Ellen Jørgensen

Ellen Sophie Rasmine Jørgensen (1877–1948) was a Danish historian and librarian. She is remembered internationally for her authoritative books on Danish historiography, including Historieforskning og Historieskrivning i Danmark intil Aar 1800. 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.

Biography Born in Copenhagen on 6 March 1877, Ellen Sophie Rasmine Jørgensen was the daughter of the carpenter Hans Christian Jørgensen (1847–82) and his wife Catherine Cecilie Marie née Quortrop (1853–1928). After her father's death when she was five, she developed a close relationship with her mother who helped her to develop her interest in history. While at N. Zahle's School, her teachers stimulated her interest even further. After matriculating, from 1896 she studied history at the University of Copenhagen where she was influenced by Kristian Erslev's interest in meticulous sourcing and wide international experience of various fields of history.