Joaquim Rubió i Ors (Barcelona, 1818 - 1899) was a poet, historian and playwright, lecturer at the University of Valladolid and, years later, pro-vice chancellor and then vice chancellor of the University of Barcelona.

The work of Joaquim Rubió i Ors –which moves between theology, essays in literary criticism and history, poetry and theatre– should be set against the framework of Catalan Romanticism and the "Renaixença", the cultural movement that aimed at the full restoration of Catalan as the language of culture in the latter half of the nineteenth century. As an educationalist he published such works as the moral reflections in El libro de las niñas (The Book for Girls, 1845), Epítome-programa de Historia Universal (Epitomy-Programme of Universal History, 1873-1875) and Lecciones elementales de Historia de España (Elementary lessons in the History of Spain, 1885). Thanks to his father's work as a printer and bookseller, he came into contact with the literary circles of Barcelona at an early age and wrote works on figures of his day including Noticia de la vida y escritos de D. Joaquín Roca y Cornet (Report on the Life and Writings of D. Joaquín Roca y Cornet, 1876), Noticia de la vida y escritos de D. Manuel Milà y Fontanals (Report on the Life and Writings of D. Manuel Milà y Fontanals, 1887) and Piferrer considerado desde el punto de vista de [su] intuición artística (Piferrer Considered from the Standpoint of His Artistic Intuition, 1898). As a playwright he published Gutenberg (1880) and Luter (Luther, 1888), while with Breve reseña del actual renacimiento de la lengua y literatura catalanas (Brief Review of the Present Renaissance of Catalan Language and Literature, 1877) he offered the first academic account of the Renaixença as a movement.

With the collection of poems Lo gaiter del Llobregat (The Piper of Llobregat, 1841), Joaquim Rubió i Ors to some extent sets out the thematic, metrical and linguistic bases of Catalan poetry in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The 1858 edition of this work includes the epic poem Roudor del Llobregat (Roudor of Llobregat). He was one on the petitioners for the reinstatement of the Catalan-language literary competition, the Jocs Florals de Barcelona and, in this context, he was awarded the title of "Mestre en Gai Saber" (Master in the Art of Poetry) in 1863. He was president of the Jocs Florals after 1890 and died in Barcelona in 1899.



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