What was C.S. Lewis’s Cambridge professorship, established for him in 1954?

C.S. Lewis held the Cambridge professorship of Medieval and Renaissance Literature from 1954.

The position was created for him at Magdalene College, Cambridge, after he left Oxford. Lewis had spent most of his academic career at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he taught English and became known for scholarship on medieval and Renaissance literature. His Cambridge appointment recognized that specialized expertise and gave him a new institutional home.

Lewis continued writing during his Cambridge years, although his health declined. He delivered lectures and remained active in literary and Christian circles. His move also marked a change in the geography of his professional life: Oxford had been associated with his teaching, the Inklings, and much of his conversion-era intellectual development.

The title is sometimes shortened inaccurately to “medieval literature.” The official field included both the medieval and Renaissance periods, reflecting Lewis’s broad interests in older English literature, allegory, mythology, and literary history. He held the Cambridge chair until his death in 1963.