I've been reading the Icelandic Sagas (Penguin Deluxe edition - the one with the deliberately rough cut pages). Egil's Saga has thrown up some puzzles. Was Egil on the autistic spectrum?
This is a tricky one because he was an Icelandic hero of late 9th early 10th century, and did all sorts of wild things,including a dreadful lot of killing - it is very much a celebration of butchery. However he was a very complex and very isolated character, and I've begun to see hints of autism. Does he demonstrate autism has been around for a very long time?
The statement that caught my attention refers to his infancy. "He became talkative at an early age and had a gift for words, but tended to be difficult to deal with in his games with other children".
He was inclined to lose his temper with extreme results, including explosive attacks on other children, and killing several, only surviving because family protected him, even to the point of fighting any objectors.
In his teens Egil sought Arinbjorn's friendhip and followed him around everywhere, but had poor relations with others, even his brother.
He doesn't say much but stares and grimaces, and makes frequent crytpic pronouncements in verse. He seems to be in endless social conflict, alienating just about everyone around him. A lot of his behaviour leaves him very isolated except a few followers.
I don't want to get too deep into this without expert advice, but this is an early description of someone whose behaviour raises intriguing questions. A lot of Egil's behaviour is used to justify his brutality which the saga celebrates.