What was J.R.R. Tolkien’s first academic chair at Oxford University?

J.R.R. Tolkien’s first academic chair at Oxford University was the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon.

Tolkien held the professorship from 1925 to 1945. The position was based at Oxford’s Pembroke College, where he taught Old English language and literature. His work in philology—the study of languages and their historical development—strongly influenced the linguistic structure of his invented languages and cultures.

In 1945, Tolkien moved to Merton College and became the Merton Professor of English Language and Literature. He held that chair until his retirement in 1959. His Oxford career therefore included two distinct professorships, which are often mistakenly combined.

Tolkien’s academic interests included Old English, Middle English, Germanic languages, and medieval literature. His 1936 lecture “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics” helped reshape modern scholarly discussion of the poem.