Frédéric Rimbaud

Frédéric Rimbaud (7 October 1814 in Dole – 16 November 1878 in Dijon) was a French infantry officer.[1] He served in the conquest of Algeria, the Crimean War and the Sardinian Campaign.[2] He is best known as the father of the poet, Arthur Rimbaud.

Biography

Rimbaud, a Burgundian of Provençal extraction, was a captain in the 47th Regiment of Infantry; he had risen from the ranks, and he had spent much of his service outside France.[3] From 1844-1850, he participated in the conquest of Algeria and in 1854 was awarded the Légion d'honneur[3] "by Imperial decree".[4] Captain Rimbaud was described as "good-tempered, easy-going and generous".[5] He had literary ambitions, had written guides for Arabic learners[6] and had translated the Quran into French[3] (Rimbaud later used his father's material for his own Arabic studies.)[7] In October 1852, Rimbaud, then 38, was transferred to Mézières when he met his future wife then 27, Marie Catherine Vitalie Cuif (10 March 1825-16 November 1907), while on a Sunday stroll.[8] On 8 February 1853, they married. They had five children:

Though the marriage lasted seven years, Rimbaud lived continuously in the matrimonial home for less than three months, from February to May 1853.[11] The rest of the time his military postings – including service in the Crimean War and the Sardinian Campaign (and earning medals for both)[12] - meant he returned home to Charleville only when on leave.[11] He was not at home for his children's births, nor their baptisms.[11] After Isabelle's birth in 1860, Rimbaud never returned to the family home.[13] After their separation, Mme Rimbaud called herself "Widow Rimbaud".[13] Rimbaud left the army in 1864 and retired to Dijon, where he died 14 years later.[14]

References

Notes
  1. ↑ Lefrère 2001, pp. 11 & 35.
  2. ↑ Starkie 1973, pp. 25-26; Lefrère 2001, p. 31.
  3. 1 2 3 Starkie 1973, pp. 25-26.
  4. ↑ Lefrère 2001, pp. 27-28.
  5. ↑ Starkie 1973, p. 31.
  6. ↑ Lefrère 2001, p. 14.
  7. ↑ Robb 2000, p. 346.
  8. ↑ Lefrère 2001, pp. 16-18 & 1193.
  9. 1 2 Lefrère 2001, pp. 27-28; Starkie 1973, p. 30.
  10. 1 2 3 Lefrère 2001, pp. 31-32; Starkie 1973, p. 30.
  11. 1 2 3 Lefrère 2001, pp. 27-29.
  12. ↑ Lefrère 2001, p. 31.
  13. 1 2 Robb 2000, p. 12.
  14. ↑ Lefrère 2001, pp. 33-35.
Sources
  • This article began as a translation of its French equivalent.
  • Delahaye, Ernest (1974) [1919], Delahaye, témoin de Rimbaud (in French), Geneva: La Baconnière, ISBN 978-2825200711 
  • Godchot, Colonel [Simon] (1936), Arthur Rimbaud ne varietur I: 1854-1871 (in French), Nice: Chez l'auteur 
  • Godchot, Colonel [Simon] (1937), Arthur Rimbaud ne varietur II: 1871-1873 (in French), Nice: Chez l'auteur 
  • Ivry, Benjamin (1998), Arthur Rimbaud, Bath, Somerset: Absolute Press, ISBN 1-899791-55-8 
  • Jeancolas, Claude (1998), Passion Rimbaud: L'Album d'une vie (in French), Paris: Textuel, ISBN 978-2-909317-66-3 
  • Lefrère, Jean-Jacques (2001), Arthur Rimbaud (in French), Paris: Fayard, ISBN 978-2-213-60691-0 
  • Lefrère, Jean-Jacques (2007), Correspondance de Rimbaud (in French), Paris: Fayard, ISBN 978-2-213-63391-6 
  • Nicholl, Charles (1999), Somebody Else: Arthur Rimbaud in Africa 1880–91, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0-226-58029-6 
  • Rickword, Edgell (1971) [1924], Rimbaud: The Boy and the Poet, New York: Haskell House Publishers, ISBN 0-8383-1309-4 
  • Robb, Graham (2000), Rimbaud, New York: W.W. Norton & Co, ISBN 978-0330482820 
  • Starkie, Enid (1973), Arthur Rimbaud, London: Faber and Faber, ISBN 0-571-10440-1 
  • White, Edmund (2008), Rimbaud: The Double Life of a Rebel, London: Grove, ISBN 978-1-84354-971-0 


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