What was C.S. Lewis’s academic field at Cambridge University after he left Oxford?

After leaving Oxford, C.S. Lewis taught medieval and Renaissance literature at Cambridge University.

Lewis became the first holder of the newly created chair of Medieval and Renaissance English at Magdalene College, Cambridge, in 1954. He had previously taught English at Magdalen College, Oxford, for nearly three decades. The Cambridge appointment recognized his scholarly expertise in older English literature as well as his public reputation as a writer.

His academic interests included medieval allegory, Renaissance poetry, literary history, and the works of authors such as John Milton. Lewis’s career therefore crossed both major universities: Oxford was his undergraduate and long-term early teaching institution, while Cambridge was his final academic home. He continued to write and lecture there until his death in 1963. The exact title of the Cambridge chair matters because Lewis was not appointed to a general theology or philosophy post.