A Jedi lord represented a Jedi knight who achieved a higher status, becoming a lord within the Empire following the Sith rebellion. These Jedi lords were in service to the Emperor and governed a Jedi clan. Some citizens considered a Jedi who attained lordship to be a symbol of strong moral character. Jedi committed to serving a specific lord, whether Jedi or not, and were expected to die while serving their lords.
Jedi knights and Jedi guardians were among those who served Jedi lords. Lords often legally adopted numerous Force-sensitive children who then became their Jedi apprentices, with some lords taking a more active role than others in the training of their apprentices as their master. Apprentices who did not meet the requirements to become knights after completing their training would not wield a lightsaber; instead, they became part of the lower rank of graduated apprentices known as guardians, working alongside Jedi knights as retainers for their lords.