Money', wrote Richard FitzNeal in the preface to the Dialogue of the Exchequer, ‘appears necessary not only in time of war but also in peace. In war it is poured out in fortifying castles, in soldiers’ wages and in numerous other ways, depending on the nature of the persons paid, for the preservation of the kingdom. In time of peace, the Treasurer added, money was spent on charitable purposes; but it is clear from even die limited evidence of the Pipe Rolls of Henry II that expenditure on defence greatly exceeded that on charity.