This article explores the complex dynamics of financial innovation in early modern times, challenging linear models of temporal and spatial divisions that tend to shape our understanding of the evolution of financial systems. It supports the idea that innovation should be viewed as a non-linear and contextual process, involving diverse stakeholders and characterised by interactions and unexpected occurrences. The study focuses on the dissemination and trajectories of financial innovations, specifically the bill of exchange and its variation, the ricorsa, as well as the transferability and negotiability of commercial paper. It does so by investigating the interactions and exchanges between merchants and bankers from diverse backgrounds during the sixteenth-century Lyon fairs, using the archival records of one of the first Italian banks in Lyon (Salviati). The study reveals the mutual influence and acculturation among these agents and challenges the compartmentalisation of financial expertise. Through an analysis of transactions recorded in the Salviati bank's ledgers, the article highlights previously unknown uses of commercial paper by Southern merchant communities and discusses the factors that may have hindered the full-scale development of endorsement and discount in the Lyon trading networks, despite their potential benefits. The results provide insights into the intricate nature of financial innovation and the influence of structural and cultural factors on its development.

中文翻译：

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金融创新的曲折轨迹：商业票据及其在十六世纪里昂交易网络中的用途

本文探讨了近代早期金融创新的复杂动态，挑战了时空划分的线性模型，而这些模型往往会影响我们对金融体系演变的理解。它支持这样一种观点，即创新应被视为一个非线性和情境过程，涉及不同的利益相关者，并以互动和意外事件为特征。该研究的重点是金融创新的传播和轨迹，特别是汇票及其变体、里科萨，以及商业票据的可转让性和可流通性。它通过调查十六世纪里昂博览会期间来自不同背景的商人和银行家之间的互动和交流，并使用里昂最早的意大利银行之一（萨尔维亚蒂）的档案记录来实现这一目标。该研究揭示了这些代理人之间的相互影响和文化适应，并对金融专业知识的划分提出了挑战。通过对萨尔维亚蒂银行账本中​​记录的交易进行分析，本文重点介绍了南方商人社区对商业票据的先前未知的使用，并讨论了可能阻碍里昂交易网络中背书和贴现全面发展的因素，尽管它们潜在的好处。研究结果深入了解金融创新的复杂本质以及结构和文化因素对其发展的影响。