Padawan/Legends



A Padawan was a Jedi apprentice who began serious training under a Jedi Knight, chosen by the Knight himself from the ranks of the younglings.

If a youngling was not chosen by any Jedi Knight to be their Padawan by 13 years of age, the youngling was placed into another, lesser role in the Jedi Service Corps, Luke Skywalker abandoned this rule when he created the New Jedi Order. The Jedi code strictly required that a Master would have only one Padawan (mirrored by the Sith Rule of Two), since the training required the Master's full attention and dedication. Haired species that were Padawans wore a small braid behind their right ear or the side of their head.

A Padawan followed and helped his or her Master everywhere, unless seen unfit by the master, from simple tasks to dangerous missions so that he learned from experience and personal guidance. When a Padawan was elevated to knighthood, he or she passed the 'trials' and their braid was cut off during the knighting ceremony. There was no fixed age when this happens: Padawans could even be adults, but for a human, it usually occured in the padawan's early or mid-twenties.



Anakin Skywalker became a Padawan under Obi-Wan without ever training as a Youngling, due to his relatively advanced age.

After the Great Jedi Purge, several early Jedi that eventually formed the New Jedi Order never had the 'rank' of Padawan for obvious reasons. Among these were Luke Skywalker and Kyle Katarn. The traditional Padawan's braid, as well as the term Padawan itself disappeared at this time. The New Jedi Order used the term "Apprentice" instead.

Due to the small number of Jedi Knights, Luke Skywalker loosened the restrictions on the number of apprentices a Jedi could train at once. Skywalker, for example, simultaneously mentored his nephews Jacen and Anakin Solo. The problems of this new system were soon noticed, since the Master could not pay full attention to both his students, so this rule may have been replaced with the original rule, but this is unknown.