What subject did C.S. Lewis hold at Magdalene College, Cambridge, beginning in 1954?

C.S. Lewis held the chair of Medieval and Renaissance English at Magdalene College, Cambridge, beginning in 1954. The position was the newly created Chair of Medieval and Renaissance English.

Lewis had previously spent nearly three decades teaching at Oxford’s Magdalen College. His move to Cambridge allowed him to continue his scholarly work in English literature while also writing books for general readers and maintaining his Christian apologetic career.

His academic interests included medieval literature, Renaissance literature, allegory, and literary history. Studies of works such as The Allegory of Love helped establish Lewis as a major literary scholar before and alongside his fame as a novelist.

The two colleges’ names can cause confusion: Lewis taught at Magdalen College, Oxford, and later at Magdalene College, Cambridge. The Cambridge college uses the spelling “Magdalene,” while the Oxford college is “Magdalen.”