Regardless of its historical origins, I do believe that the moral of the story is a man's word, his honor, and his integrity is all he has. In those days such was the case of most good men. If you die rich or poor, you still die. People will not say, "I liked him because he was a rich bastard" or "He was well loved for his poverty" but they certainly will always remember a man of integrity and honor and that is how that story has survived for so long, even if the participants or actual individuals have changed over the years.