[Town physician or physician in a town? Three early modern physicians and their understanding of their municipal...

The institution of the town physician has been up to now discussed mostly on the limited scale of regional studies. In this article three early modern period town physicians are compared regarding their own understanding of their office. Their individual approach towards medical practice is examined on a broader spatio-temporal range within the context of medicalization, which was an integral part of the development of early modern territorial states. This comparison shows that beyond contemporary normative concepts town physicians also claimed particular roles within their social context. By achieving these, they often broadened or even transgressed the assumed delineation of the function subscribed to town physicians.