A MOST STRANGE and wonderful Herring, taken on the 26. day of November 1597. near unto Drenton sometime the old and chief City of the kingdom of Norway.  
Having on the one side the picture of two armed men fight, and on the other most strange Characters, as in the picture is here expressed.  
First printed in Dutch at Rotterdam by jan van Doetecum. And now translated into English.  ¶ Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. 
I W   printer's or publisher's device 
LONDON Imprinted by john Wolf. 1598.   

A most strange & wonderful Herring taken on the 26. day of November 1597. near unto Drenton, sometime the old and chief City of the kingdom of Norway, having on the one side the picture of two armed men fight, & on the other most strange characters: as in the picture is expressed. Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand.  
THe Lord God of heaven, the most righteous and mighty judge of the world, never intends to inflict plagues or punishments on any Country, City, or nation, but first it pleaseth him of his unspeakable mercy, to forewarn the same country, city, or nation thereof, by the mouths of his Prophets, and other ministers of his word, or else by his wonderful signs and tokens showed in the heavens, the earth, or other his creatures, that thereby the people may be induced to forsake their former wickedness, and to learn amendment and newness of life. Examples hereof we have in Genesis, how many tokens of his wrath did the Lord show unto Pharaoh, before his destruction in the red sea? Likewise before Sodom was consumed with fire from heaven, it is written that Abraham had knowledge thereof, and entreated the Lord to spare it: but such were the sins of that cursed City, that his prayers could not prevail. Again, more than the space of an hundred years before the waters drowned the world, had Noah warning to build the Ark, and long it was ere he finished that work, insomuch that the children of men made a scorn thereof, and so far were they from grace, that no warning at all they took thereby. The Ninivites having warning repent at the preaching of jonas: but jerusalem was nothing moved though Christ jesus himself foretold their destruction: for which cause sorrow came upon them as upon a woman when she traveleth. The signs and tokens which the Lord sent over that City before their fall were many and marvelous, notwithstanding they persisted in their sins, and flattering themselves in their own follies, made false interpretations of those prodigious wonders. Seeing then that as the Apostle saith, that whatsoever is written, is written for our learning, let all Christians take warning hereby, not jestingly to join themselves together (as they did in the old world) to deride or falsely to interpret the dreadful tokens sent among us, lest with them of jerusalem destruction do suddenly come upon us. I have here to show you a strange and wonderful token of God's wrath figured forth in a silly Herring, in which small fish he doth demonstrate great and dreadful matters as by the picture you may perceive: on the one side whereof you may plainly behold the perfect shape of two armed men, the one having in his hand a lance, the other a sword, close buckled in their corselets, with burgancts on their heads, standing as it were in their defence, threatening and assailing one another. I know that many will give as small credit hereunto, and as slightly esteem thereof as Pharaoh did of the flies, & the jews of Christ's miracles: notwithstanding the Lord hath chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise, and the weak to overcome the mighty, as he himself hath expressed in his holy Gospel. Moreover there was toward the tail of this Herring the right portraiture of two rods, the one far bigger than the other, seeming to be bound together with two strong bands apiece, which every man must confess to be the undoubted sign of dreadful correction: according as the Psalmist speaketh, saying: Thou shalt bruise them with a rod of Iron, and break them in pieces like a Potter's vessel. In scripture sword and pestilence is said to be the scourges of the Lord: and therefore that cruel and bloody tyrant Tamburlaine did justly call himself the scourge of God, by whom he corrected the proud, rebellious and wicked world: bringing by bloody wars many kingdoms into his subjection. If we enter then into due consideration hereof, and with the eyes of grace behold the same, we cannot but confess, that the righteous Lord hath sent these signs unto us, to forewarn us of our wickedness, lest by the sharp correcting rods of God's wrath we be most justly punished with sword and famine. But now behold on the other side of this Herring, were five Characters most perfectly engraven, some of them usual, and well known among us at this day, others strange and not understood: but what the God of all power and might will give hereby to be known is left to better judgement, notwithstanding let us remember, that as it once pleased God by the finger of his power to write on the wall a heavy sentence against Balthasar, so hath it pleased him at this present to write on this Herring undoubtedly a heavy sentence against the sins of this age, thereby to call this drowsy world out of the damnable sleep of sin and wickedness, wherein it hath slugged so long a time. Then what is he that seeing the same, and dreading the hot vengeance of the Lord, will not be enforced with Balthasar to shake and tremble at the grievous judgements which is thereby likely to be threatened: if Balthasar being a heathen King, shook so sore at the handwriting on the wall, well may all Christians hearts shake to see, and there withal to consider what fearful sentence may upon the Herring be engraven. When our Saviour Christ did write upon the ground, before those that accused the woman of adultery, her accusers were thereby so confounded in conscience, that for very shame they slipped away out of his sight: how much more than 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 judgements in our dishes, at every meal to be remembered. 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 used in any land, nor better known among all sorts of people: whereby it is justly to be gathered, that the Lord hath sent it for a general warning unto his people: the Lord grant our hearts may be moved thereby. Moreover, this Herring was full fourteen inches in length: importing (as I conjecture) that this judgement threatened against the world for sin is an extraordinary and no usual judgement, but such as the eyes of men have seldom or never seen: beside, the marks were all of red and bloody colour. The Lord for Christ's sake be merciful unto us, & give us grace with such repenting hearts to turn from our sins, that he may turn his just wrath from us. This Herring among a number of others was taken on the 26. day of Novemb. 1597. near unto Drenton, sometime the ancient and chief City of the kingdom of Norway. And after it was shown to divers of the nobility, & magistrates of that country. The portraiture thereof & admonition was first printed in Rotterdam, by john van Doetec●m in the Dutch tongue, & out of the same language translated into English, for the profit and instruction of our country people. The Lord God Almighty give us grace to watch and wait for the coming of the heavenly bridegroom, that being decked and attired in the true wedding garment of Christ's righteousness, we may enter with him to the heavenly banquet, there to reign in his glorious kingdom for evermore, Amen.  
FINIS.