Who is Mr. Peter Kidd?
1. On the website Manuscripts.org (Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20230210180431/https://manuscripts.org.uk//), which Kidd manages, he describes himself as follows: “Based in Oxford, Peter Kidd has since 2006 been a freelance researcher, working primarily on medieval manuscripts, with a particular specialisation in cataloguing and provenance research of liturgical and illuminated books, leaves, and cuttings”.
Consequently, since 2006, Peter Kidd has not been affiliated with any public or private institution, functioning instead as a freelance consultant for dealers and collectors. His prior experience spans just five years as a manuscript cataloguer — a role he held at the British Library and the Bodleian Library — a position that requires neither exceptional aptitude nor specific academic credentials.
It follows that Peter Kidd lacks the standing to critically assess the scholarly work of an academic who has attained her titles and honors through a rigorous series of university evaluations. And yet, Kidd appears to have orchestrated a malign campaign of defamation on social media, devoid of contributing even a single scholarly article over a whole year. His efforts seem focused solely on discrediting a renowned scholar and her research institution. In stark contrast, within the same timeframe, the targeted scholar has not only withstood intimidation but also actively engaged in academia — delivering lectures, partaking in symposia, contributing to scholarly journals, and notably transitioning to a role in Italy as an expert in the History of Illumination. This achievement is an especially poignant testament to the scholar’s esteem, one that inadvertently casts a shadow on Kidd’s reputation.
2. Kidd’s academic background is somewhat unclear. Evidence suggests he may have been associated with the University of Oxford, as he is featured in a photograph with the university’s tennis club members from February 2009, available at this link: [https://www.outc.org.uk/Newsletters/Newsletter-Feb09.pdf]. Given his birth year of 1964, as outlined in a source [https://www.amazon.de/descriptive-catalogue-medieval-manuscripts-compiled/dp/0901420603], he would have been around 45 years old at the time of the photo’s capture, as indicated by his grey hair. It raises a question about his connection to the university during that period: whether he was an active student or solely involved with the tennis club is uncertain.
