At which university did C.S. Lewis become the first chair of Medieval and Renaissance English?

C.S. Lewis became the first chair of Medieval and Renaissance English at the University of Cambridge.

In 1954, Lewis left Oxford for Cambridge after being appointed the first holder of the newly established chair of Medieval and Renaissance English. He was also elected a Fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he worked for the remainder of his academic career.

The appointment reflected Lewis’s standing as a literary scholar, not merely his popularity as a Christian author. His research covered medieval and Renaissance literature, allegory, literary history, and the intellectual traditions that shaped English writing. His academic books include The Allegory of Love and English Literature in the Sixteenth Century.

Lewis continued writing popular books after moving to Cambridge, including the later Narnia novels and theological works. He had spent nearly three decades at Oxford, so the Cambridge appointment marked a significant institutional change. The Oxford and Cambridge college names can also cause confusion: he taught at Magdalen College in Oxford and Magdalene College in Cambridge.