Sicambre. The Sicambres were the German tribe who in Roman times lived on the Rhine.
incrusté d'érable, i. e. inlaid with maple.
bailli, i. e. governor.
reître, an old word, derived from the German Reiter, used of the German knights.
buccin, properly a whelk, is a name given to a musical instrument very similar to a trombone.
brassière, a little jacket or vest worn close round the body. The word is usually used in the plural. Likely enough Hugo intends simply the corset.
au penchant des mers, i. e. where the land slopes to the sea. A peculiar expression; au penchant de la terre would be more usual.
les chouettes félines. The epithet refers to their nocturnal habits.
L. 353. The antecedent of que is vautours. The reference is to gladiatorial combats in the Roman Circus, and the louve d'airain is the famous bronze wolf of the Capitol, a statue representing a wolf suckling two children.
fauve, here `savage'. See note on ÉVIRADNUS.