At which university did J.R.R. Tolkien teach Old and Middle English?

J.R.R. Tolkien taught Old and Middle English at the University of Oxford.

Tolkien held several academic posts at Oxford, including the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon from 1925 to 1945 and the Merton Professor of English Language and Literature from 1945 to 1959. His teaching and research focused on the historical languages and literature of England.

His Oxford career was central to his creative work. Tolkien’s expertise in Old English, Middle English, Old Norse, Welsh, and other languages helped him build fictional languages with consistent sounds, grammar, and historical development. He also drew inspiration from medieval texts such as Beowulf, which he studied and taught.

Tolkien did not begin as a full-time novelist. His academic identity remained important throughout his life, and many of his lectures and essays were published separately. The University of Leeds was also significant in his career, since he taught there before returning to Oxford.