Master Jedi Xanga
The Jedi Knights were an order of warrior priests that followed the "light" side of "The Force". The order began some 25,000 years before the rise of the Galatic Empire. Initally the Jedi was a contemplative order, however over time the order took a more direct and active role in galatic affairs.
The life of a Jedi was one of sacrifice. Those who showed an aptitude for the Force were taken at birth or soon after to train in the Jedi temple on Coruscant, where the order was headquartered. From the outset of their training they live a life of simplicity adhering to the Jedi Code which forbids having material possessions or emotional attachments. This training was initially done by a venerable, experienced Jedi until the individual was sufficient enough to start the journey of a Jedi.
Their members progressed through three levels of rank: first the Padawan an apprentice who begins training under a Jedi Knight at a young age, about 12, then Jedi Knight, and finally the level of Jedi Master. There are three types of Jedi, the Jedi Guardian, the Jedi Sentinel, and the Jedi Consular. Eventually they could become a member of the Jedi Council which acted as a governing body for the order and an advisor board for the Republican Senate. A speculative fourth level also exists following a Jedi Master's passing over to The Force, therein becoming a Jedi Spirit. A Jedi could have only one apprentice at a time, and was required to promote the current apprentice before taking another.
Among other tasks, the Jedi were responsible for law enforcement and peacekeeping in the Galactic Republic (though they were considered neither police nor an army.) To that end, they use The Force and extensive training to become extremely formidable in battle. Their traditional weapon was the lightsaber which in the hands of a skilled wielder, could be more than a match for most opponents even when they are armed with ranged weapons. A common task for the Jedi is to construct their own lightsaber.
They were almost completely wiped out in the course of the "clone wars" through the actions of followers of the "dark side", led by the Sith lord Darth Sidious. All Jedi, save two, were wiped out following the clone wars by Anakin Skywalker, who had by this time succumbed to the dark side of the force and was then known as Darth Vader. The last remaining Jedi were Obi Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker's own teacher, and Yoda.
"The Force" is described as being an energy field that is generated by all living things and permeates the universe and all the things in it. Its principles resonate with those of some real world religions like the shinto religion of Japan and certain Celtic, druidic concepts. As explained in the movie Star Wars: Episode I, Jedi get their ability to manipulate the Force from a symbiotic organism in their body called midi-chlorians (an obvious play on mitochondria.) The higher the midi-chlorian count in the blood, the stronger the Force is with the particular individual. Anakin Skywalker had a reading of over 20,000 which was even higher than master Yoda's.
This power does not come without a price. The power comes with great temptation to misuse it, and emotions such as hate can cause the Jedi to be overcome by the "dark side" of the force. The dark side of the force is the easier path and at first can seem more powerful, but also is taxing to the body, as is evidenced by Palpatine's appearance by the time of Return of the Jedi. When one goes over to the "dark side", there is little hope of recovery. Also, Yoda felt that many Jedi were becoming arrogant and too sure of themselves because of their powers.
The actions of Luke Skywalker and his relationship with the Force were a principle plot device in the films. As a sign of how desperate things had become, Luke was taken into the Jedi fold as a young adult instead of during infancy. In the novels set after the civil war, Luke's main task is to reestablish the Jedi order by training a new generation of Jedi Knights.
Due to Luke's lack of knowledge with the old ways of the Jedi order the new generation of Jedi were very unorthodox. He establishes an academy for teaching many students the way of the Jedi which is much different to the "one student, one master" way used by the old order. The academy was established in the old temples on Yavin 4 that the Rebels once used as a base until the Battle of Yavin. He allowed his students to have personal possessions and had no rule against a Jedi having emotional attachments to friends and family, which was forbidden by the old order. Also, students were taken in at a much older age than previously. Most members were already well in to adulthood before they began training.
This new order grew slowly but steadily. The order had become large enough in time that Luke Skywalker reinstated the Jedi Council to direct the order. Shortly after this was done an extragalactic alien species declared war on the galaxy. Many Jedi died fighting this new threat, but the order did survive the war and once again continues to grow in strength.
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