la légende des siecles

'Their cuissart-studs up to the socket braced'
boutoir, the sharp spike on the knee-piece.
crible. The word refers to the visor with seven bars, which was one of the marks of a
marquis's rank.
mortier. The round cap which was the ancient emblem of sovereignty in France. It was
worn by barons who possessed full powers of administering justice in their domains,
also by the presidents of the 'parlements', and by the chancellors. A modified form is
still part of the official dress of some of the judges of the highest courts.
It will be noted that the antiquities in this passage are French, not German.
tortil, a ribbon twisted round a crown, the special ornament of a baron, not of a duke. It
also signifies in heraldry a circular band or pad to which heraldic negroes' heads were
attached.
rondache, a round shield.
L. 492. The reference is to the coronet of a French marquis, which bore eight jewelled
ornaments, four of which consisted each of three great pearls arranged as a trefoil, while
the other four were 'feuilles d'ache,' the heraldic representation of the leaf of the wild
parsley.
hydre: see note on l. 323.
timbre, in heraldry, signifies anything placed above the escutcheon to mark the rank of
the person to whom it belonged. Here Hugo seems to use it of the shield, perhaps
because the triangular shield was a mark of knightly rank.
fauves, here 'terrible'.
A chapter might be written on Hugo's bold and occasionally strange uses of this word.
Its primary meaning is either 'dull red' or 'tawny', but in Hugo's poetry it is used rather
as a somewhat vague epithet to suggest darkness, gloom, cruelty, savagery, or
oppressive power. It never denotes merely a physical quality; in such expressions as
'leur fauve volée', speaking of the ravens in La Fin de Satan, 'le désert fauve'
(Androclès), 'son bec fauve', of the vulture (Sultan Mourad), the suggestion of wildness
or ruthlessness predominates. Usually the word is used in a wholly figurative sense.
Thus in La Fin de Satan the fallen archangel, flying from Jehovah, is 'fauve et hagard',
Barabbas stumbling against the Cross is 'fauve', and of the lunatic in the tombs it is said:
'fauve il mordait'. In all these cases the meaning is 'wild','savage '. In Dieu we have
`Vénus, fauve et fatale' ('cruel'), in L'Ane les canons dont les fauves gueulées' ('terrible'),
in L'Année Terrible'un hallier fauve où des sabres fourmillent' (' wild'), and France is
called upon to be 'franchement fauve et sombre' ('fierce'). In the following passages we
have bolder uses still:
Le progrès a parfois l'allure vaste et fauve ('awe-inspiring')