There has been a lot of interest in Hrodir and Yehudah, the Heirs of Northshield, who are the first same-sex couple in the SCA to win a Crown Tournament.

Hrodir is a Duke, Knight, and Laurel; this will be his fourth time on the throne of Northshield. Yehudah was Northshield’s first Polaris Kingdom Herald, and is a Court Baron and Master of the Pelican. They are friends, rather than romantic partners. As Heirs, They are using the titles “Hrodir Fyrste” and “Yehudah Tarkhan.” Once crowned, They will be “Hrodir Bek” and “Yehudah Khagan.”

The Heirs have created a website for Their Reign that includes some fascinating information about Their plans, which Yehudah Tarkhan has described as being in many ways an A&S project. They will be basing Their reign on the precedents of the Turkic land of Khazaria, during the time period from 750 to 1050. Their website describes the ruling structure of Khazaria this way:

Khazaria was ruled under a dual-king system common in Turkic kingdoms, derived from Mongol practice, in which a Khagan was the spiritual and cultural leader while the Bek evolved to be the military and administrative leader. In historical practice, the distinction was somewhat akin to that of the Japanese Emperor and Shogun.

For more information on this innovative approach to SCA monarchy, see Their website, most especially the page on “Information for Heralds and Scribes” which includes a great deal of historical information at the bottom.