What was C.S. Lewis’s academic field at Cambridge’s Magdalene College?

C.S. Lewis held the Cambridge chair of Medieval and Renaissance English.

He became the first holder of the chair at Magdalene College, Cambridge, in 1954, after nearly three decades teaching at Oxford. The appointment recognized his expertise in older English literature and literary history.

Lewis’s scholarship covered medieval and Renaissance writing, including allegory, epic, romance, and the development of English literature. His academic books include The Allegory of Love and English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, Excluding Drama.

The title is sometimes simplified to “English literature,” but the specific field was Medieval and Renaissance English. His Cambridge position also differs from his Oxford role, where he had been a Fellow and tutor in English at Magdalen College.