What was J.R.R. Tolkien’s first Oxford professorship called?

J.R.R. Tolkien’s first Oxford professorship was the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professorship of Anglo-Saxon.

He was appointed to the chair in 1925 and held it until 1945. The position was attached to the study of Old English language and literature, fields central to Tolkien’s professional training as a philologist.

Tolkien’s Oxford teaching and research included Old English texts such as Beowulf, whose vocabulary and heroic traditions influenced his understanding of myth-making. His 1936 lecture on Beowulf became one of the most influential modern discussions of the poem, arguing that its monsters were integral to its design rather than distractions from historical material.

In 1945 Tolkien moved to the Merton Professorship of English Language and Literature. These titles are sometimes confused because both were Oxford chairs, but the Rawlinson and Bosworth post was his earlier professorship and specifically concerned Anglo-Saxon studies.