Hilda Roderick Ellis Davidson was born on the 1st of October 1914 in Bebington, Cheshire, England. Her father Henry Roderick worked as a stationer while her mother Millie Cheesman Ellis managed the household.
The year 1943 marked a turning point when Davidson published The Road to Hel under her maiden name Hilda Ellis. This book utilized archaeological evidence to examine death in Norse paganism instead of relying solely on linguistic concerns.
Davidson later served as President of The Folklore Society from 1974 to 1976 when the organization prospered significantly. During this period she helped rewrite the constitution and expanded the journal Folklore greatly in both volume and quality.
She received the Coote Lake Medal for Folklore Research in 1984 recognizing her contributions to the field. Her book Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe won the Katharine Briggs Folklore Award which she had helped endow back in 1982.
Hilda Ellis Davidson died on the 12th of January 2006 after decades of distinguished scholarship in Old Norse religion and mythology. Her funeral took place in St Bene't's Church Cambridge on the 21st of January 2006 leaving behind children grandchildren and great-grandchildren.