Which Oxford professorship did J.R.R. Tolkien hold from 1925 to 1945?

J.R.R. Tolkien held the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professorship of Anglo-Saxon from 1925 to 1945.

The chair was based at the University of Oxford, where Tolkien taught Old English and related subjects. His academic work focused strongly on languages, medieval literature, and philology—the historical study of language.

In 1945, Tolkien moved to another Oxford position, becoming Merton Professor of English Language and Literature. He held that chair until his retirement in 1959.

The title is sometimes shortened to “Professor of Anglo-Saxon,” but the formal name was the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professorship of Anglo-Saxon. Tolkien’s expertise in Old English helped shape both his scholarship and his creative use of invented languages and names.