The Marshal Foch Professor of French Literature in the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages

Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford

The Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages at the University of Oxford, England, was established in 1903. European languages were first taught at Oxford in the 19th century. The Jesus Professorship of Celtic is the oldest of the chairs in the faculty, dating from 1877...

 at the University of Oxford

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

 was founded in 1918. Basil Zaharoff

Basil Zaharoff

Basil Zaharoff, GCB, GBE , born Zacharias Basileios Zacharoff, was an arms dealer and financier...

, a Greek-born French arms trader and financier, gave £25,000 (approximately £ as of ) to the university to establish the chair and to support French studies in other ways, such as the award of scholarships to students for travel. The first professor, Gustave Rudler

Gustave Rudler

Gustave Rudler was a French scholar and academic, who served as the first Marshal Foch Professor of French Literature at the University of Oxford from 1920 until 1949.-Life:...

, took up the position in 1920. The current professor, Michael Sheringham

Michael Sheringham

Michael Hugh Tempest Sheringham FBA is Marshal Foch Professor of French Literature at the University of Oxford, a post that he has held since 2004. He is also a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford...

, was appointed in 2004. The professorship is associated with a non-stipendiary fellowship at All Souls College, Oxford

All Souls College, Oxford

The Warden and the College of the Souls of all Faithful People deceased in the University of Oxford or All Souls College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England....

.

The French general Ferdinand Foch

Ferdinand Foch

Ferdinand Foch , GCB, OM, DSO was a French soldier, war hero, military theorist, and writer credited with possessing "the most original and subtle mind in the French army" in the early 20th century. He served as general in the French army during World War I and was made Marshal of France in its...

 (1851–1929), known as "Marshal Foch", was supreme commander of the Allied forces involved in the First World War from March 1918 onwards, and received many honours for his leadership. News of the donation was announced in The Times

The Times

The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

on 21 November 1918, shortly after Foch was one of the signatories of the Armistice with Germany

Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)

The armistice between the Allies and Germany was an agreement that ended the fighting in the First World War. It was signed in a railway carriage in Compiègne Forest on 11 November 1918 and marked a victory for the Allies and a complete defeat for Germany, although not technically a surrender...

 on 11 November that ended hostilities. The Times said that the name of the professorship was "most felicitously chosen", commemorating the "recent great events" and preparing for the "intellectual entente of the coming years." It also noted that French language and literature, for the first time, would be "enthroned in Oxford side by side with Greek and with Latin" – professorships in both subjects having existed at Oxford for many years before Zaharoff's donation. Zaharoff also founded the Field-Marshal Haig Chair of English Literature at the University of Paris

University of Paris

The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...

, in honour of Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, KT, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCIE, ADC, was a British senior officer during World War I. He commanded the British Expeditionary Force from 1915 to the end of the War...

, the commander of the British forces on the Western Front

Western Front (World War I)

Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...

 from 1915 until the end of the war.

Professors

Name	Professor	Education	NotesAll the professors have been Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College, Oxford The Warden and the College of the Souls of all Faithful People deceased in the University of Oxford or All Souls College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England....  from the start of their professorships, with the exception of Rudler, whose fellowship began in 1926.
	1920–1949	University of Paris University of Paris The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...	Rudler had previously taught at the Sorbonne Sorbonne The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...  and at Bedford College, London. He was particularly interested in the life and works of Benjamin Constant Benjamin Constant Henri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque was a Swiss-born French nobleman, thinker, writer and politician.-Biography:... , the subject of his doctoral thesis as well as later publications. He also published editions of works by Jean Racine Jean Racine Jean Racine , baptismal name Jean-Baptiste Racine , was a French dramatist, one of the "Big Three" of 17th-century France , and one of the most important literary figures in the Western tradition...  and Molière Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature... , and studied the historian Jules Michelet Jules Michelet Jules Michelet was a French historian. He was born in Paris to a family with Huguenot traditions.-Early life:His father was a master printer, not very prosperous, and Jules assisted him in the actual work of the press... . Rudler was the co-founder and first editor of the French Quarterly, a periodical that ran from 1919 to 1932 which was the first English-language periodical to cover French literary matters. He was regarded at Oxford as a devoted teacher, lecturing entirely in French and asking questions of his audience that had to be answered in French.
	1950–1972	Ecole Normale Supérieure École Normale Supérieure The École normale supérieure is one of the most prestigious French grandes écoles... , Paris	Seznec taught at Cambridge University and the French Institute in Florence before the Second World War, when he moved to America to be a professor at Harvard University Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country... .
	1973–1979	Ecole Normale Supérieure École Normale Supérieure The École normale supérieure is one of the most prestigious French grandes écoles... , Paris, and Sorbonne University, Paris	Scherer was previously Professor of French Literature at the University of Nancy and then at the Sorbonne. After leaving Oxford, he was a professor at University of Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle University of Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle The New Sorbonne University is a public university in Paris, France.The Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle is a founding member of the Paris Universitas, a union of 6 Parisian universities.... .
	1979–1986	Oriel College, Oxford	Shackleton was Librarian of Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College, originally Brazen Nose College , is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. As of 2006, it has an estimated financial endowment of £98m...  from 1948 to 1966 and Bodley's Librarian Bodley's Librarian The head of the Bodleian Library, the main library at the University of Oxford, is known as Bodley's Librarian: Sir Thomas Bodley, as founder, gave his name to both the institution and the position. Although there had been a university library at Oxford since about 1320, it had declined by the end...  (head of Oxford's Bodleian Library Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library... ) from 1966 to 1979.
	1988–1991	Ecole Normale Supérieure École Normale Supérieure The École normale supérieure is one of the most prestigious French grandes écoles... , Paris	Tadié lectured at universities in Caen, Tours François Rabelais University François Rabelais University or University of Tours, is a public university in Tours, France. The university is named after the French writer François Rabelais, and was founded in 1969.-Organisation:...  and Paris (University of Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle University of Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle The New Sorbonne University is a public university in Paris, France.The Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle is a founding member of the Paris Universitas, a union of 6 Parisian universities.... ) before serving as head of the French Department at Cairo University Cairo University Cairo University is a public university located in Giza, Egypt.The university was founded on December 21, 1908, as the result of an effort to establish a national center for educational thought...  from 1972 to 1976. He was director of the French Institute in London from 1976 to 1981. His publications include a biography of Proust (in French and English versions).
	1992–2002	University of Edinburgh University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...  and University of Sussex University of Sussex The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....	Bowie taught at the University of Cambridge University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...  before becoming Professor of French Literature and Language at the University of London University of London -20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the... . After leaving Oxford, he was Master of Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...  from 2002 to 2006.
	2004 onwards	University of Kent University of Kent The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...	Sheringham previously taught at the University of Kent (where he was Professor of French Literature from 1992 to 1995) and at Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London is a constituent college of the University of London. The college has three faculties, 18 academic departments, and about 8,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students from over 130 different countries... (where he was Professor of French from 1995 to 2004).