A Jedi was a member of the Jedi Order, who studied, served and used the mystical energies of the Force; more specifically, the light side of the Force. The Jedi fought for peace and justice in the Galactic Republic, often against their mortal enemies, the Sith, who studied the dark side of the Force. Although the Order was twice almost destroyed, first by the Sith Empire of Darth Revan and 4,000 years later by the Great Jedi Purge of Darth Sidious, the Order lived on due in large part to the efforts of Luke Skywalker, who forged a New Jedi Order to defend first the New Republic, and later its successor, the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances.
Originally formed as a philosophical study group situated on the planet Tython, the Jedi became revered as guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy. As mystical wielders of the Force and of their glowing, signature lightsabers, their powers inspired all citizens in the galaxy. The calm, considered demeanor of the Jedi made them ideal brokers of peace in times of conflict or dispute. Yet, for all their power and diversity, the Jedi were few. Often beset by foes in times of doubt and confusion, undercurrents of evil often challenged their order and the establishment they served, the most notable being the Sith. These dark warriors were the antithesis of the Jedi, their sworn enemies, and the battle between them brought the galaxy to war more than once. In times of crisis, the Sith could even use the dark side of the Force to diminish the powers of the Jedi, and prevent them from sensing the future.
The way of the Jedi had become the way of wisdom and patience, backed by swift and decisive action when necessary. However, the Jedi Council sometimes showed what appeared to be a lack of decisiveness, such as during the Mandalorian Wars, preferring to work with events and patterns over the long term. Their inaction spurred Revan to fight back, and eventually led to the Jedi Civil War. To the rest of the galaxy, the line between Jedi and Sith became blurred during the conflict, and both sides were blamed for the destruction wrought on worlds such as Katarr, Telos IV, and Dantooine.
Through intricate planning and dazzling adaptability, one Sith Master (Senator Palpatine of Naboo) even rose to the office of Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, engineered a war, and undermined the Jedi until he could, in one swift, masterful stroke, destroy the Jedi Order and enslave the galaxy beneath his banner as Emperor. Yet even this catastrophe failed to eradicate the Jedi completely, and, within a generation, they had returned to once again protect and nurture the galaxy with their wisdom and guidance. The Jedi were a source of morale for the New Republic.
Becoming a Jedi required the most profound commitment and astute mind. The life of a Jedi was one of sacrifice. To hinder transgression, those who showed an aptitude for the Force were taken directly from birth (or soon afterward) to train in the Jedi Temple headquartered on Coruscant or at smaller Jedi Enclaves as Padawans. From the beginning of their training, a Jedi was expected to adhere to a strict Code that included concepts such as rational thought, patience, and benevolence. Negative emotions such as hate, anger, and fear were thought to be destructive and lead to the dark side, so such things were banned from Jedi practice.
Children being trained as Jedi were called Younglings and instructed in "clans" by a venerable, experienced Jedi Master, learning the ways of the Jedi and the powers of the Force. After Ruusan it had become normal that the Jedi trainees were always children. Once Yavin 4 had been established as Jedi headquarters, the Jedi initiates, which were no longer children, were trained first under the direction of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, and, in time, under another Master's direction in groups. When the New Jedi Order began, the Younglings were again trained in clans from childhood.
When an individual student achieved satisfactory understanding of the Jedi way, they were usually taken under the wing of another Jedi member and instructed individually to complete their training. Masters typically brought their Padawans along on missions, and later sent them on missions of their own, to allow them to gain experience and learn from practice.
Not all students were promoted to direct study as Padawan under a Jedi Master. In the days of the Old Republic, it was common practice for Younglings who weren't selected to be Padawans by the age of 13 to be shifted into one of the divisions of the public service organization, the Jedi Service Corps. Such was to be the fate of young Obi-Wan Kenobi until the events at Bandomeer caused Qui-Gon Jinn to accept Obi-Wan as his Padawan.
The traditional Jedi weapon was the lightsaber, which, in the hands of a skilled wielder, could be deadly in combat, even against opponents armed with ranged weapons. To attain this level of skill, however, required great focus and training. Students practiced the rubrics of lightsaber combat with a remote, and children used training lightsabers. They also dueled fellow Jedi as a test of their skills.
Due to all the weight being in the hilt, the lightsaber was a difficult weapon to handle. Jedi needed heightened awareness to use the weapon well, and such conditioning helped to hone their attunement to the Force. Since the binding of a lightsaber's intricate innards and the initial charging of the power cell also required knowledge of the Force to implement, the Padawan was tasked with constructing their own lightsaber as part of their training, using a unique crystal, (such as the type found on the ice planet of Ilum, for example), that focuses the crystal's energy thus creating the lightsaber's blade.
During the Jedi Civil War era, many Cerean Jedi used specially-forged Kasha lightsaber crystals as a meditative tool; by incorporating such crystals into their training regimens, they helped to clear the wielder's mind of distractions, even during tense physical combat. Further, it was a task in itself to find components for the lightsaber. Meditation in a crystal cave on a planet such as Ilum or Dantooine would often produce an image in the Jedi's mind about the lightsaber they were to build. The construction of a lightsaber was considered a milestone on the path to Jedi Knighthood, and took on a heavily symbolic meaning.
During the times of the Old Republic, it was a customary practice for a Jedi Master to present their own personal lightsaber as a gift to their most accomplished student. Jedi apprentice Nomi Sunrider was the recipient of one such lightsaber, receiving the weapon from Master Thon as a testament to the potential for greatness he recognized within her. Though the apprentice was indeed grateful for receiving such an honored gift, their Master would still stress the importance of knowing how to build one, requiring or even demanding that eventually the apprentice learns to construct their own, unique, lightsaber.
In following the Code, Jedi behavior was rigidly structured to uphold self-discipline, responsibility, and public service. The Jedi conquered emotions and materialism. They honored life, the law, the order itself and the master-student relationship. Jedi rendered aid to support and defend the weak; compassion was "encouraged." Rules of engagement included such notions as understanding the dark and light in all things, learning to see accurately, opening their eyes to what was not evident and exercising caution, even in trivial matters. Above all, Jedi upheld their duty to the Republic and embraced the Force. The Jedi before the Ruusan Reformation typically had more leeway in their dealings, as the Order was more loosely organized and the individual Knights and Masters granted greater personal freedom. Afterward, the Order was more centrally regulated by the High Council.
Early Jedi were known to utilize shields and armor to protect themselves in battle, and used blaster pistols as well as lightsabers in combat. Later, as the lightsaber became a more self-contained weapon without an external power pack, the Jedi chose to carry it as their sole "tool" of defense and offense. The lightsaber was considered more a tool than a weapon. The lightsaber came to fulfill both a symbolic and pragmatic role for the Jedi; it identified the wielder, had a powerful visual impact, and given the availability of cybernetic replacement limbs might have been seen as a more 'clean' weapon than the blaster, which Obi-Wan regarded as "uncivilized," "clumsy" and "random."
The Jedi of the pre-Reformation era, (Old Jedi Order), also do not seem to have had any formal dress code, and dressed more or less as they saw fit, although traditional robes were favored by most Masters. These included a tunic, a cloak, and sometimes a tabard—usually in varied tones and shades of white and brown, though, gray was also quite common for the overtunic. The left side of the dress was always turned on the right part of the torso. After the Reformation, these robes became the typical Jedi clothing, even in battle. The Jedi also wore trousers, an obi, a leather utility belt, where they carried specialized field gear for their missions, and leather boots. The Jedi colors, which showed harmony with the Force, formed a stark contrast to the antithetical Sith, who were draped primarily in black.
In accordance with their philosophies of non-attachment, clothing was viewed as quite disposable. Indeed, possession itself was seen as forbidden as another form of attachment, and most Jedi lived out lives of material poverty, though the Order's infrastructure and the support of the Republic meant the Jedi did not lack for food, housing, or clothing.
Post-Ruusan Jedi were forbidden to hold strong attachments, as they were believed to lead to the emotions of the dark side. For this reason, Jedi were not allowed to marry. Reess Kairn had an attachment, despite this being a violation of the code. After finding his lover with another man, he killed them both in anger. This led him to the dark side. Anakin Skywalker would become testament to such Jedi circumspection, as his fear of losing his undisclosed wife, Padmé Amidala, ultimately caused his fall to darkness, but his connection to his son, Luke Skywalker, would later drive him back to the light. Although Jedi were not required to be chaste as well, many Jedi were due to sex being considered self-indulgence and an unnecessary act. At least one special case was recorded in this arrangement: Ki-Adi-Mundi who, due to low Cerean birth-rates, was permitted to have a polygamous marriage, and fathered seven daughters. Ranik Solusar was disciplined by the Council for his marriage and the child it produced, but was not expelled from the order.
Despite this restriction, Jedi were known to have secret, clandestine relationships, whether with non-Jedi, such as the marriages of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala, Quinlan Vos and Khaleen Hentz, and Etain Tur-Mukan and Clone Commando Darman; or within the Jedi Order itself—such as the relationships of Kit Fisto and Aayla Secura, Qui-Gon Jinn and Tahl, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Siri Tachi, and Tholme and Tr'a Saa. Many of these relationships did not lead to mishap. Further, Revan shared a romantic affection with Bastila Shan, who was redeemed by him after her fall.
Others openly defied the High Council on this matter. This led to particular strife with Jolee Bindo and his wife, Nayama Bindo, during the Great Sith War. Bindo trained his wife in the ways of the Force, but she soon fell to the dark side. He was not expelled from the order, and instead was to be promoted to the rank of Jedi Knight. He then lost faith in the wisdom of the Council and left the order.
Up to the Ruusan Reformation, some Jedi did practice marriage and were known to have families of their own. There were even cases of families consisting entirely of Jedi, such as that of Andur Sunrider. The children of Jedi families were often gifted in the Force. Even later in the order, such families existed—though the continuation of the line was through those family members who did not become Jedi. Famous Jedi families of the late Republic included the Koon family and the Diath family.
However, it appears that some Jedi might have been granted the right to marry, not as a special case, but as a norm. Several Corellian Jedi (Keiran Halcyon and Nejaa Halcyon during the Old Republic, and Corran Horn in the time of the New Republic) were allowed to marry and raise children without repercussion. Whether this was due to an agreement between the Jedi and the planetary government—Corellia is known for its family-centric culture—or purely personal choices made against the Jedi Code is not known. However, as Corellian Jedi often had many other noticeable differences from the traditional Jedi ways, such as in clothing and a reluctance to take on missions outside of their home system, it is possible that Corellian Jedi were allowed to engage in practices that had been banned by the Council in later years.
By the time of the New Jedi Order, the practice of forbidding or discouraging marriages had been discarded, as many of the Order's members had spouses and children, including the Order's grand master himself, whose wife was another Jedi Master.
The way of the Jedi was a life-long path, and a Jedi usually remained part of the Order their entire life—learning more about the Order and the Force and following the will of the Jedi Council. Up until the beginning of the Clone Wars, only twenty Jedi (of rank Master or higher) were said to have ever left the Order (although there is some debate as to whether this means the post-Ruusan Order, the Order after some earlier point in its history, or literally in its entire history), of which the most prominent were Count Dooku and Master Phanius. These were commonly referred to as the Lost Twenty, or simply "The Lost".
The Jedi were unified by their study of the Force: an "energy field" that emanated from every living thing. The Jedi sought to understand the Force so that they could use its power to protect and aid the people that they served. The Jedi believed that the Force could be harnessed through careful study and contemplation to benefit the user and the universe around them. As they studied the light side of the Force, the Jedi encouraged their members only to use the Force for healing and defense—never in anger or fear. However, several members of the Jedi order throughout history disagreed with this view, believing that darker uses of the Force should be embraced because they offered a quick and easy path to power, while contemplation of the light side of the Force required patience and effort. This disagreement gave rise to the Sith, the constant enemy of the Jedi.
The Jedi focused their lives on understanding and strengthening their connection, or oneness, with the Force to allow them to manipulate it as an extension of themselves (by contrast, Sith merely exercise control over the Force). This connection was increased by rigorous training and meditation to achieve a state of mental, physical, emotional and spiritual harmony, a kind of inner peace. As the path required such great discipline and may have extended a Jedi's life, most Jedi never reach their true potential. Further attempts to achieve this potential may have met with failure and caused frustration in Jedi, resulting in a lesser connection and more frustration in turn. This is the main reason why the Sith considered themselves stronger than the Jedi, for whereas they were trained to use the dark side with maximum effectiveness and power, few Jedi had shown the true limits of the light side's power and those who have seldom used it.
The dark side of the Force brought with it a great temptation for many Jedi; to many the dark side seemed a quicker and easier path. Pursuit of the dark side, however, was a self-destructive endeavor, and many Jedi who tasted dark powers found it harder and harder to turn away. Though some Jedi could be redeemed back to the path of the light, many fell and became Dark Jedi, some of whom became members of the Sith Order. Further, the pall of the dark side could diminish Jedi ability, clouding their insights into important matters. For these reasons, practice of dark Force powers was expressly forbidden by the Jedi Council. Those fallen to the dark side, however, the Jedi tried to save. To the Jedi, killing was a last resort. This quality was at once a strength and a weakness of the Order.
The strength of the Jedi Code and organization rested on three core tenets.
When used correctly, these allowed a Jedi to solve any problem and overcome any obstacle, helping to make the galaxy a better place.
As the Jedi instructed their members in the ways of the Jedi Code and the Force, each member progressed through four basic levels of rank.
A Jedi Knight or Jedi Master could have only one apprentice at a time, and the Padawan had to be promoted to the rank of Jedi Knight before another apprentice could be chosen. Several thousand years before the events of the Ruusan Reformation, however, masters were allowed to have more than one apprentice, as evidenced by Master Arca Jeth having three—the brothers Ulic and Cay Qel-Droma and the Twi'lek Tott Doneeta. When the New Jedi Order first began, Luke Skywalker had to assign several students to one master due to the few Jedi in the Order; for example, Kyle Katarn had Jaden Korr and Rosh Penin both assigned to him. During both of these vastly different time periods, the term "Padawan" was not used, thereby strengthening the association of the word with the one-master-one-student policy.
Being a Jedi was a life of great variation as the Jedi Order had several responsibilities. While many Jedi were generalists, some would specialize in one or more areas either in accordance with their own interests and preferences, or because they were delegated responsibility for an area that required specialization. With these specializations often came specific Jedi ranks. Moreover, in certain periods of the history of the galaxy, some Jedi would assume military ranks fighting alongside Republic forces.
In times of war, especially when Sith forces were involved, Jedi would sometimes assume military ranks and govern armies of Republic military units, as was seen in the Mandalorian Wars, the Jedi Civil War, the New Sith Wars, and the Clone Wars. So Jedi indeed became soldiers, not just keepers of the peace.
In addition to the ordinary military ranks, there were a number of ranks and titles based on specialization in areas of warfare and combat.
Some Jedi would specialize in lore, such as the history of the galaxy, the Force, and the Jedi Order, producing invaluable knowledge.
Jedi were often called upon to act as impartial diplomats, possibly due to the Order's traditions of detachment from secular society and the phenomenon of Force-guided intuition. They would serve as moderators and negotiators during disputes, and their judgments were often recognized as just and binding. When acting as diplomats, Jedi took the utmost care to be impartial and fair-minded. The legacy of this impartiality was such that, decades after the Jedi Purge and Palpatine's false accusations of the corruption of the Jedi Order, the legend of Jedi impartiality lived on in the memories of some sections of galactic society. Some species who respected the Jedi – for example, the Barabel – retained a tradition of calling upon a Jedi's impartial judgment even for minor interpersonal disputes.
While any Jedi could function as a mediator or diplomat – for example, Obi-Wan Kenobi, also known as The Negotiator due to his skills in this area – two dedicated classes of "diplomatic Jedi" are known to have existed prior to the Jedi Purge:
The Jedi Order would also actively partake in crime-fighting as part of their role as keepers of the peace in the Republic. They would loosely police the galaxy, but there were also groups of Jedi specializing in crime detection, investigation, solving, and prevention.
In addition to the Master-Padawan model, some Jedi had specialized in teaching aspects of the Force and the skill required to be a Jedi.
The prophecy of the Chosen One was an ancient Jedi legend that foretold the coming of a being who was "to bring balance to the Force". This prophecy was interpreted by Qui-Gon and other Jedi to mean that he would destroy the Sith. Qui-Gon Jinn believed that a young Anakin Skywalker was that person when he discovered him in 32 BBY, because of Anakin's exceptionally high midi-chlorian count and unique birth.
At first, many Jedi believed Anakin to be the Chosen One because of his seemingly incomparable power, greater than any Jedi in history. Later, though, it seemed that he was not the Chosen One, since he fell to the Dark Side, and as Darth Vader, was a main figure in the destruction of the Jedi Order. However, in 4 ABY he redeemed himself with his decision to stand against Emperor Palpatine, sacrificing himself to save his son, Luke, and finally destroyed the Sith in the process, proving Qui-Gon and various others correct at last in that he in fact was the Chosen One. With the deaths of both Sidious and Vader, the Force was brought into a certain "balance."
There is a likely association with the warrior titles "jed" and "jeddak" (meaning "lord" and "emperor", respectively) found in the Barsoom books by Edgar Rice Burroughs, a series which Lucas considered adapting to film before his work on Star Wars. The word "Padawan" may even be a counterfeit of "padwar", a low-ranking officer in these science fiction books. The term "Padawan" is also quite similar to an Urdu word "palawan" that means "hero."
It is also possible that the name refers to the Japanese term "Jidai" from "jidaigeki", which means a period drama (the literal translation is "history-thing".) Usually, these are samurai films, and the Jedi resemble samurai.
The costuming choice of Jedi in the films appears a combination of eastern mysticism and western monasticism: the Jedi wear samurai-style garments, covered by a western monk's robe.
The Jedi could also have been influenced by the Sufi Muslim concepts of futuwwat/javanmardi, or spiritual chivalry, the masters of these guilds/orders are reported to have been called "al-Jeddi."
The Jedi (including the concept of their High Council consisting of twelve members and perhaps even the term "Padawan" itself) are possibly influenced by the concept of the paladin, paragons of chivalry and heroic champions in medieval legends and history (as with the Twelve Peers, or twelve legendary companions, of Charlemagne, or the twelve disciples of Jesus); the Jedi High Council is also very similar to the ruling Council (often consisted of twelve elders as well) in Christianity.
The Hebrew infinitive verb "to know" ידע yadah" and its noun form ידיעה yediah "knowledge" may also be another possible source of derivation for the word Jedi and Yoda, since the Yod י in Indo-European languages transliterates as "I "J" and "Y" respectively.
In the Wizards of the Coast version of the Star Wars Roleplaying Game, the different personal dispositions of Jedi are reflected in the gaming world by the Jedi types—Consulars for those favoring diplomacy or Force powers and Guardians for those favoring aggressive solutions. The video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KotOR) introduced a third type, the Sentinel, which was a balance between the two. KotOR also assigned particular lightsaber colors to each: green for the Consular, blue for the Guardian, and yellow for the Sentinel. The Saga edition of the RPG includes Talent trees for all three types, introducing the Sentinel type to the game. Whether an artifact of the RPG format of the game, or an actual canonical piece of the plot, the practice seems to have died out by the Old Republic's waning years, possibly having been lost with the near eradication of the Jedi Order during the Jedi Civil War or eliminated during the reorganization of the order during the Ruusan Reformation.