What academic subject did C.S. Lewis teach as Cambridge’s first chair professor in 1954?

In 1954, C.S. Lewis became Cambridge’s first chair professor of Medieval and Renaissance Literature. The post was at Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he taught until his death.

Before moving to Cambridge, Lewis had spent most of his academic career at Oxford. He was a Fellow and tutor of English at Magdalen College, Oxford, from 1925 until 1954. His Cambridge appointment recognized his scholarship in older English literature and literary history.

Lewis’s academic work ranged far beyond children’s fantasy. He wrote influential studies of medieval and Renaissance literature, including The Allegory of Love and English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, Excluding Drama. His scholarly interests included language, genre, allegory, and the development of English literary traditions.

The title is sometimes shortened in casual references, but the formal field was Medieval and Renaissance Literature. His Cambridge role was therefore a literary professorship, not a theology or philosophy chair.