The huge whale, having been tossed on the blue sea,
May the gods prevent its threat,
Look upon the shore of Katwjik,
The terror of the Atlantic, the whale of the deep,
Driven by the wind and its own motion to the shore,
Settled on dry land, stuck on the sand
We offer it to be recorder, remembered,
And spoken about by the people.
Inscription accompanying Jacob Matham’s Whale Stranded at Berckhey, 1598, in Ellis, Men and Whales, 1991.
Nervous to post this for a few reasons: it's my first tale, first time posting in a canon, and if anything here leads people to identify me irl, its likely to be this one.
All the same, I hope you've enjoyed this little splinter story set in the Competitive Eschatology Canon. All the artwork comes from Jan Saenredam's 1602 engraving Gestrande walvis bij Beverwijk, one of the most stunning of the many artworks from this period depicting beach whales. It's worth taking a closer look at: the details, linework, and composition are remarkable.
Edit: Almost forgot to thank not_a_seagull,
chiifu, and
MightyMightyena for their feedback and advice!
