At which English university did J.R.R. Tolkien teach Anglo-Saxon and English literature?

J.R.R. Tolkien taught Anglo-Saxon and English literature at the University of Oxford. He held several academic posts there and spent much of his professional life in Oxford.

Tolkien became Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon in 1925, a position associated with the study of Old English language and literature. In 1945 he became Merton Professor of English Language and Literature, another prestigious Oxford appointment. His academic work on language, medieval texts, and philology directly informed his creative writing.

Oxford is sometimes treated merely as the setting of the literary group known as the Inklings, but it was also central to Tolkien’s career. He studied at Exeter College, taught at Pembroke College, and later held his Merton professorship. His scholarly expertise in Old English, Middle English, and invented languages helped distinguish Middle-earth from a simple collection of modern fantasy conventions.