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cedfia1848-blog · 6 years ago

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Okay, so I wanted to put my two cents out there on this whole Cedfia shipping debate, the most common argument being the age gap between the two. If you don’t want to see anything about it I suggest not reading any further. Now let’s begin.

So, first off, let’s get some things straight. Sofia is around 7-8 years old in the series, and let’s say Cedric is in his mid-twenties to early thirties. Personally, I would put him around 26-28, because he honestly doesn’t look that old, at least not to me anyway.

A lot of people argue that he’s much older simply for the fact that his bangs are grey, and all I have to say about that is bull-crap. Believe it or not, a good percentage of men AND women start getting grey hair at quite a young age. Stress and/or genetics are usually the factors that cause it, but it does vary from person to person. Take my uncle for example. He had a full head of grey hair by the time he was 18 years old, and it had started graying when he began the 9th grade. Besides, for all we know Cedric’s hair coloration could have also been caused by a magical mishap of some sort. We just don’t know. So to clarify…HAIR COLOR DOES NOT EQUAL AGE!

Let’s take a look at something else shall we? In older times, marriage was quite different than it is today. In the middle ages, people were married at a young age, and it was completely normal in society. Women were married off pretty young, while men were often bachelors into their forties or even higher. 12 was the age of consent for a girl and 14 for a boy. Some marriages were consummated at this young age. On other occasions the girl, or boy, was left to mature a while longer. There are marriage clauses in existence where pacts are made between families concerning consummation dates. Mahelt Marshal bore her first child when she was about 16 years old. Margaret Beaufort was just 13 when she bore the future Henry VII. While our society is somewhat censorious about the age thing, the medieval mindset on the matter was somewhat different. People back then would have been shocked to think that we might regard such juvenile marriages as child abuse.

From a specifically female point of view, marriage and childbirth were an important aspect in the life of a medieval girl or woman. For many women, marriage could and often did take place at a young age. There are many instances of very young girls being betrothed and married under the age of 10 years old. This did not necessarily mean that the marriage was consummated. However, there was a perception that once a girl began her period that she was considered to be of marriageable age, and so the male could begin his almighty pursuit for an heir.

A teenage girl getting married back then was seen as taking a responsible place in adult society. Maturity was placed earlier than it is now. Most medieval children would have been accustomed to the mundane aspects of sexual activity among adults. There was little privacy in society and the people were not prudes. They had no problem placing a married couple in bed together, naked, but they would probably be horrified by the titillation offered by a standard modern pop video, available for children of any age to watch mind you.

Now, as far as the pairing of Cedfia goes for me, sexual stuff is okay after Sofia gets to a certain age. Let’s say around 17 or 18, but that’s just my personal preference. So now…if Cedric is 26 and Sofia is 7 in the series that means they have an age gap of about 19 years, give or take a few depending on Cedric’s age being between an estimate of 26-29.

Let’s look at a few age gaps of some well-known people from history:

Henry VIII, age 49, married Catherine Howard when she was about 16 years old.

Lady Jane Grey was about 15 when she married her child groom who was about 16 or 17.

King James I, age 23, married Anne of Denmark when she was 14.

Charles I, age 25, married Henrietta Marie of France when she was 13.

William III and Mary II ruled jointly. Mary was 15 when she married her 27 year old 1st cousin.

Richard III, age 19, married Anne Neville when she was 16.

Henry VI, age 23, married Margaret of Anjou when she was 15.

Henry IV, age 14, married 1st wife Mary de Bohun when she was 12.

Richard II, age 14, married 1st wife Anne of Bohemia when she was 15.

Edward III, age 13, married Philippa of Hainault when she was 13.

So looking at those statistics, and using my guesstimated ages for Cedric, if Sofia was 17 that would make Cedric 36. After looking at the examples above I think most would agree that the age gaps were common back then. I would add something from today’s modern society about Hugh Heffner and his bunnies, but that is a discussion for another time. A lot of people also assume that Cedfia is just automatic sex or pedophilic in nature, but that isn’t really the case. Most Cedfia shippers, like me, see the caring and sweet platonic relationship the two have when Sofia is much younger. But as she gets older, that platonic love slowly evolves into something romantic, a love that grows stronger over time.

Case and point…it’s a freakin cartoon, so get the sticks out of your asses! It’s not real, and it isn’t hurting anyone. If you have a problem with it then don’t LOOK at it.

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