What subject did J.R.R. Tolkien teach as the Merton Professor at Oxford?

J.R.R. Tolkien taught English Language and Literature as the Merton Professor at Oxford.

He held the Merton Professorship of English Language and Literature from 1945 until his retirement in 1959. The chair reflected Tolkien’s scholarly expertise in the history of English and in the older languages and texts that influenced English literature.

Before taking the Merton chair, Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford. His academic work included influential studies of Old English and Middle English, and his famous lecture “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics” helped reshape discussion of the poem.

Tolkien’s professorship should not be confused with his role as a novelist. His fiction became globally famous, but his Oxford career was grounded in philology and literary scholarship. The Merton chair was a university position in English language and literature, not a post specifically devoted to fantasy writing or mythology.