Five questions for reading any castle

Visitors are encouraged to ask who commissioned a castle, who physically designed and constructed it, why it occupies its particular site, and why it has its particular form. The owner's rank matters because a knight, lord, and king expected different enemies and could spend different sums. Personal experience also mattered: crusading, fighting at home, commercial wealth, or possession of several estates could all shape the desired residence and defenses. Bodiam is used to show that a castle need not be intended to defeat a royal army in order to be a genuine and appropriate fortification. Its task was to deter raiders and lesser aggressors, so judging it by the requirements of a royal fortress would mistake the purpose of the design.