I have absolutely no knowledge of the structure of societies at the time, but it strikes me as unlikely that someone could live as a travelling criminal and sur

I have absolutely no knowledge of the structure of societies at the time, but it strikes me as unlikely that someone could live as a travelling criminal and survive into his 40s. At some point, your skills stop mattering if you're involved in fights to death every few days. I seem to remember a theory that he was something like a traveling merchant, which could explain his apparent wealth. No idea how that would have worked at the time, i. e. transport of whatever he was trading. Maybe small & valuable and therefore stolen by his assassin, who left personal artefacts behind after seizing the main prize?