Tolkien Gateway

University of Leeds

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[[Category:Academic institutions]]
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Revision as of 14:24, 9 April 2009

University of English

The University of Leeds is a centre for learning in the city of Leeds in Yorkshire, England. J.R.R. Tolkien was a appointed a Reader in 1920, and served as a professor between 1921 and 1925.



The University was Tolkien's second post-war employer. After the New English Dictionary and a year of tutoring students in Oxford, Tolkien decided to apply for a post at the University of Leeds. Tolkien had an interview with George S. Gordon, the University's Professor of English, in June 1920.[1] It was a fruitful job interview: Tolkien was appointed a Reader in English Language in October of the same year, with a free commission to develop the linguistic side of a large and growing School of English Studies.[2]

The start was rough: though Gordon found Tolkien a room in Leeds,[3] Edith and young John still lived in Oxford. In weekends, Tolkien would go to his family - now expanded with the birth of Michael. Not until 1921 did Tolkien get full housing for his family at 11 St. Mark's Terrace,[4] after a short stay in rooms. Later, they moved to 2 Damley Road.[5]

Under Gordon, Tolkien began focusing on philology, and taught various courses, such as "History of English", "Middle English texts", "Old and Middle English philology", "introductory Germanic philology", the second-year course "Old Icelandic" and "Medieval Welsh".[2] He might even have continued to fret on some of his hardest assignments of his time at the OED; several notes of his time show his added thoughts on "walrus" and "walnut" in Leeds notebooks.[6] The post of Reader was changed into a Professorship,[3] and in 1922, Tolkien was joined by E.V. Gordon.[4] Together, they started work on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Tolkien continued to work on his A Middle English Vocabulary.[7] A year later, they would be joined by Lascelles Abercrombie.[3]


Tolkien contributed several poems to The Gryphon, Yorkshire Poetry, A Northern Venture and Leeds University Verse. He also finished stories that would later become The Book of Lost Tales.[4]

External links


  1. Humphrey Carpenter, J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography, "Oxford Interlude"
  2. 2.0 2.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 7 (dated June 27, 1925)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 46 (dated November 26, 1941)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Humphrey Carpenter, J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography, "Northern venture"
  5. J.R.R. Tolkien, Baillie Tolkien (ed.), Letters from Father Christmas
  6. Peter Gilliver, Jeremy Marshall, Enmund Weiner, The Ring of Words, page 23