Jedi

Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn (right) and Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi as portrayed by Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

The Jedi are characters in the Star Wars universe and the series' main protagonists. They use a quasi-telekinetic power, known as the Force, and weapons, known as lightsabers, which emit a controlled energy flow in the shape of a sword, to serve and protect their Republic and the whole galaxy from conflict or government instability. They sometimes moderate peace negotiations between planets and, if necessary, use their formidable fighting skills to quickly end unrest. The Jedi are led by a Council of 12 members consisting of the most powerful and wise members of the order. The Jedi are bound to a code of morality and justice and are trained in the use of the light side of the force but not the Dark side.

Appearance

The Jedi are first introduced in the 1977 film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope as an order of warrior monks who serve as "the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy" and embrace the mystical Force. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) explains that the Galactic Empire had all but exterminated the Jedi some twenty years before the events of the film, and seeks to train Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) to be the Order's last hope. Darth Vader (David Prowse/James Earl Jones) is also established as the Jedi's main enemy. By the end of the film, Luke is on the path to becoming a Jedi. In the sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, Luke receives extensive Jedi training from the elderly Jedi Master Yoda (Frank Oz), even as he learns that Vader is in fact his father, former Jedi Anakin Skywalker. The third film in the original trilogy, Return of the Jedi, ends with Luke redeeming Vader and helping to destroy the Empire, thus fulfilling his destiny as a Jedi.

The prequel films depict the Jedi as troubled by the resurgence of the dark side of the Force and determined to fight their mortal enemies, the Sith. In Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999), Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) discovers the young Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), whom he believes to be the "Chosen One" of Jedi prophecy who is destined to bring balance to the Force; the boy is eventually paired with Qui-Gon's apprentice, the young Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), who promises to train him. The sequel, Attack of the Clones, establishes that the Jedi forswear all emotional attachments, including romantic love, which proves problematic when the now-adult Anakin (Hayden Christensen) falls in love with Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman). In Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), who is really the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, manipulates Anakin's love for Padmé in order to turn him to the dark side and become his apprentice, Darth Vader. Once corrupted, Vader helps Palpatine hunt down and destroy nearly all of the Jedi.

The Jedi's history before and after the time-line of the films is established within several novels, comic books and video games in the Expanded Universe of Star Wars media.

Ranks

Members of the order progress through four to six tiers of rank, at times referred to as levels:

• Jedi Youngling/Initiate: A Jedi Youngling is a Jedi learning to control the Force and how to wield a lightsaber. The title of Jedi Youngling is the first part of a Jedi training. Younglings were seen training with Jedi Grand Master Yoda in a scene from Attack of the Clones, and when Anakin Skywalker turns to the dark side in Revenge of the Sith.
• Jedi Padawan/Apprentice: A Youngling that successfully completed their respective level of training undergoes Padawan apprentice training under the tutelage of a Jedi Knight or Jedi Master. As a rite of passage and the final test before the trials to knighthood, Padawans must build their own lightsabers. In the Old Republic, padawans usually wore a hair braid on the right side of their head which was removed with a lightsaber upon attaining knighthood. They also served as commanders in the Clone Wars.
• Jedi Knight: Disciplined, experienced Jedi may become full-fledged Jedi Knights once they have completed "the trials" that test candidates' skills, knowledge, and dedication. The three tests are usually known as The Trial of Skill, The Trial of Spirit, and the Trial of Knowledge. In Return Of The Jedi, Master Yoda gives his apprentice Luke Skywalker the trial of confronting Darth Vader for a second time so he might become a full-fledged Knight. Occasionally, performing an extraordinary (usually heroic) act can earn a Padawan learner Jedi Knight status, such as when Obi-Wan Kenobi defeats the Sith Lord Darth Maul, or in the case of Anakin Skywalker who defeats Dark Jedi Asajj Ventress.
• Jedi Master: A Jedi Knight may become a Jedi Master after successfully training a Padawan learner to Knight status. Though this is the most common manner, it is not always the case. If the council sees that a Jedi Knight has become more powerful and has gained more knowledge and discipline in the Force, then they can be nominated by one or more council members to take the trials again.
• Jedi Council Member: When a Jedi Council Member vacates his or her seat, the council looks for an exemplary Jedi Master to fill the empty position. Presiding Council Members elect prospective candidates when openings become available. According to the Dorling Kindersley guide to Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, some members were permanent members (like Yoda and Mace Windu), while the rest served limited terms, after which they stepped down and another member would be elected to the Jedi Council. With the exceptions of Anakin Skywalker and Ki-Adi Mundi, who were the only Knights on the Council for a short period of time before becoming a Jedi Master, all council members require the status of Jedi Master prior to entering the council.
• Jedi High General/General:The rank is mainly used throughout the Clone Wars.
• Jedi Grand Master: Formally "Grand Master of the Jedi Order," only the highest-ranking Jedi Masters take the title. The title of Grand Master/Supreme Master is merely a theoretical title given by Jedi Masters to a certain Master who has been most wise among other masters in the council, as with Master Yoda. The Jedi Grand Master does not enjoy any greater privilege than any council members because the council members also have a vote in any issues presented by the council. The Grand Master was apparently the "first among equals" of the Jedi High Council, or the later Masters' Council. It may also be implied that the Grand Master of the Jedi Order has a strong connection to Jedi who have pledged themselves to the Order (Yoda sensing the deaths of Jedi across the galaxy as Order 66 is being executed in Revenge of the Sith). Yoda and Luke Skywalker (in the expanded universe) are Grand Masters.

Jedi Temple

In the Star Wars saga, the Jedi Temple is a massive structure standing one kilometer high above the buildings of Galactic City, Coruscant. Views of it are largely unobstructed because of an open area around it.

In the Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith film, the temple is attacked. Even though the temple was severely damaged and most of the Jedi perished, it was not completely destroyed, and is visible in the celebrations on Coruscant at the end of Return of the Jedi over twenty-five years later. The New Jedi Order indicates that the Jedi Temple on Coruscant is no longer standing but it is rebuilt as a gift to Jedi for their services and achievements during the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. The new temple is in the form of a massive pyramid made from stone and transparisteel that is designed to fit into the new look of Coruscant, though internally it is identical to the design seen in Revenge of the Sith.

Architects' Journal rated the temple third on its top-ten architecture of Star Wars list behind the second Death Star and Jabba the Hutt’s palace on Tatooine, and ahead of Coruscant, capital city of the Old Republic.^[1] The temple is described in the article as adapting "the robust typology of Mayan temples, with durasteel cladding specified for the external stone walls for improved defensive strength" and said to be a ziggurat that "is built above a Force-nexus and has ample room for training facilities, accommodation and the Jedi Archive."^[1] The temple has five towers, the tallest is Tranquillity Spire, that are stylistically similar to the minarets surrounding the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.^[1] Star Wars Insider listed it as the one hundredth greatest thing about Star Wars in its one hundredth issue special.

Equipment

Within the Star Wars universe, the Jedi are usually portrayed as dressed in simple robes and carrying specialized field gear for their missions. The most notable instrument wielded by a Jedi is the lightsaber.

Sith and Jedi use lightsabers alike. Jedi commonly wield blue and green lightsabers in the films, while the Sith tend to wield red ones. Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) and Siri Tachi (from Expanded Universe books) wield purple lightsabers. Master Yaddle was known to wield an orange lightsaber. The former Jedi Padawan Ferus Olin, from Expanded Universe books, wielded a red blade, but was not a Sith.

In the Expanded Universe of Star Wars media, there are a larger variety of lightsaber colors. In Knights of the Old Republic video game, the colors signified the Jedi's career path.

Religion

One of the enduring influences the Star Wars saga has had in popular culture is the idea of the fictional Jedi values being interpreted in a modern philosophical path or religion,^[2] spawning various movements such as Jediism (religious), Jedi realism (philosophical) and the Jedi census phenomenon or the International church of Jediism (political).

Similarities to Japanese Samurai

The Jedi in Star Wars took much of its influence from Japanese Samurai fighting styles and ways of living. Apprentice to masters, living for the republic which is the Samurai lord/Shogun , different class levels. The Samurai were bound to the code of Honor, like Jedi are to the code of morality and justice. The lightsaber is, like the Katana, able to slash through most things. Jedi clothing resembles the Japanese kamishimo (上下 or 裃). The word Jedi comes from jidai (時代), meaning a long term time.

In Popular Culture

"Weird Al" Yankovic's song "The Saga Begins" is a parody of "American Pie", with the lyrics "This'll be the day that I die" changed to "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi". The 2009 film The Men Who Stare at Goats stars Ewan McGregor as a reporter named Bob Wilton who trains to become a member of the "Jedi warriors", the nickname for psychic spies in the US military. McGregor previously starred as Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi in the prequel trilogy.

See also

• Jedi census phenomenon
• Jediism
• Sith

References

External links

• The Jedi Order in the Star Wars Databank
• Jedi on Wookieepedia: a Star Wars Wiki
• 390,000 Jedis There Are; but did hoax campaign boost response in teens and 20s?, (United Kingdom - see link to map above)