One can easily sympathise with the feelings of those who, having always looked upon these mottes as monuments of ancient Ireland, are loath to part with them to the Norman robber. Many of us have had similar feelings about the mottes of England, some of which we had been taught to regard as the work of that heroic pair, Edward the Elder and Ethelfleda. But these feelings evaporated when we came to realise that it would have been highly unpatriotic in these founders of the British empire to have built little castles for their own personal safety, instead of building cities which were "to shelter all the folk," in the words of Ethelfleda's charter to Worcester. In like manner, wretched as were the intertribal wars of Ireland, it would have been a disgrace to the Irish chieftains if they had consulted solely their own defence by building these little strongholds for their personal use. The Irish motte-castles furnish us with interesting proof that this type of castle was commonly used, not only as late as the reign of Henry II., but also in the reigns of his sons, Richard I. and John;[1109] that is to say, at a time when castle-building in stone was receiving remarkable developments at the hands of Richard I. and Philip Augustus of France. This, however, need not surprise us, since we know that as late as 1242, Henry III. was building a motte and wooden castle in the Isle of Rhé, at the mouth of the Garonne.[1110] But those who imagine that the Normans built stone castles everywhere in England, Wales, and Ireland, will have to reconsider their views. _Note._--Mr Orpen's work on _Ireland under the Normans_ did not appear until too late for use in this chapter. The reader is referred to it for a more careful tracing of the history and archæology of the Norman settlements in Ireland. CHAPTER XII STONE CASTLES OF THE NORMAN PERIOD It may be a surprise to some of our readers to learn how very few stone castles there are in England which can certainly be ascribed to the first period of the Norman Conquest, that is to the 11th century. When we have named the Tower of London, Colchester, the recently excavated foundations of the remarkable keep at Pevensey, and perhaps the ruined keep of Bramber, we have completed the list, as far as our present knowledge goes, though possibly future excavations may add a few others.[1111]