fresh taxes, active opposition to Edward came largely from the barons, rather than parliament itself, although the barons did seek to use the parliamentary meetings as a way of giving legitimacy to their long-standing political demands. After resisting it for many years, Edward began intervening in parliament in the second half of his reign to achieve his own political aims. It remains unclear whether he was deposed in 1327 by a formal gathering of parliament or simply a gathering of the political classes alongside an existing parliament. Court Edward's royal court was itinerant, travelling around the country with him. When housed in Westminster Palace, the court occupied a complex of two halls, seven chambers and three chapels, along with other smaller rooms, but, due to the Scottish conflict, the court spent much of its time in Yorkshire and Northumbria. At the heart of the court was Edward's royal household, in turn divided into the "hall" and the "chamber"; the size of the household varied over time, but in 1317 was around five hundred people, including household knights, squires, and kitchen and transport staff. The household was surrounded by a wider group of courtiers, and appears to have also attracted a circle of prostitutes and criminal elements. Music and minstrels were very popular at Edward's court, but hunting appears to have been a much less important activity, and there was little emphasis on chivalric events. Edward was interested in buildings and paintings, but less so in literary works, which were not extensively sponsored at court. There was an extensive use of gold and silver plates, jewels, and enamelling at court, which would have been richly decorated. Edward kept a camel as a pet and, as a young man, took a lion with him on campaign to Scotland. The court could be entertained in exotic ways: by an Italian snake-charmer in 1312, and the following year by 54 nude French dancers. Religion Edward's approach to religion was normal for the period, and the historian Michael Prestwich describes him as "a man of wholly conventional religious attitudes". There were daily chapel services and almsgiving at his court, and Edward blessed the sick, although he did this less often than his predecessors. Edward remained close to the Dominican Order, who had helped to educate him, and followed their advice in asking for papal permission to be anointed with the Holy Oil of St. Thomas