What subject did C.S. Lewis hold the first chair in at Cambridge University?

C.S. Lewis held the first chair in Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge University. He took up the position in 1954 after nearly three decades teaching English at Oxford’s Magdalen College.

The chair was newly established, making Lewis its first occupant. His academic work focused on English literature and the intellectual traditions surrounding it, including medieval writing, Renaissance texts, allegory, and literary history.

Lewis continued to write popular books while working at Cambridge. His Cambridge years included the publication of Till We Have Faces, Reflections on the Psalms, and a number of theological and literary essays. He remained a fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge, until his death.

The title is sometimes shortened in references to Lewis’s Cambridge post, but its full form identifies both periods central to his scholarship. It should not be confused with a chair in theology: Lewis was appointed as a professor of English literature.