Ellen Jørgensen (historian)

She is remembered internationally for her authoritative books on Danish historiography, including Historieforskning og Historieskrivning i Danmark intil Aar 1800 (1931).

Her earlier doctorate thesis Helgendyrkelse i Danmark i Middelalderens senere Tid provides a detailed, well-sourced account of the church and scholarly history of Denmark and Europe in the Late Middle Ages.

In addition to heading the Manuscript Department of the Royal Danish Library, from 1924 to 1931 Jørgensen was the first woman to serve as editor of the journal Historisk Tidsskrift.

[1][3] After first specializing in modern English history, she turned to Denmark in the middle ages with Helgendyrkelse i Danmark i middelalderens senere lid which earned her the university's gold medal in 1905.

This led to her extension of Helgendyrkelse i Danmark to cover the entire middle ages which she defended as her thesis for a Ph.D. As a result, in 1909 she became the second Danish woman to earn a doctorate in history, following in the footsteps of Anna Hude.