by legend. Its popularity was expressed in copies as well as legends, to satisfy the pilgrims who made the cathedral of Lucca the goal of their voyages from all parts of Europe. Like other famous relics or images, such as the Virgin's Belt of Prato to this day, it appears to have often only been available to view on certain appointed days in the year, and at least some of the time wore rich textile clothing as well as the wooden carved robe. "By the face of Lucca" was the 'customary oath' of William II of England. The Holy Face appears on medieval Luccan coins. Dante mentions the Holy Face of Lucca in his Inferno, Canto XXI, where a demon cries: Qui non ha luogo il Volto Santo! qui si nuota altrimenti che nel Serchio. Legend of the fiddler A legend of a fiddler devotee of the statue receiving a shoe in precious metal, with a number of variants in the story, is first recorded from the 12th century. Typically the statue allows the shoe to drop, or kicks it over to the fiddler (despite, in some versions, a nail through it). The fiddler may be a poor pilgrim, or a devotee who is rewarded for frequently playing in front of the statue; or he may only take up the fiddle after his good luck. The slipper may be filled with gold coins, and the slipper may be returned by the fiddler and the gift repeated. The fiddler may be tried for theft of the slipper, but escape condemnation. The legend also became part of the cult of Wilgefortis, the alter ego of the Holy Face. Images showing the legend normally feature the fiddler playing below the statue, which is placed (as apparently in reality) just over an altar. The statue seems to be wearing actual clothes—like other much venerated statues, it seems to have been dressed in "festive clothes", at least some of the time. On the altar are the slipper, and a chalice below one of the statue's feet. This also reflects the medieval arrangement, where such a "chalice" was placed to receive offerings. In fact, it was fixed and lacked a bottom, and led to a tube that carried offerings to a strongbox below the altar. Wilgefortis At the end of the fourteenth century, such a Holy Face inspired miracles and veneration in the Low Countries, Bavaria