Since antiquity, doctors have always been required to be "vigilant" (i.e., extremely attentive), particularly when it comes to any symptoms exhibited and/or complained of by the patient. As outlined in the Hippocratic Oath since antiquity, a doctor’s primary mission is to ensure the patient’s well-being and recovery, irrespective of their social status. However, loyalty to the patient was explicitly subordinated whenever the patient performed an action deemed suspicious or even detrimental to society’s best interests. The goal of this book is, therefore, to delve deeper into the multivalent role and attitude of physicians and surgeons as "experts" in how to interpret symptoms, and how this, in turn, influenced their relationship with their patients, especially when the latter were considered to be "dangerous individuals". This analysis does not seek to further explore Foucault’s concept of the "disciplinary" nature of medicine, but rather uses it as a starting point for analyzing the complex and, so to speak, "ambiguous" nature of the doctor-patient relationship in the early modern period, one which oscillated between cooperation and conflict. To deepen these aspects, this analysis will consider the role and tasks of a figure often neglected by historiography: the galley doctor.
Since ancient times, doctors were required to be "vigilant", in particular with regard to the signs and symptoms manifested and/or complained by the patient, with the ultimate objective of implementing successful medical treatment. Nonetheless, the vigilant attitude of early modern physicians was highly multivalent in its nature. Indeed, although it is true that doctor's primary mission was to ensure the health and recovery of the patient, his loyalty to the patient was explicitly relegated to the second place when they were considered a "dangerous individual". Nonetheless, the aim of this project is not to further investigate the Foucaldian idea of the "disciplinary" character of medicine but rather to deepen the analysis of the ambiguous role and attitude of doctors as experts of the body. The analysis will consider in general the functions and tasks of doctors who dealt with rowers on galleys. Indeed, rowers had to be treated with the utmost zeal, for sea-faring was impossible without a healthy and strong crew. However, their status of convicts and slaves necessarily influenced their relationship with doctors, who had to be constantly on the alert and treat them with extreme caution, if not outright suspicion
