Who is Peter Kidd? A Documented Case of Harassment, Defamation, and Conflict of Interest
Peter Kidd, author of the blog mssprovenance, is a known promoter of the trade in excised manuscript leaves and a self-styled expert with no academic credentials or institutional affiliation. After Prof. Carla Rossi publicly exposed the market in dismembered manuscripts, Kidd retaliated by launching a defamatory campaign against her.
A former freelance cataloguer briefly contracted by the British Library, Kidd now operates as a private consultant, collaborating with collectors and auction houses that profit from the dismantling of medieval manuscripts—particularly Books of Hours and Psalters.
Through his blog, he regularly publicises isolated leaves removed from coherent codices, contributing to the erasure of historical context for financial gain.
Since December 2022, Peter Kidd has engaged in a sustained campaign of defamation against Prof. Carla Rossi, a philologist internationally recognised for her work on the digital reconstruction of dismembered manuscripts and her firm stance against the manuscript leaf market. His attacks began just days after Prof. Rossi published a documented appeal denouncing the online sale of illuminated folios and filed a report with the Italian Carabinieri’s Art Crimes Unit.
Using his blog as a platform, Kidd has published more than twenty defamatory posts targeting Prof. Rossi, the Research Centre for European Philological Tradition (RECEPTIO) research centre, her collaborators, and even her legal counsel. These posts contributed to a series of harmful consequences:
– Fake obituaries announcing Prof. Rossi’s death were published online.
– Anonymous death threats were received by email.
– Defamatory emails were sent using mailing lists from academic societies, violating data privacy.
– Journalists were contacted directly, leading to the publication of smear articles based on demonstrably false claims.
Kidd’s writings repeatedly deny Prof. Rossi’s academic credentials, question the existence of her institutions, and insinuate misconduct without any evidence. This goes beyond professional disagreement: it constitutes a deliberate and systematic campaign of reputational destruction.
It must also be noted that Peter Kidd has authored or contributed to the description and promotion of multiple leaves from dismembered manuscripts which Prof. Rossi has studied and digitally reconstructed in published academic volumes. The conflict of interest is glaring, and the retaliatory nature of his campaign is undeniable.
OProM strongly denounces this hostile behaviour and expresses full support for Prof. Rossi and her work to protect the integrity of medieval manuscript heritage. We believe that the systematic dismemberment of manuscripts, and the silencing of those who oppose it, constitute a threat to both cultural memory and academic integrity.
This page is published as a formal response to a documented case of harassment. The facts are public, verifiable, and serious. OProM stands in defence of truth, scholarly dignity, and the ethical handling of cultural heritage.
Further Links:
https://www.oprom.eu/post/how-peter-kidd-promoted-the-destruction-of-the-de-roucy-hours-his-collaboration-with-manuscript-dis
https://www.oprom.eu/post/peter-kidd-excised-leaves-and-the-illusion-of-provenance-research-2025-commentary
https://www.oprom.eu/post/peter-kidd-a-documented-case-of-defamation-and-concealment-from-giovanni-mazzarelli-to-receptiog
https://www.oprom.eu/post/peter-kidd-manuscripts-provenance-mssprovenance-false-claims-and-misuse-of-oprom-identity
https://www.oprom.eu/post/peter-kidd-medieval-manuscripts-provenance-mssprovenance-a-dormant-blog-once-used-to-promote-manu
https://www.oprom.eu/post/from-bloomsbury-to-sotheby-s-the-destruction-and-sale-of-the-de-roucy-hours-and-peter-kidd-s-part
https://www.oprom.eu/post/the-receptiogate-affair-official-documents-academic-response-and-timeline-of-events
https://www.oprom.eu/post/the-receptiogate-affair-truth-defamation-and-the-struggle-against-manuscript-dismemberment
https://www.oprom.eu/post/le-blog-medieval-manuscripts-provenance-de-peter-kidd-une-violente-campagne-de-diffamation-con
https://www.oprom.eu/post/the-responsibility-of-the-società-internazionale-di-storia-della-miniatura-in-the-receptiogate-affai
https://www.oprom.eu/post/accusations-de-plagiat-textes-m%C3%A9di%C3%A9vaux-et-receptiogate-r%C3%A9ponse-document%C3%A9e-%C3%A0-un-cas-d-%C3%A9cole-20
https://www.oprom.eu/post/receptio-rossiaffair-detailedrebuttaltodavidrundle-sallegations
https://www.oprom.eu/post/carla-rossi-and-the-university-of-zurich-clarification-and-academic-record
https://www.oprom.eu/post/reddit-and-the-carla-rossi-case-zurich-2025
ISFiDa
https://www.isfida.eu/post/peter-kidd-a-documented-case-of-defamation-and-concealment-from-giovanni-mazzarelli-to-receptiog
https://www.isfida.eu/post/biblioclasm-market-and-ethics-stop-calling-them-fragments
https://www.isfida.eu/post/how-mssprovenance-lost-its-purpose-and-turned-into-an-attack-bloga-documented-contribution-to-the
https://www.isfida.eu/post/peter-kidd-manuscripts-provenance-mssprovenance-ethical-concerns-and-the-legacy-of-dismembered-ma
https://www.isfida.eu/post/receptiogate-official-documents-publications-and-institutional-response
https://www.isfida.eu/post/receptiogate-and-the-defence-of-academic-integrity
https://www.isfida.eu/post/la-società-internazionale-di-storia-della-miniatura
Receptiogate.info
https://www.receptiogate.info/
https://www.receptiogate.info/actors-behind-the-defamation
https://www.receptiogate.info/actors-behind-the-defamation/peter-kidd-medieval-manuscripts-provenance
https://www.receptiogate.info/press-statements
https://www.receptiogate.info/press-statements
https://www.receptiogate.info/timeline
https://www.receptiogate.info/faq
https://www.receptiogate.info/actors-behind-the-defamation/societ%C3%A0-internazionale-di-storia-della-miniatura
Alta-Formazione
https://www.alta-formazione.it/post/receptiogate-spiegato-diffamazione-documenti-accuse-infondate-e-risposta-accademica
https://www.alta-formazione.it/post/what-is-receptiogate-a-chronicle-of-attacks-and-academic-continuity
https://www.alta-formazione.it/post/peter-kidd-s-manuscript-provenance-blog-a-vile-persecutory-campaign-against-prof-carla-rossi
Carla Rossi.info
https://www.profcarlarossi.info/post/una-campagna-persecutoria-ignobile
Substack
https://oprom.substack.com/p/carla-rossi-zurich-clarifying-facts
https://oprom.substack.com/p/carla-rossi-zurich-clarifier-les
https://oprom.substack.com/p/carla-rossi-zurich-fakten-statt-geruchte
https://oprom.substack.com/p/carla-rossi-zurich-una-aclaracion
https://oprom.substack.com/publish/post/164304863
https://open.substack.com/pub/oprom/p/carla-rossi-zurich-an-academic-profile?r=5j99hd&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
https://oprom.substack.com/p/peter-kidd-and-receptiogate-not-an
https://oprom.substack.com/p/academic-integrity-cultural-heritage
https://oprom.substack.com/p/documented-timeline-of-the-defamation
https://oprom.substack.com/p/cronologia-documentata-della-campagna
https://open.substack.com/pub/oprom/p/receptiogate-was-not-a-scholarly?r=5j99hd&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
https://oprom.substack.com/p/why-peter-kidds-blog-is-not-a-scholarly
https://oprom.substack.com/p/peter-kidd-and-the-mazzarelli-case
https://oprom.substack.com/p/peter-kidd-and-receptiogate-not-an
https://oprom.substack.com/p/facing-disinformation-with-knowledge
https://oprom.substack.com/p/how-the-societa-internazionale-di
https://oprom.substack.com/p/come-la-societa-internazionale-di
https://oprom.substack.com/p/all-official-sources-on-receptiogate
https://open.substack.com/pub/oprom/p/peter-kidd-mssprovenance-and-manuscript?r=5j99hd&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
https://oprom.substack.com/p/2025-why-peter-kidds-mssprovenance
Receptiogate blog
https://receptiogate.blogspot.com/2025/05/2025-peter-kidd-medieval-manuscripts.html
https://sites.google.com/view/receptiogate
https://sites.google.com/view/carla-rossi/home-page