To keep in practice for battle, knights took part in specially organised fights called tournaments or jousts. Two knights on horseback would charge at each other with long lances and try to knock each other to the ground.

Knights used a coat of arms to identify themselves. They often included: a family motto, a fierce animal and a shield divided into parts. When a new knight appeared at a tournament, it was the job of a herald to blow a trumpet and describe the look or blazon of their coat of arms.