What was J.R.R. Tolkien’s first university teaching post?

J.R.R. Tolkien’s first university teaching post was at the University of Leeds.

Tolkien joined Leeds in 1920 as a reader in English language, later becoming a professor of English language. His work there included teaching and research in historical linguistics and medieval literature. He collaborated with E.V. Gordon on an important edition of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, published in 1925.

Tolkien left Leeds for Oxford in 1925, when he became Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College. Because Oxford dominated his later academic and literary identity, many people assume it was his first university appointment. Leeds, however, came earlier and was an important stage in the development of his scholarly career.

His teaching, language research, and study of medieval texts all fed into the invented languages and historical depth of Middle-earth.