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A Knighting Ceremony was a Jedi ceremony in which a Padawan, who, by the right of the Jedi High Council and will of the Force, was granted the rank of Jedi Knight. In it, a Padawan knelt or stood before a superior Jedi, who placed the blade of their lightsaber just above the shoulders and head of the Padawan as they issued a statement along the lines of "By the right of the Council, by the will of the Force, [name], you may rise."

Description[]

Overview[]

Held after a Jedi Padawan had passed whatever their Jedi Trials were decided to be,^[3] a Knighting Ceremony marked a Padawan's passage to the rank of Jedi Knight.^[4] To the Jedi Order, such an elevation in station was believed to be an act that fulfilled the will of the Force.^[1] Officially, the elevation needed to be approved by the Jedi High Council,^[3] as only per the right of the Council could one be granted the rank of Knight according to ceremonial creed:^[1] even if a Jedi met the requirements to be a Jedi Knight, they were not formally one until the Council approved the change in rank.^[3] All the same, Grand Master Yoda approved Reath Silas's Knighting without the presence of the greater Council.^[5] Indeed, after the destruction of the Jedi Order and its Council with the dawn of the Imperial Era, the tradition of knighting a Jedi survived. However, without the council, it was carried out via the surviving, independently operating Jedi.^[1][2]

Tradition held that the Padawan's master would be present to preside over the Knighting. However, that individual was not actually required: whether it be by choice, if the master had died, or if they had gone missing before the ceremony, the vows could be taken by the Padawan without their mentor present.^[3] In cases where the Padawan's master was present, they could either carry out the knighting themself,^[6] with others,^[7] or simply watch.^[8]

During the Clone Wars, which compromised the Jedi Order's morals^[9] and traditions,^[10] the standard ways surrounding how a Jedi arose into the rank of Knight changed shortly into the conflict. In fact, the Jedi rushed the advancement of Padawans in order to meet the Republic Military's needs. Anakin Skywalker, who once had thought that his promotion to Jedi Knight would feel like a significant life step, had already been promoted to the rank before any kind of ceremony was held for him. As such, when he was part of a mass-Knighting ceremony in the Jedi Temple training ground, he felt it was a waste of time.^[11]

Traditions[]

Location[]

Knighting Ceremonies would be held by the High Council on the planet Coruscant^[3] within the Council Chamber.^[12] During the Clone Wars, a mass knighting ceremony was held on the Jedi Temple training ground.^[11] However, while the Council still needed to approve each Knight,^[3] the ceremony, at least during the High Republic Era, did not have to happen on Coruscant at all: the Jedi Master and Marshal of Starlight Beacon, Avar Kriss, knighted Padawan Keeve Trennis aboard Starlight Beacon as Trennis's master, Sskeer, watched.^[8] Before an audience of fellow Jedi and other comrades, Padawans Qort and Farzala Tarabal were knighted aboard the Star Hopper outside of Starlight Beacon by Qort's master Tabakan Pak, Tarabal's master Obratuk Glii, and their friend, Jedi Master Torban Buck.^[7] Silas was knighted on the planet Corellia by Yoda, Master Kantam Sy, and his own mentor, Master Cohmac Vitus, right after the Battle of the Corellian Shipyards.^[5]

Obi-Wan Kenobi learned of his Knighthood on the planet Naboo in a discussion with Yoda^[13] in the Turret Room of Theed Royal Palace^[14] after his service in the Battle of Naboo, where Kenobi's master Qui-Gon Jinn had also been killed. In the Turret Room, Yoda relayed that the Council had granted him the rank of Knight and masterhood over the possible Chosen One, Anakin Skywalker.^[13] During the Imperial Era, Knighting Ceremonies happened all across the galaxy due to the scattered nature of the Jedi at that time.^[1][2]

Exact procedure and wording[]

In a Knighting Ceremony, a Padawan stood^[8] or kneeled before a superior Jedi^[1][12] or multiple superior Jedi.^[12][7] A superior used their lightsaber to knight the individual before them: as the lightsaber was placed just above the Padawan's shoulders and head, they declared that the Padawan was granted the rank of Jedi Knight "By the right"^[1]—or "rights"^[12]—"of the Council" and "by the will of the Force."^[8] The ceremony also saw the Padawan's braid be cut off by the superior's lightsaber.^[8][7] In cases where a Jedi was kneeling before the superior, the ceremony ended when they were told to rise.^[1][12][2] Jedi Master Mace Windu concluded Cere Junda's Knighting Ceremony by telling her she was "now a Knight of the Jedi Order," although no lightsaber was involved in her ceremony.^[12] When the then-Master Junda knighted Cal Kestis, she ended the ceremony by referring to him with the title.^[2]

When Kriss knighted Trennis during the High Republic Era, Trennis stood before Kriss. Kriss further declared "I name thee Jedi" to Trennis in addition to citing the Council's right and the will of the Force. She further declared that Trennis would be a protector of the light side of the Force and Knight of the Galactic Republic. While she kept her blade ignited throughout the entire process, Kriss only moved her lightsaber closer to Trennis to sever her Padawan braid.^[8] The same phrases were used when Qort and Tarabel were knighted during the High Republic Era by Jedi Masters Glii, Pak, and Buck. In that case, the Masters did not turn their lightsabers towards the Padawans, with Qort and Tarabel even cutting off their own braids. For that ceremony, they donned their formal Temple robes and were watched by an audience of fellow Jedi in such attire, with the ceremony ending with all gathered rising their lightsabers and shouting the phrase "For light and life."^[7] Windu gave a speech at a mass-Knighting ceremony during the Clone Wars.^[11]

History[]

Origins[]

Traditions surrounding the Jedi Trials and Knighting Ceremony dated back one thousand generations by the time of the Clone Wars.^[11]

High Republic Era[]

During the High Republic Era, Grand Master Yoda's Padawan, Kantam Sy, stepped away from the Jedi Order^[5] shortly before they were to be knighted.^[15] After discovering the Force-sensitive youngling Lula Talisola on the planet Naboo a more than a year after stepping away, Sy decided to rejoin the Order and returned to Yoda on Endovar, where Yoda declared they had left a Padawan but returned a Knight. Afterward, Sy was formally Knighted with a modest ceremony. Ry would become Talison's Jedi Master as well.^[5]

In 232 BBY,^[16] Jedi Master Loden Greatstorm told his Padawan, Bell Zettifar, that he was ready to become a Jedi Knight. However, Zettifar decided he would hold off on taking the title until formally being elevated by the Council with his master by his side, as per tradition. However, Greatstorm soon went missing as he was captured by the Nihil marauders. While Zettifar did not believe his master was dead like other Jedi, he felt lost^[3] and empty after Greatstorm's disappearance.^[17] Even though Jedi Knight Indeera Stokes took on the duties of mentorship as his new master, Zettifar knew he could return to Coruscant at any time to take his Knighting vows.^[3] While Stokes constantly pushed him to fulfill his first master's final wish and become a Knight,^[17] he could not think of such a ceremony happening without Greatstorm^[3] and decided he was not ready after all, believing the emptiness he felt inside was proof of that.^[17]

In 232 BBY,^[16] Jedi Padawan Keeve Trennis was brought before Jedi Master Avar Kriss on the Starlight Beacon by her own Master, Sskeer. Expecting to be admonished for what she believed to be a failed Jedi trial on the planet Shuraden, she was surprised to find that she was instead being promoted to the rank of Jedi Knight due to her selfless actions in defending a Ximpi city from a swarm of ridadi.^[8] In the Battle of Grizal of 231 BBY,^[16] almost a year after Greatstorm's promise that his student was ready to be a Jedi Knight, Zettifar discovered that his first master was alive, just as he had believed, and simply had been trapped in Nihil captivity. However, Greatstorm would soon be killed by the emergence of the Great Leveler.^[17] Losing any conviction he had to be a Knight after Greatstorm's death, Zettifar remained at the rank of Padawan as it was clear he was not ready for Knighthood after all. All the same, he hoped that Stokes knew he appreciated her and her training despite the grief and admiration he showed for his old mentor.^[18]

In 230 BBY,^[19] after successfully capturing the Nihil pirate Krix Kamerat at Dol'har Hyde, Padawans Qort and Farzala Tarabal were dubbed knighted by their Masters, Tabakan Pak and Obratuk Glii, as well by Master Torban Buck as the pair cut off their own braids during a ceremony held on the bridge of the Star Hopper. Fellow Padawan Lula Talisola was offered the opportunity to be knighted by Buck in the absence of her Master Kantam Sy, though Talisola declined the knighting as she was not sure if she was ready to commit herself to the Order.^[7] In the same year,^[16] after battling the Nihil on the planet Corellia, Padawan Reath Silas was knighted by his master, Cohmac Vitus, who abandoned the Jedi Order after knighting his apprentice. Fellow Master Kantam Sy and Grand Master Yoda also participated in the knighting of Silas.^[5]

Two months after the fall of Starlight Beacon, Zettifar led the successful search for his missing friend, Padawan Burryaga Agaburry, in the oceans of Eiram. Upon their return to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, they were greeted by Stokes. She informed them that due to the increasing Nihil conflict and their stormwall, the Order's Guardian Protocols were implemented by the Jedi Council, thereby requiring elevation in ranks among those who are ready. As Zettifar had refused knighthood in the past, he, along with Agaburry, were forcefully promoted by Stokes and Master Arkoff, allowing them to better assist in combating the Nihil.^[6]

In 228 BBY, Jedi Knight Vernestra Rwoh is led to the planet Aricho by Avon Sunvale with the revelation of the survival of Rwoh's Padawan, Imri Cantaros, who had been presumed deceased following the destruction of Starlight Beacon. Upon her arrival, Rwoh is intent on rescuing Cantaros but instead finds herself thrust into battle, helping the planet's inhabitants and other Jedi, including her missing Padawan, to strike back against the Nihil occupation. Following the attack and reunited with Cantaros, Rwoh reflects on how much he has grown in the year they were apart, both physically and as a Jedi, stepping up to help liberate those the Nihil had oppressed. Realizing that her Padawan has embraced his own path, Rwoh makes the decision to knight Cantaros, incorporating the same speech used by her master, Stellan Gios, at the time of her own knighting years earlier.^[20]

Late Republic Era[]

Sometime during or prior to 40 BBY,^[21] Jedi Padawan Cere Junda was brought before the Jedi High Council to discuss the recent mission that had been assigned to her and Jedi Master Eno Cordova. As a result of her actions during the battle, a recommendation from Cordova, and testimonies from the Daa Security Forces and various Fylari survivors, the High Council decided that she was ready to be promoted to the rank of Jedi Knight, and commenced her knighting ceremony.^[12]

In 22 BBY,^[16] the Jedi Order held a mass Knighting Ceremony to promote a group of senior Padawans to the rank of Jedi Knight. The Jedi's need for more Knights had been fueled by the demands of the recently-started Clone Wars, for which the Jedi had found themselves serving as commanding officers of the Galactic Republic's new clone army against the Confederacy of Independent Systems. During the ceremony, held in the training ground of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, a group including Anakin Skywalker, Olana Chion, Keer Stenwyt, Cyruss Okent, and D'urban Wen-Hurd were formally named Jedi Knights, although at least Skywalker had already been given the title beforehand. As such, he deemed the ceremony to be a waste of time.^[11]

Also present at this ceremony was Padawan Iskat Akaris, who to her surprise, was suddenly given the promotion to knighthood following the unfortunate death of her master Sember Vey during the rescue mission on Geonosis. Akaris was promoted alongside Onielle, Zeeth, Charlin Plaka, and Tualon Yaluna, all being Padawans she had grown up with.^[4]

Imperial Era[]

In 14 BBY,^[22] prior to his mission to infiltrate Fortress Inquisitorius, Jedi Padawan Cal Kestis was knighted by the now former Jedi Knight Junda, who wielded the Second Sister's lightsaber. To conclude the ceremony, Junda echoed the knighting quote that had once officiated her own accession to knighthood.^[2]

Years later, Kanan Jarrus, a former Padawan, went through a knighting ceremony during a vision in the Lothal Jedi Temple. In the vision, which was induced by Jedi Master Yoda, Jarrus was dubbed a Knight by an apparition of the Grand Inquisitor, who had once been a Knight and Jedi Temple Guard.^[1]

Behind the scenes[]

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The Knighting Ceremony first appeared in canon through the Star Wars Rebels second season episode "Shroud of Darkness," that premiered on March 2, 2016.^[1]

Sometime during the reign of the Galactic Empire in the non-canon Star Wars: Visions short "T0-B1", a droid designated T0-B1^[23]—who actually contained the soul of the fallen Jedi Padawan Tobi^[24]—dreamed of becoming a Jedi Knight. When he was confronted by an Inquisitor near the grave of his creator, former Jedi Professor Mitaka, T0-B1 feared being defeated. However, the Professor assured him that he was ready for the battle as proof of his maturity. Mitaka ignited his lightsaber and knighted T0-B1 using the same ritual of the now dead Jedi Order. T0-B1 began to fight off the Inquisitor, with the help of his droid friends. Upon his victory, he became the first droid to be a Jedi Knight.^[23]

Appearances[]

Non-canon appearances[]

• Star Wars: Visions — "T0-B1"

Sources[]

• "Shroud of Darkness" Episode Guide | Star Wars Rebels on StarWars.com (backup link)
• Star Wars: Destiny — Allies of Necessity (Card: Knighthood) (backup link)
• Star Wars: The Lightsaber Collection
• Star Wars: The High Republic: Chronicles of the Jedi
• Star Wars: Timelines
• 5 Behind-the-Pages Secrets of Star Wars: Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade on StarWars.com (backup link)
• Dark Droids Meets a Terrifying End in Marvel's December 2023 Star Wars Comics – Exclusive Preview on StarWars.com (backup link) (Picture only)
• Inside Star Wars: The High Republic: Reunite with the Jedi and the Nihil in Phase III on StarWars.com (backup link)
• Star Wars: The High Republic Character Encyclopedia
• The Grand Inquisitor in the Databank (backup link)

Notes and references[]