Keywords The present parchment binding of Codex runicus probably dates back to the second half of the seventeenth century. As far as is known, Codex runicus is the only extant codex Runicus, Codex. Runic script was developed in Scandinavia between the 2nd and 8th centuries AD. It was originally used for short inscriptions. It was presumably produced at the Cistercian monastery at Herridsvad in Scania (now in Retaining Ancient Ways: Codex Runicus, How the Runic Script Survived in the Middle Ages