Giovanni Dimatti is a banker from Lombardy. He has spent most of his life in Paris lending money to nobles and merchants and changing coins. He is very rich and has many contacts all over Europe with other bankers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lombard_banking

His fortune, reputation and good looks helped him seduce numerous women and occasional teen age boys. (please do not make a scenario based on it !!).
He was however picky and preferred noble women. They were often the wives or daughters of his customers. Unfortunately, the last tryst costed him his hand. He took too long to escape from the bed where he lay with the wife of Pierre Mauclerc (Peter I, Duke of Brittany).
The man was fortunately drunk and only succeeded to cut his hand before Giovanni jumped through the window. His bodyguards were ready and took him way delaying the drunk nobleman who was unable to chase him.

Knowing that this man would probably cut his head the next time they would meet, he left Paris with some gold, items that people had used to settle debts, a few house guards and letters from his father to get help from the other Lombards.
Those guards are retired Genoese crossbowmen mercenaries. Giovanni’s family has used them for protection, intimidation and to close some difficult accounts permanently. They are well paid and know that a fellow Italian won’t betray them like many nobles did before.

Giovanni and his guards traveled to numerous cities for two years, staying with family members for a few weeks at a time. Those cities were however not safe and he decided to go to Aquitaine to hide from this man. The influence of his pursuer would likely be weaker over the nobles of Aquitaine.
In Limoges, he entered the old Roman sewers to visit an old gypsy woman living with there with her clan to avoid persecution. It took many pounds to convince her to read his fate and provide guidance.
She told him that his foe would continue to chase him until he finds the source of the blood of life. She was unable to tell him more.

Two weeks later he was attacked in an inn between Limoges and Brives La Gaillarde. One of the attackers succeeded to hit him in the chest but was killed by his bodyguard. The other attackers succeeded to kill the guard and were about to finish Giovanni when they heard the other mercenaries coming. At that time they considered the huge blood stain covering the shirt of Giovanni and decided since he was about to die, they had no reason to stay.
The stain was not blood but dark red wine. His wound was actually quite minor.
He asked the InnKeeper for the source of that wine and was told that it was coming from a vineyard close to the castle of Commarque. He left that night for Commarque with the intention of either confronting his foe there or finding the peace he was seeking.

(note : wine at that time was only white. Red wine must be a test performed by our master vintner)