Which Oxford college did J.R.R. Tolkien teach at before becoming a professor at Merton College?

J.R.R. Tolkien taught at Pembroke College, Oxford, before becoming a professor at Merton College.

He was appointed Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College in 1925 and held that position until 1945. During this period, he taught Old English and continued developing the stories and languages that would become part of his mythology.

In 1945 Tolkien moved to Merton College as Merton Professor of English Language and Literature. He remained there until his retirement in 1959. This is distinct from the earlier question of which university employed him: both colleges were part of the University of Oxford.

Tolkien’s academic career was central to his expertise in philology, Old English, and medieval literature. His scholarship and his fiction developed alongside each other rather than existing as completely separate pursuits.