A Knighting Ceremony represented a Jedi ritual where a Padawan, deemed worthy by the Jedi High Council and the Force's will, achieved the status of Jedi Knight. This involved the Padawan kneeling or standing before a senior Jedi, who then positioned the blade of their lightsaber just above the Padawan's head and shoulders while proclaiming something like, "By the Council's right, by the Force's will, [name], you may rise."
The Knighting Ceremony, which took place after a Jedi Padawan successfully completed their designated Jedi Trials, signified their advancement to the rank of Jedi Knight. The Jedi Order considered this promotion to be an embodiment of the Force's will. Crucially, the Jedi High Council's approval was required for the promotion to be official. According to established ceremonial practice, only the Council had the authority to bestow knighthood. Even if a Jedi fulfilled all the necessary qualifications, they remained a Padawan until the Council formally sanctioned their elevation in rank. However, Grand Master Yoda authorized Reath Silas's Knighting without the broader Council's involvement. Post the Jedi Order's and Council's demise at the start of the Imperial Era, the knighting tradition persisted, although without the Council, it was conducted by the surviving, independent Jedi.
Customarily, the Padawan's master would preside over the Knighting. However, their presence wasn't mandatory. The ceremony could proceed even if the master was absent due to choice, death, or disappearance. If the master was present, they could either conduct the knighting themselves, collaborate with others, or simply observe.
The Clone Wars period saw a shift in the standard procedures for Jedi Knight promotions, largely due to the war's impact on the Jedi Order's morals and customs. The Jedi expedited Padawan advancements to meet the Republic Military's demands. Anakin Skywalker, who had anticipated his Jedi Knight promotion to be a momentous occasion, was promoted before any formal ceremony took place. Consequently, when he participated in a mass-Knighting ceremony at the Jedi Temple training ground, he regarded it as a time-wasting exercise.
The High Council typically held Knighting Ceremonies on Coruscant, within the Council Chamber. A mass knighting ceremony occurred on the Jedi Temple training ground during the Clone Wars. However, while the Council's approval remained necessary, the ceremony didn't always have to be on Coruscant, especially during the High Republic Era. Avar Kriss, a Jedi Master and Marshal of Starlight Beacon, knighted Padawan Keeve Trennis aboard Starlight Beacon as Trennis's master, Sskeer, watched. Padawans Qort and Farzala Tarabal were knighted aboard the Star Hopper outside Starlight Beacon by Qort's master Tabakan Pak, Tarabal's master Obratuk Glii, and their friend, Jedi Master Torban Buck, in front of an audience of fellow Jedi and comrades. Silas was knighted on Corellia by Yoda, Master Kantam Sy, and his mentor, Master Cohmac Vitus, immediately following the Battle of the Corellian Shipyards.
Obi-Wan Kenobi was informed of his knighthood by Yoda in the Turret Room of Theed Royal Palace on Naboo after the Battle of Naboo, where his master Qui-Gon Jinn perished. Yoda conveyed that the Council had granted him the rank of Knight and masterhood over Anakin Skywalker, a possible Chosen One. During the Imperial Era, Knighting Ceremonies occurred throughout the galaxy because the Jedi were dispersed.
In a Knighting Ceremony, the Padawan would stand or kneel before one or more superior Jedi. The superior Jedi would use their lightsaber to knight the Padawan, positioning the blade just above their shoulders and head while declaring that the Padawan was now a Jedi Knight "By the right"—or "rights"—"of the Council" and "by the will of the Force." The superior's lightsaber would also sever the Padawan's braid. If the Jedi was kneeling, the ceremony concluded with them being instructed to rise. Mace Windu completed Cere Junda's Knighting Ceremony by declaring her "now a Knight of the Jedi Order," although her ceremony didn't involve a lightsaber. When Junda, then a Master, knighted Cal Kestis, she concluded the ceremony by addressing him with the title.
When Kriss knighted Trennis during the High Republic Era, Trennis stood before her. Kriss, in addition to mentioning the Council's right and the Force's will, proclaimed "I name thee Jedi" to Trennis. She further stated that Trennis would be a protector of the light side of the Force and a Knight of the Galactic Republic. Kriss kept her lightsaber ignited throughout the process but only moved it close enough to sever Trennis's Padawan braid. The same phrases were used when Jedi Masters Glii, Pak, and Buck knighted Qort and Tarabel during the High Republic Era. In that instance, the Masters didn't direct their lightsabers at the Padawans, and Qort and Tarabel even cut off their own braids. They wore their formal Temple robes for the ceremony, and fellow Jedi in similar attire observed. The ceremony ended with everyone raising their lightsabers and shouting "For light and life." Windu delivered a speech at a mass-Knighting ceremony during the Clone Wars.
During the High Republic Era, Kantam Sy, Grand Master Yoda's Padawan, left the Jedi Order shortly before his knighting. After discovering the Force-sensitive youngling Lula Talisola on Naboo more than a year later, Sy decided to rejoin the Order and returned to Yoda on Endovar. Yoda declared that he had left as a Padawan but returned as a Knight. Sy was then formally Knighted in a small ceremony and became Talisola's Jedi Master.
In 232 BBY, Loden Greatstorm told his Padawan, Bell Zettifar, that he was prepared to be a Jedi Knight. Zettifar opted to postpone the ceremony until the Council formally elevated him with his master present, as was tradition. However, Greatstorm was captured by the Nihil marauders and went missing. While Zettifar didn't believe his master was dead, he felt lost and empty. Although Indeera Stokes assumed mentorship duties, Zettifar knew he could return to Coruscant to take his Knighting vows. While Stokes encouraged him to fulfill his first master's wish and become a Knight, he couldn't imagine the ceremony without Greatstorm and decided he wasn't ready, believing his emptiness was proof.
In 232 BBY, Jedi Padawan Keeve Trennis was brought before Avar Kriss on Starlight Beacon by her master, Sskeer. Expecting to be reprimanded for a perceived failed Jedi trial on Shuraden, she was surprised to be promoted to Jedi Knight due to her selfless actions in defending a Ximpi city from ridadi. In the Battle of Grizal in 231 BBY, almost a year after Greatstorm said his student was ready, Zettifar discovered his first master was alive, having been held captive by the Nihil. However, Greatstorm was soon killed by the Great Leveler. Zettifar, losing his desire to be a Knight after Greatstorm's death, remained a Padawan, realizing he wasn't ready for Knighthood. He hoped Stokes knew he appreciated her and her training despite his grief and admiration for his old mentor.
In 230 BBY, after capturing the Nihil pirate Krix Kamerat at Dol'har Hyde, Padawans Qort and Farzala Tarabal were knighted by their Masters, Tabakan Pak and Obratuk Glii, and Master Torban Buck, as they cut off their own braids on the bridge of the Star Hopper. Lula Talisola was offered knighthood by Buck in the absence of her Master Kantam Sy, but she declined, unsure if she was ready to commit to the Order. In the same year, after battling the Nihil on Corellia, Reath Silas was knighted by his master, Cohmac Vitus, who left the Jedi Order after knighting his apprentice. Kantam Sy and Grand Master Yoda also participated in Silas's knighting.
Two months after the fall of Starlight Beacon, Zettifar led the successful search for Burryaga Agaburry in the oceans of Eiram. Upon returning to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, they were greeted by Stokes, who informed them that the Jedi Council had implemented the Order's Guardian Protocols due to the escalating Nihil conflict and its stormwall, necessitating rank elevations for those ready. As Zettifar had previously refused knighthood, he and Agaburry were forcefully promoted by Stokes and Master Arkoff to better combat the Nihil.
In 228 BBY, Vernestra Rwoh is led to Aricho by Avon Sunvale with the news of the survival of Rwoh's Padawan, Imri Cantaros, presumed dead after the destruction of Starlight Beacon. She intends to rescue Cantaros but finds herself in battle, helping the planet's inhabitants and other Jedi, including her missing Padawan, to strike back against the Nihil occupation. Reunited with Cantaros, Rwoh reflects on his growth, both physically and as a Jedi, in the year they were apart, as he helped liberate those oppressed by the Nihil. Realizing her Padawan has embraced his own path, Rwoh decides to knight Cantaros, using the same speech her master, Stellan Gios, used at her own knighting years earlier.
Around or before 40 BBY, Cere Junda was brought before the Jedi High Council to discuss her recent mission with Eno Cordova. Based on her actions, Cordova's recommendation, and testimonies from the Daa Security Forces and Fylari survivors, the Council decided she was ready for promotion and commenced her knighting ceremony.
In 22 BBY, the Jedi Order held a mass Knighting Ceremony to promote senior Padawans. The need for more Knights was driven by the Clone Wars, where the Jedi served as commanding officers of the Galactic Republic's clone army against the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The ceremony, held in the training ground of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, formally named Anakin Skywalker, Olana Chion, Keer Stenwyt, Cyruss Okent, and D'urban Wen-Hurd as Jedi Knights, although Skywalker had already received the title. He considered the ceremony a waste of time.
Iskat Akaris was also present and, surprisingly, was promoted to knighthood after her master Sember Vey died during the rescue mission on Geonosis. Akaris was promoted alongside Onielle, Zeeth, Charlin Plaka, and Tualon Yaluna, Padawans she had grown up with.
In 14 BBY, Cal Kestis was knighted by Junda, who used the Second Sister's lightsaber prior to his mission to infiltrate Fortress Inquisitorius. Junda concluded the ceremony by repeating the knighting quote from her own ceremony.
Years later, Kanan Jarrus underwent a knighting ceremony during a vision in the Lothal Jedi Temple. In the vision, induced by Yoda, Jarrus was knighted by an apparition of the Grand Inquisitor, who had been a Knight and Jedi Temple Guard.
The Knighting Ceremony first appeared in canon in the Star Wars Rebels second season episode "Shroud of Darkness," which premiered on March 2, 2016.
During the reign of the Galactic Empire in the non-canon Star Wars: Visions short "T0-B1", a droid designated T0-B1—containing the soul of the fallen Jedi Padawan Tobi—dreamed of becoming a Jedi Knight. Confronted by an Inquisitor near the grave of his creator, Mitaka, T0-B1 feared defeat. However, Mitaka assured him he was ready, ignited his lightsaber, and knighted T0-B1 using the Jedi Order's ritual. T0-B1, aided by his droid friends, fought off the Inquisitor and became the first droid to be a Jedi Knight.