Codex Runicus

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The Codex Runicus is one of the few runic texts found on parchment. The codex was written around the year 1300 and consists of a number of Danish laws, including the oldest preserved Nordic provincial law, Skånske lov (Scanian Law), pertaining to the then Danish region of Skåneland (today a part of Sweden).

One well known passage of the Skånske lov is:

Haui that Skanunga ærliki mææn, toco vithar oræth aldrigh ææn

which may be roughly translated as: "Scanians are honourable men who hate injustice".

Included at the end of the Codex Runicus are the notes and words of the oldest preserved piece of music known in Denmark: the first two lines of the folk song Drømte mig en drøm i nat (I dreamt a dream last night), about a girl who dreams of becoming a rich woman. The melody is one that is well known to all Danes, having been used as an interval signal on Danish radio since 1931.

The text reads:

Drømde mik en drøm i nat,

um silki ok ærlik pæl

(I dreamt a dream last night, of silk and fine fur).

The Codex Runicus has the signature AM 28 8vo and is stored in Den Arnamagnæanske Samling located in Copenhagen.