Which Cambridge professorship did C.S. Lewis hold from 1954 until his death?

From 1954 until his death, C.S. Lewis held Cambridge’s Chair of Medieval and Renaissance English.

Lewis was appointed the first holder of the English chair at Cambridge University in 1954. The post recognized his scholarship in medieval and Renaissance literature, fields that had shaped his academic career since his Oxford years. He also became a Fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge, after moving from Magdalen College, Oxford.

The title is often shortened in casual accounts, but “Medieval and Renaissance English” identifies the specific professorship. Lewis continued writing and lecturing while holding it, although his health declined during his final years.

His Cambridge appointment did not replace his public identity as a Christian author and children’s novelist; instead, it reflected the academic foundation behind those works. His literary studies included The Allegory of Love and English Literature in the Sixteenth Century, both of which demonstrate his sustained interest in earlier English writing.