Knighting ceremony/Legends



The Knighting ceremony was the ceremony in which a Jedi Padawan or apprentice was made into a full Jedi Knight. The Sith also had their own version of the knighting ceremony.

Achieving Knighthood in the Old Republic
"You will forever look back on this day as one of great joy, but also one of great sorrow. It will help you to remember that, in life, the two are often closely linked."

- Valenthyne Farfalla

After a Padawan had spent enough time learning from his or her Master, the Padawan would take the trials of Knighthood. If the Padawan passed, they were declared to be a Knight of the Republic. The customary Padawan braid was shorn off with a lightsaber in the Knighting ceremony held in the Hall of Knighthood (assuming the Padawan was of a species that grew hair). Only the Jedi Council or the Padawan's Master could promote a Padawan to the rank of Jedi Knight. Most Knights were promoted to Jedi Masters after they successfully entered a Padawan into Knighthood themselves, although in rare cases they could also be promoted to Master without having done this (such as in the case of Masters Saesee Tiin and Atris, both of which never took an apprentice), and many Knights were addressed as "Master" at least by their own apprentices.

The Knighting


The ceremony of Knighthood was usually presided over by the Grand Master of the day, which, in the waning days of the Republic, was Yoda. Eleven other Jedi Masters would stand with Yoda - usually, but not always, the remaining members of the Jedi Council. The Padawan's own master would also attend, but usually did not participate in the ceremony itself.

The Grand Master heading the Knighting ceremony would recite the following formula, beginning with a standard greeting:


 * "We are all Jedi. The Force speaks through us. Through our actions, the Force proclaims itself and what is real. Today we are here to acknowledge what the Force has proclaimed."



The presiding Master would then turn his focus towards the prospective Knight and say:


 * ''"Step forward, Padawan. [Name of Padawan], by the right of the Council, by the will of the Force, I dub thee, Jedi (cuts braid) Knight of the Republic."

Afterwards, a Jedi Master (usually a Council member) would proclaim the following:
 * "Take up your lightsaber, [Name of new knight], Jedi Knight. And may the Force be with you."

Not all Jedi became Knights in such a ceremony, though. At least a few Jedi (including Obi-Wan Kenobi, Johun Othone and Vergere) were simply told that they had passed their trials. Whether or not this was considered a special honor is unknown. It was also possible for more than one Jedi to be elevated in rank at the same time. In a similar ceremony to the one described above, Aayla Secura was granted the rank of Jedi Knight, and Quinlan Vos was made a Jedi Master.

Knighthood in the New Jedi Order
Luke Skywalker himself did not have an official knighting ceremony, as the Jedi Order was all but extinct when he achieved knighthood. On his dying bed, Yoda told Luke that he would have to confront Darth Vader; only then would he be a Jedi. Luke did face Vader in a duel. Defeating him, Luke, in spite of the Emperor's manipulative taunting, decided to spare his life and not give in to anger, thus withstanding the lure of the dark side. Refusing to kill Vader, Luke told the Emperor that he would never join him and the dark side, because Luke was a Jedi Knight like his father before him. When the Emperor attacked Luke, Vader managed to kill the Emperor, saving Luke's life and finding redemption in the light side of the Force. From then on Luke considered himself a Jedi Knight, yet realizing he had much to learn. Having wandered the galaxy, he eventually established a New Jedi Order.

Knighting within the New Jedi Order was not always as formal as in the Old Jedi Order. In 12 ABY, Kyp Durron, Dorsk 81, and Cilghal were pronounced Knights by Skywalker after they were able to complete every task he set for them, they had created their own lightsabers, and they decided to leave Yavin 4 to begin doing good deeds for the others of the Galaxy.

Rather than receiving knighthood in a formal ceremony, Jaden Korr was knighted when Korr was told, in an informal conversation with Luke Skywalker and Kyle Katarn, that Skywalker and Katarn had decided to promote Korr to the level of Jedi Knight due to Korr's deeds on Vjun.

In 24 ABY, the knighting of Jacen and Jaina Solo, Zekk, Tenel Ka, Lusa, Raynar Thul, and Lowbacca was done at the decision of Skywalker following their year of service in aiding the defeat of the Diversity Alliance and Black Sun. Their knighting ceremony was a public spectable held in the Massassi Temple in front of the assembled New Jedi Order and representatives of the New Republic, and included a lightsaber salute from the current knights and a ballad of their deeds from Tionne.

In 27 ABY, as the first act of the High Council, Skywalker knighted the Padawan survivors of the Mission to Myrkr at a ceremony on Dac.

Appearances

 * Tales of the Jedi: Redemption
 * Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: Commencement
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Star Wars Republic: Rite of Passage
 * Star Wars: Clone Wars
 * "Chapter 21"
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith novelization
 * Star Wars Republic: The Hidden Enemy
 * Star Wars: The Force Unleashed comic
 * Darksaber
 * Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
 * Young Jedi Knights: Crisis at Crystal Reef
 * Destiny's Way
 * Ylesia
 * The Unifying Force
 * Darth Bane: Rule of Two