Anna Birgitta Rooth

Anna "Anta" Birgitta Rooth (15 May 1919 – 5 June 2000) was the first Swedish professor of ethnology at Uppsala University. She is known for her research into folklore, especially the Cinderella story.

Early life and education Anna Birgitta Rooth was born on 15 May 1919, in Ängelholm, Sweden, to Hildegard Sofia Helena and Nore Valfrid Waldermarson. She had two brothers, Bertil and Bo Waldemarson. Her doctoral dissertation, The Cinderella Cycle, continues to be a required reading in folklore studies. Writing for Svenska Dagbladet in 2017, Bengt af Klintberg characterized her 1951 doctoral thesis as a significant work in Swedish folktale research.

Career During the 1960s and 1970s, she published many more books on folklore such as Folklig Diktning. Form och teknik ("Folk Poetry: Form and Technique"), and Loki in Scandinavian mythology. She also spent some time in Alaska and produced two works based on her field study of the Athabascan tribe and Inuit peoples.

In 1973, she became full professor of ethnology at Uppsala University, a position she held until 1985.

Awards and honors She was awarded the Pitrè Prize for her work.

Selected publications

Personal life In 1942, Rooth met Gösta Rooth in an art history course when he was a medical student. They had three children together, Birgitta, Helena and Ivar Rooth.