Suda
Vallo Sudibus fossaque firmato. Ethelwerdus lib. 1.
ann. 449 : Tum astuta gens Scottorum gnara quid faceret pro imminente muro, ac Sudæ
profundo saltu, ferreos in mensura arte mechanica struunt aculeos, superstantesque muro
deorsum trahentes avide interimunt. Lib. 4. cap. 2. ann. 867 : Centurias
congregant non parvas, visitant hostes jam morantes in Suda, alternatim concitant iras,
etc. Cap. 3 : In eodem anno (894.) Danaa Suda in Beamfleote
loco experto nutu ab incolis ruit, amnilem in se dividunt thesaurum.Καὶ ἤγαγεν τὰ
μαγγανικὰ ἀπὸ τοῦ τείχους ἃ ἦν παραστήσας, καὶ τὴν σοῦδαν ἣν ἐποίησεν, καὶ ἤρξατο
καταλύειν τοῦς πυργοκαστέλλους οὓς ἐποίησαν, και τῇ νυκτὶ ἔκαυσεν τὸ σουδάτον αὐτοῦ, καὶ
τοὺς πυργοκαστέλλους,etc. Ubi Vallatumvel
Palatumvocavit, seu
Palicium. Scylitzes pag. 660 :
Καὶ γενόμενος ἄχρι τῆς
λεγομένης μεγάλης σούδας : alii Codd. habent Ἕστησαν περιέργως εἰς
τόπον, ἐν ᾧ σοῦδαν οὐκ εἶχεν ὁμοίαν σουδῶν ἑτέρων, ἀλλα κεχαλασμένη ὑπῆρχεν, καὶ ἐκ
πάλαι γέμουσαν χῶμαν, etc. Occurrit in Tacticis Leonis Imper. non semel, apud
Constant. de Administr. Imp. cap. 42. pag. 132. et in Tacticis, Nicetam, etc. Hinc forte
Quarta vero civitatula, quæ circa
regiam Sudam, quæ Cassaron dicitur, erat constructa.
Coadunavit omnem exercitum Græcorum et fecit Suda in loco, qui dicitur
Tara.Sudes.
Acutissima Suda transjecta, in Vita S. Idæ cap. 11. Suda
The “Suda” is the name of a combination dictionary and encyclopedia compiled by Byzantine scholars in the 10th century A.D. Its range is enormous both in size (it includes roughly 30,000 entries) and coverage (it includes detailed biographical and historical as well as linguistic information and was thus a combined encyclopedia and dictionary). It often draws directly upon early editions of texts and upon the scholarly information accompanying these texts, but the articles are often sloppy and unreliable. Despite its weaknesses, the Suda is a critical (and often sole) source for much of the information that we have about ancient authors.
Gregory Crane