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Else Roesdahl

b. 1942

Danish medievalist, archaeologist, author and educator

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About Else Roesdahl

Born 1942. Else Roesdahl is a Danish medievalist, university teacher, writer, archaeologist and historian.

Else Roesdahl (born 26 February 1942) is a Danish archaeologist, historian and educator. She has mediated the history of the Vikings for most of her life, including coordination of notable exhibitions on the Viking Age and authoring several books on the subject. Roesdahl's books have been translated into several languages.

Her popular book The Vikings was first published in English in 1991. Roesdahl has also written many articles on the Vikings and the Middle Ages as well as a short book on the disappearance of Norsemen in Greenland titled Hvalrostand, elfenben og nordboere i Grønland (1995). also featured in York, England, and Viking og Hvidekrist (From Viking to Crusader, 1992) which travelled to Paris and Berlin before returning permanently to Copenhagen's National Museum of Denmark.

Awards and Memberships In 1988, Roesdahl received the Søren Gyldendal Prize, a literary award, and was later honoured as a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog in 1992 and elevated to the knight 1st class in 2007. In 1995, she was given an honorary doctorate by Trinity College, Dublin and of University of York in 2009.

In 2022, she was elected a member of the Academia Europaea.

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Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Education
University of Copenhagen, Sønderborg Statsskole
Employers
Aarhus University
Awards
Søren Gyldendal Prize; Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog; Honorary doctorate of Trinity College, Dublin; Knight of the 1st Class of the Order of the Dannebrog; Honorary doctorate of the University of York

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Else Roesdahl's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Else Roesdahl?

Danish medievalist, archaeologist, author and educator

When was Else Roesdahl born?

Else Roesdahl was born on 26 February 1942 in Sønderborg.

What is Else Roesdahl's occupation?

Else Roesdahl is a medievalist, university teacher, writer, archaeologist and historian.

What nationality is Else Roesdahl?

Else Roesdahl is Danish.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Else Roesdahl

· Wikidata: Q530942

· DBpedia: Else Roesdahl

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Else Roesdahl. https://biography.guide/else-roesdahl/

MLA: "Else Roesdahl." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/else-roesdahl/.

Chicago: "Else Roesdahl." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/else-roesdahl/.

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