“Surveying several centuries and drawing together topics that are commonly treated by distinct historiographies, Tarrant manages a scholarly exploit. . . . An original and compelling introduction to the history of the Inquisition. as well as new perspectives for the study of magic as both an intellectual pursuit and a protean set of practices.”

Isis

“In a sweeping analysis that extends across multiple fields of study, Tarrant traces currents of religious reform, inquisitorial processes, and scholastic theology from the late medieval period into the early modern. He offers an important new perspective not just on the history of magic but also on the history of science and of religion across this pivotal period.”

Michael D. Bailey, Iowa State University

“Defining Nature’s Limits plays an important role in bridging medieval and early modern theological traditions on magic and inquisition.”

Christine Caldwell Ames, University of South Carolina

“Defining Nature’s Limits provides an invaluable contribution to the field of late medieval and early modern intellectual and cultural history, focusing on magic and science. Tarrant’s scholarship is impeccable, his argument is innovative and wholly original, and the book makes important, corrective contributions to the history of both science and magic. The book is a major contribution that will enrich the fields of premodern science and the occult, religious history, and intellectual history.”

Michael Ryan, University of New Mexico

"Tarrant’s book is an important contribution both to the history of science and to the history of magic in the early modern period. In telling the intertwining stories of the intellectual history of Thomist conceptions of magic from the Middle Ages to the seventeenth century and the history of the Roman Inquisition’s persecution of magic in Italy, Tarrant reveals how the censorship of magic re-drew the boundaries of legitimate natural knowledge and thus had a radical impact on the subsequent development of science."

Stephen Clucas, Birkbeck, University of London