Inger Margrethe Boberg (July 23, 1900 – May 9, 1957) was a

Danish folklore Danish folklore consists of folk tales, legends, songs, music, dancing, popular beliefs, myths and traditions communicated by the inhabitants of towns and villages across the country, often passed on from generation to generation by word of mout ...

researcher and writer. She studied

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...

at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

and received her

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in 1925. In 1927, she stayed at

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

Carl Wilhelm von Sydow Carl Wilhelm von Sydow (21 December 1878 – 4 March 1952) was a Swedish folklore scholar. A professor at Lund University, he was a pioneer of folklore studies in Sweden and contributed to establishing systematic methods in the field. Early life ...

. In 1934, she obtained the

Dr. Phil. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

degree in

folkloristics Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...

as the first woman in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. From 1932 to her death, she was

archivist An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to Document, records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist c ...

at the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

Folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

archive (''Dansk Folkemindesamling''). However, during many years, she had to occasionally take temporary jobs as a school teacher in order to provide a living for herself. Not until 1952, when she had a long-established name in international

, she obtained a steady position. In 1945, she received the

Tagea Brandt Rejselegat The Tagea Brandts ''Rejselegat'' (Travel Scholarship) is a Danish award to women who have made a significant contribution in science, literature or art. The grant, which is given without application, was created and endowed by Danish industrialist ...

. The prize enabled her to embark on a study trip to the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, where she worked with

Stith Thompson Stith Thompson (March 7, 1885 – January 10, 1976) was an American folklorist: he has been described as "America's most important folklorist". He is the "Thompson" of the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index, which indexes folktales by type, and the ...

and co-edited his ''

Motif-Index of Folk-Literature The ''Motif-Index of Folk-Literature'' is a six volume catalogue of motifs, granular elements of folklore, composed by American folklorist Stith Thompson (1932–1936, revised and expanded 1955–1958). Often referred to as Thompson's motif-index ...

''.

Selected works

* Boberg, I.M. (1928). " Prinsessen på glasbjoerget". In: ''Danske Studier'' (1928): 16-53. * Boberg, I.M. (1938). "The Tale of

Cupid and Psyche Cupid and Psyche is a story originally from ''Metamorphoses'' (also called ''The Golden Ass''), written in the 2nd century AD by Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (or Platonicus). The tale concerns the overcoming of obstacles to the love between Psyc ...

". In:
Classica et Medievalia
' 1: 177-216. * Boberg, I.M. (1943). "Die Sage von Vermund und Uffe". In: ''

Acta Philologica Scandinavica Acta or ACTA may refer to: Institutions * Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, an intellectual property trade agreement * Administrative Council for Terminal Attachments, a standards organization for terminal equipment such as registered jacks * A ...

'' 16: 129-57. * Boberg, I.M. (1953). ''Folkemindeforskningens historie i Mellem- og Nordeuropa'' he history of Folkloristics in Central and Northern Europe

København Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

: Munksgaard, 382 pp. Danmarks Folkeminder vol. 60. * Boberg, I.M. (1955). ''Baumeistersagen''. FF communications 151: 1-24. * Boberg, I.M. (1966). ''Motif-index of early Icelandic literature''. Copenhagen: Munksgaard, 263 pp. Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana vol. 27.

References

* Kofod, E.M. Biography in Dansk Kvindebiografisk Leksiko

(in Danish) Danish folklorists Danish women folklorists University of Copenhagen alumni 1900 births 1957 deaths {{Denmark-academic-bio-stub