J.R.R. Tolkien’s academic field at the University of Oxford was philology.
Philology is the historical study of languages and written texts. Tolkien specialized in Germanic languages and literature, including Old English, Middle English, Gothic, Old Norse, and Welsh-related material. His professional work involved comparing languages, studying their development, and interpreting early texts.
His scholarship directly influenced his fiction. Tolkien’s knowledge of Old English helped shape names, poems, and cultures in Middle-earth, while his study of northern European traditions contributed to the atmosphere of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. His famous lecture “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics” also helped change how the poem was discussed by scholars.
Tolkien held academic posts at Leeds and Oxford. He was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon from 1945 to 1959, then Merton Professor of English Language and Literature until his retirement in 1959. His fantasy writing and philological scholarship remained closely connected throughout his life.