A most strange and wonderfull herring taken on the 26. day of Nouember 1597, neere vnto Drenton sometime the old and chiefe cittie of the kingdome of Norway. Hauing on the one side the picture of two armed men fighting, and on the other most strange characters, as in the picture is here expressed. First printed in Dutch at Roterdam by Ian van Doetecam. And now translated into English.

A most strange and wonderfull herring taken on the 26. day of Nouember 1597, neere vnto Drenton sometime the old and chiefe cittie of the kingdome of Norway. Hauing on the one side the picture of two armed men fighting, and on the other most strange characters, as in the picture is here expressed. First printed in Dutch at Roterdam by Ian van Doetecam. And now translated into English.

Table of contents

Title page

A most strange & wonderfull Herring taken on the 26. day of Nouember 1597. neere vnto Drenton, sometime the old and chiefe Cittie of the kingdome of Norway, hauing on the one side the picture of two armed men fighting, & on the other most strange characters: as in the picture is expressed. Repent for the kingdome of God is at hand.

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A MOST STRANGE and wonderfull Herring, taken on the 26. day of Nouember 1597. neere vnto Drenton sometime the old and chiefe Cittie of the kingdome of Norway.

Hauing on the one side the picture of two armed men fighting, and on the other most strange Characters, as in the picture is here expressed.

First printed in Dutch at Roterdam by Ian van Doetecum. And now translated into English.

¶Repent, for the kingdome of God is at hand.

I W

LONDON Imprinted by Iohn Wolfe. 1598.

A most strange & wonderfull Herring taken on the 26. day of Nouember 1597. neere vnto Drenton, sometime the old and chiefe Cittie of the kingdome of Norway, hauing on the one side the picture of two armed men fighting, & on the other most strange characters: as in the picture is expressed. Repent for the kingdome of God is at hand.

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THe Lord God of heauen, the most righteous and mightie iudge of the world, neuer intends to inflict plagues or punishmentes on any Countrey, Cittie, or nation, but first it pleaseth him of his vnspeakeable mercie, to forewarne the same countrey, cittie, or nation thereof, by the mouthes of his Prophets, and other ministers of his worde, or else by his wonderfull signes and tokens shewed in the heauens, the earth, or other his creatures, that thereby the people may be induced to forsake their former wickednesse, and to learne amendment and newnesse of life. Examples hereof we haue in Genesis, how many tokens of his wrath did the Lord shew vnto Pharao, before his destruction in the red sea? Likewise before Sodome was consumde with fire from heauen, it is written that Abraham had knowledge thereof, and intreated the Lord to spare it: but such were the sinnes of that cursed Cittie, that his prayers could not preuaile. Againe, more then the space of an hundred yeares before the [Page] waters drownd the worlde, had Noah warning to build ye Arke, and long it was ere hee finished that worke, insomuch that the children of men made a scorne thereof, and so farre were they from grace, that no warning at all they tooke thereby. The Niniuites hauing warning repented at the preaching of Ionas: but Ierusalem was nothing moued though Christ Iesus himselfe foretold their destruction: for which cause sorrow came vpon them as vpon a woman when she trauelleth. The signs and tokens which the Lord sent ouer that Cittie before their fall were many and maruelleus, notwithstanding they persisted in their sinnes, and flattering themselues in their owne follies, made false interpretations of those prodigious wonders. Séeing then that as the Apostle saith, that whatsoeuer is written, is written for our learning, let all Christians take warning hereby, not iestingly to ioyne themselues together (as they did in the old world) to deride or falsely to interpret the dreadfull tokens sent among vs, lest with them of Ierusalem destruction do suddenly come vpon vs. I haue here to shew you a strange and wonderfull token of Gods wrath figured forth in a silly Herring, in which smal fish he doth demonstrate great and dreadfull matters as by the picture you may perceiue: on the one side whereof you may plainely behold the perfect shape of two armed men, the one hauing in his hand a launce, the other a sword, close buckled in their corslets, with burgancts on their heades, standing as it were in their defence, threatning and assayling one another. I know that many will giue as small credit hereunto, and as sleightly esteeme thereof as Pharao did of the flies, & the Iewes of Christs miracles: notwithstanding the Lord hath chosen the foolish thinges of this world to confound the wise, and the weake to ouercome the mighty, as he himselfe hath expressed in his holy Gospell. Moreouer there was toward the taile of this Herring the right portraiture of two rods, the one farre bigger then the other, seeming to bee [Page] bound together with two strong bandes apéece, which euery man must confesse to bee the vndoubted signe of dreadfull correction: according as the Psalmist speaketh, saying: Thou shalt bruse them with a rod of Iron, and breake them in peeces like a Potters vessell. In scripture sword and pestilence is said to be the scourges of the Lord: and therefore that cruel and bloody tyrant Tamberlaine did iustly call himselfe the scourge of God, by whom he corrected the proud, rebellious and wicked world: bringing by bloody wars many kingdomes into his subiection. If we enter then into due consideration hereof, and with the eyes of grace behold the same, we cannot but confesse, that the righteous Lord hath sent these signes vnto vs, to forewarne vs of our wickednesse, least by the sharpe correcting rods of Gods wrath wee be most iustly punished with sword and famine. But now behold on the other side of this Herring, were fiue Characters most perfectly ingrauen, some of them vsual, and wel knowne among vs at this day, others strange and not vnderstood: but what the God of all power and might will giue hereby to be known is left to better iudgement, notwithstanding let vs remember, that as it once pleased God by the finger of his power to write on the wall a heauie sentence against Balthasar, so hath it pleased him at this present to write on this Herring vndoubtedly a heauie sentence against the sinnes of this age, thereby to call this drowsie worlde out of the damnable sléepe of sinne and wickednes, wherein it hath slugged so long a time. Then what is he that séeing the same, and dreading the hot vengeance of the Lord, will not be inforced with Balthasar to shake and tremble at the grieuous iudgements which is therby likely to bee threatned: if Balthasar being a heathen King, shooke so sore at the handwriting on the wall, wel may all Christians harts shake to sée, and there withall to consider what fearefull sentence may vpon the Herring be engrauen. When our Sauiour Christ did write vpon the [Page] ground, before those that accused the woman of adulterie, her accusers were therby so confounded in conscience, that for very shame they slipt away out of his sight: how much more then may we be confounded at the sight & interpretation of these strange characters, which the Lord hath not written on the ground in the dust of the earth, but in the very meat which we should eat, thereby (as it were) laying his indgements in our dishes, at euery meale to be remembred. For who is ignorant that among the fishes of the sea, there is none so common at our table as the Herring, no fish more vsed in any land, nor better knowne among all sorts of people: whereby it is iustly to be gathered, that the Lord hath sent it for a generall warning vnto his people: the Lord grant our heartes may be moued thereby. Moreouer, this Herring was full fouretéene inches in length: importing (as I coniecture) that this iudgement threatned against the world for sinne is an extraordinarie and no vsuall iudgement, but such as the eyes of men haue seldome or neuer séene: besides, the markes were all of red and bloody colour. The Lord for Christes sake be merciful vnto vs, & giue vs grace with such repenting harts to turne from our sinnes, that he may turne his iust wrath from vs. This Herring among a number of others was taken on the 26. day of Nouemb. 1597. néer vnto Drenton, sometime the ancient and chiefe Cittie of the kingdome of Norway. And after it was shewen to diuers of the nobility, & magistrates of that countrey. The portraiture thereof & admonition was first printed in Roterdam, by Iohn van Doetec [...]m in the Dutch tongue, & out of the same language translated into English, for the profite and instruction of our countrey people. The Lord God Almighty giue vs grace to watch and waite for the comming of the heauenly brydegroome, that being decked and attired in the true wedding garment of Christes righteousnes, we may enter with him to the heauenly banket, there to raigne in his glorious kingdome for euermore, Amen.

FINIS.

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Information about this book

Title statement

A most strange and wonderfull herring taken on the 26. day of Nouember 1597, neere vnto Drenton sometime the old and chiefe cittie of the kingdome of Norway. Hauing on the one side the picture of two armed men fighting, and on the other most strange characters, as in the picture is here expressed. First printed in Dutch at Roterdam by Ian van Doetecam. And now translated into English.

Edition statement

1598

Publication

Publisher

Text Creation Partnership,

Place of publication

Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) :

Date

2007-10 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1).

ID [DLPS]

A03109

ID [STC]

STC 13239

ID [STC]

ESTC S115188

ID [EEBO-CITATION]

99850407

ID [PROQUEST]

99850407

ID [VID]

15608

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Series

Early English books online.

Notes

(EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A03109)

Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 15608)

Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1475-1640 ; 1274:17)

Source

— A most strange and wonderfull herring taken on the 26. day of Nouember 1597, neere vnto Drenton sometime the old and chiefe cittie of the kingdome of Norway. Hauing on the one side the picture of two armed men fighting, and on the other most strange characters, as in the picture is here expressed. First printed in Dutch at Roterdam by Ian van Doetecam. And now translated into English., Doetecam, Jan van..

Extent

[8] p. : ill.

Imprinted by [J. Windet for] Iohn Wolfe,. London :: 1598.. (Actual printer's name from STC.) (With woodcut on last leaf.) (Signatures: A⁴.) (Reproduction of the original in the Cambridge University Library.)

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