Which Oxford subject did J.R.R. Tolkien chiefly teach as a professor?

J.R.R. Tolkien chiefly taught Anglo-Saxon as a professor at Oxford. In 1925 he became Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College, Oxford.

In this context, Anglo-Saxon refers mainly to Old English language and literature. Tolkien’s scholarship included the medieval poem Beowulf, and his teaching helped establish his reputation as a philologist and literary scholar.

He later moved to Merton College and served as Merton Professor of English Language and Literature from 1945 until his retirement in 1959. That later title can cause confusion when identifying the subject associated with his first Oxford professorship.

Tolkien’s academic expertise was not separate from his fiction. His knowledge of Germanic languages, medieval stories, and historical word formation informed the cultures, names, and poetic traditions of Middle-earth.