The Knighting ceremony was the ceremony in which a Jedi Padawan or apprentice was made into a full Jedi Knight. They could also be performed for Knights who passed the trials again to become a Jedi Master. The Sith also had their own version of the knighting ceremony.[1]
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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 also had a ceremony when 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 retaking the trials, or 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 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 Padawan, typically having spent the previous day and night meditating in a chamber below the Hall of Knighthood, would enter the chamber at the beckoning of their master and walk into the center of the darkened hall. The Jedi Council Members would then ignite their lightsabers and angle them towards the floor.
The Grand Master heading the Knighting ceremony would recite the following formula, beginning with a standard greeting:
The presiding Master would then turn his focus towards the prospective Knight and say:
Afterwards, a Jedi Master (usually a Council member) would proclaim the following:
The Council members would then salute the newly knighted Jedi and the ceremony concluded.
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.
Listen (file info)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. Each student was called individually to be given a brief and private speech by the Grand Master, and then received their formal robes.
After the defeat of the Yuuzhan Vong and the construction of the new Jedi Temple, knighting once again took place in the formal Knighting Hall.
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