The numerous representations of the crucifixion of the ninth and tenth centuries can be roughly divided into two classes: those decidedly original and others copied from Byzantine models. The Carlovingian type is filled with symbolism, not altogether of Christian origin. These plaques are very numerous and all vary slightly. Fig. 24 is typical of a large number. The whole scene is emotional, all creation is moved, the sun and moon are represented with mournful faces, while the attendant angels weep bitterly; and below, the old pagan personifications of Earth and Sea bow their heads in sorrow. Stephaton with reed and sponge, and Longinus with his spear, stand on each side of the Cross, and the Virgin and St. John are always near. The two women carrying banners are allegorical figures of the Church and the Synagogue[19] or the Old and New Dispensations; the banner of the latter is sometimes reversed and broken, while the Church in some renderings of the scene catches the blood of the Redeemer in a chalice. These figures seem to be the successors of the little cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem in the Early Christian mosaics, which likewise typified the Old and New Dispensations. At the foot of the Cross is often rolled a serpent, emblem of Christ’s triumph over Evil and Death; and on each side the dead are rising and stretching out their hands towards their Redeemer. On the Metz book cover in the Bibliothèque nationale, Adam and Eve crouch beneath the feet of the Saviour. On the Brunswick casket, Sol and Luna are each depicted driving in a _biga_ and bearing torches. On this Brunswick casket, and on one in the Berlin Museum, Christ is represented beardless, and the technique is close to the St. Gall book cover. In the Carlovingian period the plaques are nearly always framed by a deeply cut acanthus border. Many of these carvings show traces of colour and others have been studded with gold nails, and portions incrusted with gold foil (Fig. 24). Two plaques in the Bargello have a charming additional border of tiny dots and beads inlaid with gold. In the ivory plaque on the cover of the gospels which were presented by the Emperor Henry II. to the Abbey at Bamberg (now in the Munich Library), the stronger Byzantine influence is visible, the relief, also, is exceptionally deep, the figures of the two soldiers being almost detached, as in the purely Byzantine ivory of _The Death of the Virgin_ in the same library. This Byzantine influence is also to be seen in _The Crucifixion_ in the Musée de Cluny; the arrangement of this carving is more like a Reliquary of the True Cross, the four compartments being crowded with figures. The figure of Christ is robed in a flowing garment, as in many Byzantine renderings of the subject, and there is a greater delicacy of technique, showing the more intimate knowledge of Byzantine models. The drapery on the Essen and Tongres plaques is particularly good, and they probably were carved in the same atelier.