Anacybele Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 (edited) So, as I played more of Awakening and learned more about everybody's favorite butler knight, as well as chatted with people here, I've found that I'm not the only person that thinks Frederick's history is rather confusing. Firstly, we learn in his support with Panne that he grew up in a village in the hills, seemingly rather far from Ylisstol or the palace. This would suggest that he's of common birth. But what's confusing is that nothing else we see screams commoner at all. Frederick is obviously well-educated, he dresses very neatly, he's a high-ranking knight, and he states in a DLC conversation with Virion that his family has served Ylisse's royals for generations. Now how can this be possible if his family were commoners that lived away in a village in some hills? Since I started writing Frederick-related stories (due to my favoritism for him), I've been contemplating an explanation for how this can work. And I believe I have one (meaning a new headcanon as well, of course!). Frederick is actually of noble birth, but because of the first war with Plegia and the fact that his father refused to fight for Chrom, Lissa, and Emmeryn's war-hungry and cruel father, Frederick's parents took their young son and secretly fled to the first village they could find and get shelter in. One in the hills. Frederick was still raised on his family's traditions and such though, because perhaps one day he could still carry on their original duty of serving the royal family. Although, it was feared that Emmeryn, the new Exalt, would be as bad as her father. But once it became clear that she only wanted peace, Frederick's parents had no objection at all to him serving her and her siblings. I haven't finished the game yet or seen all of Frederick's supports, but I've seen a lot of them and so far, nothing else has come up in his backstory aside from what we see in his support with Panne and the DLC convo with Virion. This is just a theory (and my personal headcanon so far), of course, so if any of you all also have ideas on this, you're free to post them. And, obviously, anyone is free to point out flaws. I'm using this headcanon in a fic, so yeah. I'd like to clean it up of errors before finishing. Edited July 10, 2013 by Anacybele Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tables Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 Frederick's father served as a knight. Frederick lived with his mother in a village. Presumably Frederick's father also lived there when he wasn't serving/on duty. Seems simple enough to me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacybele Posted July 10, 2013 Author Share Posted July 10, 2013 That's...pretty much part of what I came up with, yeah. Except Frederick's father abandoned his duties as a knight because he refused to serve a war-hungry king. But pretty much, yeah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doga Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 You forgot the part where Frederick was only using his partner as a beard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacybele Posted July 10, 2013 Author Share Posted July 10, 2013 Oh yes, another thing, I've also read that in medieval times, most knights were of noble birth, and this seems to apply to FE as well. Many knights in the series are also nobles or most likely nobles. Of course, there are exceptions, such as Oscar, but even so. This, coupled with Frederick's highly sophisticated lifestyle, is why I believe he's probably a noble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSND Alter Dragon Boner Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 (edited) Frederick might not be a Noble, simple as that >_> Granted the only Jeigan who ever mentioned their un-nobility was Seth IIRC. Edited July 10, 2013 by I have a Dragon Boner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacybele Posted July 10, 2013 Author Share Posted July 10, 2013 (edited) Hey, you don't have to get harsh with me. Let me enjoy my theorizing. :/ Anyway, Frederick hardly looks like a commoner though, nor does he act like one. I can't imagine him being one at all. Granted, Sully is a noble and doesn't seem like one and Lissa is a princess and doesn't seem like one, but they don't really look like commoners either. Frederick, on the other hand, doesn't resemble a commoner in any way at all. Edited July 10, 2013 by Anacybele Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunwoo Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 This is Fire Emblem, where most nobles are too noble to be true. I'm not sure on what grounds you're assuming he's not a commoner. I wouldn't have been able to tell Sully is a noble without supports. Makalov must be noble if Marcia is a pegasus knight and only nobles can serve. Does he act like one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacybele Posted July 10, 2013 Author Share Posted July 10, 2013 I already explained why I believe Frederick is of noble birth. As for Makalov, no, but he probably would if he wasn't a drunken gambler. I'm not changing my opinion here unless canon content outright states Frederick is a commoner. Okay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunwoo Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 No one's telling you to change your mind. Just keep in mind that other people may have different interpretations of Frederick and his backstory, and disagreeing with your explanation isn't an attack on you, just them saying "interesting theory, just not one that I completely agree with". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacybele Posted July 10, 2013 Author Share Posted July 10, 2013 Oh, well, then that's perfectly fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faye Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 Maybe Fred's mother was poor, who married a knight that served Ylisse for generations. 8U Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacybele Posted July 11, 2013 Author Share Posted July 11, 2013 That could be added to my theory too, as I did decide that Frederick's father is the one that comes from the bloodline Frederick is referring to when he says his family served the royals for generations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rewjeo Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 I don't recall seeing anything in Awakening to suggest that Ylisse is feudal, but it would make sense for Fred's family to have a small fief. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexington Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 (edited) But doesn't Frederick seem a little old (and high ranking) to only have started knighthood under Emmeryns rule? Here's how his backstory plays out in my head: Before the old king started the big war, Frederick's family lived in the small village, while Fred's father, as an active knight, often spend a lot of time away from home at the court to fulfill his duties. So to follow his footsteps and be closer to his father, Frederick became a knight too. He was a low ranking knight when the old king started the big war and Fred was very unhappy with the kings rule. His father probably even died in the war. But as it was his duty to protect the kingdom, he stuck with it. And when Emmeryn became the new ruler, he swore that he would try everything, so that history wouldn't repeat itself. Edited July 11, 2013 by Lexington Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacybele Posted July 11, 2013 Author Share Posted July 11, 2013 I don't think Frederick is THAT old. I think he's one of the youngest Jagens so far, actually, probably 26 at the oldest. We've had young veteran knights before him too. Geoffrey, for example, who's probably even younger (but by only a couple years or so). Emmeryn was 10 when she was crowned, right? I think Frederick is close in age to her. But who knows, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSND Alter Dragon Boner Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 (edited) If Frederick is 20 - 25+ Frederick is potentially the youngest If we judge it based on how young they are based on their first appearance, Finn and Oifey is much younger than Frederick(15 and 14) and they officially become the Jeigan when they are 30 On that note, assuming Quan and Siggy is of the same age, Manga!Siggy is 22 years old Edited July 11, 2013 by I have a Dragon Boner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexington Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 I'd have put his age around thirty. Not really old, but surely more experienced than the others. [spoiler=Character Ending Spoiler] And considering he becomes knightcaptain after the game having him much younger would be ridiculous, imho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacybele Posted July 11, 2013 Author Share Posted July 11, 2013 Geoffrey replaces Renning as leader of the Crimean Royal Knights. I see no reason why Frederick, even if he's only a year or two older, can't be given a similar position as Knight Captain in Ylisse. :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexington Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 I'm probably just thinking too realistically. Anime and video games quite often have characters in ranks and positions that'd be unusual for them to have in the real world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrostyFireMage Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 Calill from FE9 was well-educated and sophisticated yet also a commoner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacybele Posted July 12, 2013 Author Share Posted July 12, 2013 She doesn't seem as much so as Frederick though, imo. But whatever, I like my theory. xP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jave Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 (edited) Frederick isn't the first knight in the FE universe to be born a commoner. Pretty sure that was the case with Finn too, and he was one of the most loyal and trusted knights in Leonster.. Edited July 12, 2013 by Jave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSND Alter Dragon Boner Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 (edited) Finn is adopted by nobles, so he is practically a noble in term of position. Glade is a better example IMO. He is a commoner till the end and he is the one who is in charge of Lenster while Finn is away taking care of Lenster's crown prince. Admitably, compared to Finn, Glade is WAY more emotional >_> Edited July 12, 2013 by I have a Dragon Boner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momo Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 Donnel is from the country and is shown to be more than capable at doing plenty of things. Imagine him in ten years and you probably have Fredrick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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