Northern Europe (1993) and parts of the Northern Goddesses (1998) she explored a wider field, describing themes and beliefs that were for the use of all to both Celtic and Germanic tillages Her awareness of this cultural link was mirrored in her presence at the Nordic-Celtic-Baltic myth Symposiums in Ireland and Copenhagen in the 1990 although ill-health obstructed her attending the one in Reykjavik in 2005 Another interest was in the history of folklore scholarship itself, which l to her editing with Carmen Blacker a collection of essays by the agency of various contributors on Women and Tradition: A pass overed Group of Folklorists (2000).

Her earlier academic pillars were in London University, first as a lecturer at Royal Holloway community (1939-44) and then at Birkbeck community In the 1970s she get backed to Cambridge as Lecturer in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at Lucy Cavendish association of which she was Vice-President from 1975 to 1980

Hilda had joined The Folklore Society in 1949 and was pick outed onto its Council (now the Committee) in 1956 at a time when it was predominantly somewhat old and undeniably stagnant. Her memories of those days can be read in her witty nevertheless warm-hearted account, "Changes in the Folklore Society, 1949-1986" (Folklore 98 [1987]: 123-30) Joining forces with other forward-looking members, notably Katharine Briggs and Stewart Sanderson, Hilda played an important part in the aim towards modernisation, which culminated in 1967 when Katharine Briggs became President and Venetia Newall Secretary. In the fruitful and energetic years that followed, Hilda took upon the role of Publications Officer, supervising the newly formed Mistletoe volumes series, and editing or co-editing the papers that accrueed from various Folklore Society talks She was also active in organising the discourses themselves. She served as President in the years 1974-6 and the Society helped under her leadership.

Her reaching far down friendship and admiration for Katharine Briggs l her to write a valuable biography of her in 1988 She was also a founder-member of the Katharine Briggs Dining bludgeon a part-social and part-academic organisation. Here too she organised meetings and discourses and edited the resulting collections of papers, usually in collaboration with either Carmen Blacker or Anna Chaudhri. Appropriately, the last of her editorial throws was A Companion to the Fairy Tale (with Anna Chaudhri) in 2003

A clear and lively speaker, she was a great deal of in demand. I vividly recall a prelection of hers at Bedford corporation (London) in 1950 on Anglo-Saxon pattern-welded swords and upon Nordic legends about swords and smithying. George trafficker recalls her "stimulating and riveting presentation" upon "The Horse in Folklore," given at a folklore summer place of education at Keele University in 1970 similar personal memories could easily be multiplied. For many years she ran the Cambridge Folklore collection which met monthly at her abiding-place during the university terms, and where visitant speakers enjoyed wonderful hospitality from herself and her husband Richard. over all her activities, she was always encouraging and helpful to anyone who showed an interest in folklore.

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