Which Oxford university did J.R.R. Tolkien teach at for most of his academic career?

J.R.R. Tolkien taught at the University of Oxford for most of his academic career.

Tolkien joined the University of Oxford as a scholar and teacher after holding an earlier post at the University of Leeds. At Oxford, he became Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon and later Merton Professor of English Language and Literature.

His Oxford work focused on languages, philology, and medieval literature. Those subjects were not separate from his creative writing: Tolkien’s knowledge of Old English, Old Norse, Welsh, Finnish, and other languages helped shape the sound and history of the languages and cultures in his fiction.

Tolkien was also part of Oxford’s literary culture and belonged to the informal discussion group known as the Inklings, alongside writers including C.S. Lewis. His academic position gave him the setting in which much of his Middle-earth writing developed.