What title did J.R.R. Tolkien hold as an Oxford professor from 1925 to 1945?

J.R.R. Tolkien held the title Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford from 1925 to 1945.

He was elected to the chair in 1925, when he was thirty-three. The position was based at Oxford University, where Tolkien taught Old English language and literature. His scholarship included work on texts such as Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and the poem The Battle of Maldon.

In 1945, Tolkien moved to another Oxford chair, becoming Merton Professor of English Language and Literature. He held that post until his retirement in 1959.

The title is sometimes simplified to “Oxford professor,” which is accurate but omits his specific academic field. Tolkien’s expertise in Germanic languages, medieval literature, and philology strongly shaped the invented languages and legendary histories of Middle-earth.