What was C.S. Lewis's academic subject at Cambridge after his 1954 appointment?

C.S. Lewis became a professor of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge in 1954. He was appointed to the newly created chair at Magdalene College, Cambridge, after spending most of his academic career at Oxford.

The appointment recognized Lewis's expertise as a literary scholar, especially in medieval and sixteenth-century texts. His academic work included studies of allegory, courtly love, English poetry, and the development of literary forms across historical periods.

Lewis is often remembered primarily as a Christian apologist or children's author, but his professional identity was that of a literary historian and critic. His scholarly book The Allegory of Love, published in 1936, had already established his reputation before his Cambridge appointment.

Cambridge's Magdalene College should not be confused with Oxford's Magdalen College, where Lewis had taught since 1925. The two institutions have similarly pronounced names but differ in spelling and are located in different universities.