Charles Leslie Wrenn (1895–1969) was an English scholar. After taking an MA at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, he worked for a year as a lecturer in the department of English Language and Literature at the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

in 1928–29. Following his return to Oxford, he became

Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon The Rawlinson and Bosworth Professorship of Anglo-Saxon, until 1916 known as the Rawlinsonian Professorship of Anglo-Saxon, was established by Richard Rawlinson of St John's College, Oxford, in 1795. The Chair is associated with Pembroke Colle ...

in 1945, the successor in the chair of

J.R.R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

, and held the position until 1963. Wrenn was a Fellow of

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located at Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale, and was named after ...

. He was also a member of the

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

literary discussion group known as the "

Inklings The Inklings were an informal literary discussion group associated with J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis at the University of Oxford for nearly two decades between the early 1930s and late 1949. The Inklings were literary enthusiasts who pra ...

", which included

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...

and Tolkien, and met for nearly two decades between the early 1930s and late 1949. Some of the work published by Wrenn includes ''The English Language'' (1949), ''A Study of Old English Literature'' (1967)'','' and ''An Old English Grammar,'' written with

Randolph Quirk Charles Randolph Quirk, Baron Quirk, CBE, FBA (12 July 1920 – 20 December 2017) was a British linguist and life peer. He was the Quain Professor of English language and literature at University College London from 1968 to 1981. He sat as ...

(1955, rev. 1957). His literary interests were primarily comparative literature and later poets including T. S. Eliot.

Selected writings

*''The English Language''; by C. L. Wrenn. London: Methuen, 1949 *''Beowulf, with the

Finnesburg fragment The "Finnesburg Fragment" (also "Finnsburh Fragment") is a portion of an Old English heroic poem about a fight in which Hnæf and his 60 retainers are besieged at "Finn's fort" and attempt to hold off their attackers. The surviving text is tantali ...

''; edited by C. L. Wrenn. London: George G. Harrap & Co., 1953. Rev. & enlarged ed. (=2nd ed.) London: Harrap, 1958. 3rd ed.; fully revised by W. F. Bolton. London: Harrap, 1973. ISBN 0245509941.

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

catalogue records. Retrieved 2022-05-04. (The latter was reissued by the University of Exeter in 1988.) *''An Old English Grammar''; by

and C. L. Wrenn. London: Methuen, 1955 *''English and Medieval Studies Presented to

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...

on the Occasion of His Seventieth Birthday''; edited by Norman Davis and C. L. Wrenn. London:

Allen and Unwin George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It went on to become one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and to establish an ...

, 1962

References

External links

Photographs of C. L. Wrenn at the National Portrait Gallery

Charles Leslie Wrenn Books

Alibris Alibris is an online store that sells new books, used books, out-of-print books, rare books, and other media through an online network of independent booksellers. History Martin Manley founded Alibris in 1997 with the team behind early o ...

Publications by C. L. Wrenn listed in Copac
* 1895 births 1969 deaths Anglo-Saxon studies scholars Linguists from England English non-fiction writers Fellows of Pembroke College, Oxford Inklings Rawlinson and Bosworth Professors of Anglo-Saxon English male non-fiction writers {{UK-linguist-stub