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WHO IS PETER KIDD?

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A Documented Case of Conflict of Interest, Harassment, and Defamation

Peter Kidd is a manuscript consultant and blogger best known for his website Medieval Manuscripts Provenance (mssprovenance).

His role in the events later known as ReceptioGate cannot be understood without examining an earlier and well-documented fact: his involvement in the commercial description of manuscript leaves that had been removed from larger codices and subsequently entered the international antiquarian market.

On 7 July 2015, Sotheby's London offered for sale three illuminated leaves removed in 1979 from manuscript E.V.5 of the Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria di Torino. The catalogue descriptions for these lots (49–51) were prepared by Peter Kidd.

The same Sotheby's catalogue also included leaves from the dismembered Book of Hours of Louis de Roucy, another manuscript that would later become the subject of extensive scholarly reconstruction research.

The catalogue is a crucial historical document because it places at the centre of a single sale two manuscript cases that would later become closely connected with ReceptioGate.

Years later, after Prof. Carla Rossi published research on manuscript dismemberment and biblioclasm and transmitted evidence concerning stolen manuscript leaves to the Italian authorities, Peter Kidd became the principal public critic of her work.

Beginning in December 2022, his blog published a long series of posts directed against Prof. Rossi, RECEPTIO, associated institutions, collaborators, and research projects. These publications became one of the principal vehicles through which allegations concerning plagiarism, academic misconduct, and institutional legitimacy were circulated.

The chronology raises a legitimate question.

Why did the public debate focus on allegations against a researcher rather than on the provenance of the Turin leaves, the destruction of medieval manuscripts for commercial purposes, and the responsibilities of those involved in cataloguing, marketing, and promoting detached manuscript leaves?

This question became even more significant after the judgment of the Swiss Federal Administrative Court of 7 January 2026, which annulled the withdrawal of the research grant connected with The Book of Hours of Louis de Roucy and definitively closed the proceedings relating to that publication.

The documentation presented on this website allows readers to examine the chronology, the publications, the catalogue evidence, and the subsequent campaign for themselves.

A Repeated Pattern: From the Mazzarelli Case to ReceptioGate

Researchers have also drawn attention to similarities between ReceptioGate and the earlier case involving Italian collector Giovanni Mazzarelli.

According to the published documentation, Mazzarelli legally acquired manuscripts through Sotheby's London in 1979. Years later, disputes concerning provenance and ownership became accompanied by public narratives that shifted attention away from the original transactions and towards attacks on individuals connected with the material.

The comparison has been explored in detail by Jordi Puig and in the documentation archives maintained by OProM, ISFiDA, and ReceptioGate.

Whether these similarities reflect a recurring pattern remains a matter for readers to evaluate on the basis of the documentary evidence presented.

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Documents hosted on Mazzarelli’s own website confirm that Peter Kidd repeatedly appeared in internal communications and contributed to public insinuations between 2001 and 2012:
🔗 https://mazzarelligiovanni.jimdofree.com
🔗 https://www.oprom.eu/post/peter-kidd-a-documented-case-of-defamation-and-concealment-from-giovanni-mazzarelli-to-receptiog
🔗 https://www.lagazzettadelmezzogiorno.it/news/puglia/303432/torna-a-bari-prezioso-messale-rubato-40-anni-fa.html
🔗 https://corrieredelmezzogiorno.corriere.it/napoli/notizie/cronaca/2011/16-settembre-2011/messale-trani-asta-londraera-sparito-anni-70-recuperato--1901555528973.shtml

Only after lengthy legal proceedings was Mazzarelli fully vindicated and the manuscripts returned to public libraries — without compensation, and with full transparency.

The methods and tone of that campaign find troubling parallels in the attacks launched against Prof. Carla Rossi, which began in December 2022 — just days after she filed a formal report with the Carabinieri's Art Crimes Unit denouncing the illicit trade in dismembered manuscripts.

Once again, Peter Kidd was at the centre, now operating through his personal blog Medieval Manuscripts Provenance, where he published over twenty entries targeting Prof. Rossi, her work, her affiliations, and her legal counsel. These blog posts avoided any scholarly engagement and relied instead on insinuation, omission, and rhetorical distortion.

What followed was a full-blown smear campaign:

While Kidd has not claimed direct authorship of every aspect of this coordinated effort, the chronology, terminology, and thematic alignment between his blog posts and online harassment form a clear and dangerous pattern.

 

The goal was not critique. The goal was silence.

Prof. Rossi’s work — particularly her digital reconstructions of dismembered codices — posed a direct challenge to the market Kidd has long operated within and promoted.

To date, Peter Kidd has issued no public clarification, nor has he corrected any demonstrably false claims published on his blog.

📌 Related Sources:

 

Patterns matter. And Peter Kidd’s pattern of reputational defamation is now public, documented, and indisputable.

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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

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