Was Yoda a Padawan or a Jedi Knight?

Question

I have come across some seemingly contradictory information while reading about Yoda's early life. The Wookieepedia entry on Yoda states:

Master Gormo took them to his home where he trained them in the ways of the Force and, not long after their training was complete, a Galactic Republic starship picked up their distress signal and rescued the two friends, who were now Jedi themselves.

Yoda's training was complete and he was already a Jedi Knight when he arrived on Coruscant, according to this entry. However, the Wookieepedia entry on Master Gormo states:

After a couple of days, Master del Gormo met with the duo and informed them that they were in fact Force-sensitive; offering to train them as his Padawans.... Departing the world, Yoda would go to Coruscant where he would continue his training at the Jedi Temple, eventually ascending to the rank of Grand Master.

Here, Yoda was still a Padawan when arriving at Coruscant. He then continued his training at the Jedi Temple (even though he was a Padawan, not a Jedi Initiate) until he became a Jedi Knight, working his way up the ranks after that.

Is there any other information that can clarify whether Yoda was a Padawan or a Jedi Knight after leaving Master Gormo and arriving on Coruscant?

Answer 1

There is no further information about Yoda's backstory, since Lucas is notoriously unwilling to reveal it.

That particular tidbit of info is canon, but of an unusual origin. Gormo's Wikia page states:

N'Kata Del Gormo was created by Chuck Hamilton, a Star Wars fan, for the backstory of his Hysalrian entry in the Design an Alien contest held in the Star Wars Galaxy Magazine

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Please note that these "Design an Alien" contest entries ARE canon according to Leland Chee, the ultimate authority on SW canon:

Tasty Taste; Date Posted: May 03, 2006 05:45 PM

Q: Star Wars Galaxy Magazine #7 published the winners of the "Design an Alien" contest, where fans were encouraged to submit artwork and back-stories of new SW aliens. Are these aliens canon?

A: Yes, though any text discrepancies with other sources would likely to superseded by the other source.

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(Just to confuse the issue FURTHER, the original implication was that the swamp planet where Yoda was discovered was Dagobah... which of course Lucas made non-canon with RotS where it said Yoda never visited Dagobah before... BUT as per Leland Chee, the fact of Yoda's training by Gormo is still canon, just not on that planet).

Q: "does it follow that N'Kata Del Gormo is actually canon, since it's not directly overruled by another source?"

A: "The existence of such character is part of continuity, but his appearance on Dagobah would not be, since the time of Ep III is the first time that Yoda ever sets foot on Dagobah as noted in the Revenge of the Sith novelization."

Answer 2

The second enttry says that Yoda "Would" go to Coruscant where he would continue his Jedi training. It doesn't say though that he was or was not a Jedi at the time of his arrival on Coruscant.

It is likely that somewhere between the two entires, he continued his training and acheived the level of Jedi knight before arriving on Coruscant.

I rememeber reading that once he became a Jedi knight, he then retreated someplace, either on coruscant or perhaps to another planet.. perhaps even Dagobah, and spend 100 YEARS in meditation to totally perfect his power and control over the force. This, along with his incredibly high midi-chlorian count of 18,000, is why he was one of the most powerful Jedi Masters to have ever lived.