Peter Kidd
@mssprovenance.bsky.social
Oxford-based researcher of medieval manuscripts; formerly of the Bodleian and the BL; especially interested in provenance and illumination; currently preparing a catalogue of the medieval and renaissance manuscripts of University College, Oxford.
Last weekend I resumed blogging and have done another post today; I hope to maintain a weekly schedule.
The two new posts concern illuminated leaves from the collections of Victor Goldschmidt and Count Stroganoff.
mssprovenance.blogspot.com
The two new posts concern illuminated leaves from the collections of Victor Goldschmidt and Count Stroganoff.
mssprovenance.blogspot.com
November 22, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Last weekend I resumed blogging and have done another post today; I hope to maintain a weekly schedule.
The two new posts concern illuminated leaves from the collections of Victor Goldschmidt and Count Stroganoff.
mssprovenance.blogspot.com
The two new posts concern illuminated leaves from the collections of Victor Goldschmidt and Count Stroganoff.
mssprovenance.blogspot.com
Reposted by Peter Kidd
Good morning! AI is being force-fed to you by a handful of billionaires who will lose a bunch of money if they fail to convince you that you need it. You do not need it 🫶
November 6, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Good morning! AI is being force-fed to you by a handful of billionaires who will lose a bunch of money if they fail to convince you that you need it. You do not need it 🫶
I think you've completely misunderstood what they're doing.
Their 'Literature' section simply aims to cite any sources that mentions *the actual MS under discussion*, and any other sources they have cited in the main description. Which is perfectly sensible, and standard in academic catalogues.
Their 'Literature' section simply aims to cite any sources that mentions *the actual MS under discussion*, and any other sources they have cited in the main description. Which is perfectly sensible, and standard in academic catalogues.
Pretty disappointed, but unsurprised, at the lot descriptions for the upcoming Christie’s Books and MSS auction citing, with little exception, ONLY de Ricci’s Census and its supplement. I doubt I need to enumerate the reasons that this is not only bad scholarly practice but also very suspicious.
www.christies.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:55 PM
I think you've completely misunderstood what they're doing.
Their 'Literature' section simply aims to cite any sources that mentions *the actual MS under discussion*, and any other sources they have cited in the main description. Which is perfectly sensible, and standard in academic catalogues.
Their 'Literature' section simply aims to cite any sources that mentions *the actual MS under discussion*, and any other sources they have cited in the main description. Which is perfectly sensible, and standard in academic catalogues.
Reposted by Peter Kidd
There is still time to apply for one of our 50+ Visiting Fellowships @bodleian.ox.ac.uk for the 2026-27 academic year! A vibrant interdisciplinary research centre in the heart of one of the world’s great libraries!
VISITING FELLOWSHIPS: Applications are now open for 2026-27!
The deadline for applications is Friday 28 November 2025.
For more information on how to apply: https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/csb/fellowships/bodleian-visiting-fellowships
The deadline for applications is Friday 28 November 2025.
For more information on how to apply: https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/csb/fellowships/bodleian-visiting-fellowships
November 12, 2025 at 4:22 PM
There is still time to apply for one of our 50+ Visiting Fellowships @bodleian.ox.ac.uk for the 2026-27 academic year! A vibrant interdisciplinary research centre in the heart of one of the world’s great libraries!
These stories always remind me of the time a 'scholar' 'discovered' a 'new' 'Shakespeare' poem by looking up 'Shakespeare' in the index of a catalogue of manuscripts.
(Spoiler: It had been catalogued as *in the style of Shakespeare*, and other scholars agreed that it was *not* written by him).
(Spoiler: It had been catalogued as *in the style of Shakespeare*, and other scholars agreed that it was *not* written by him).
'It's a lost map!'
'Where did you find it?'
'In the Map Drawer, in the Map Room of the Map Library'.
OH is seriously thinking about doing a talk on data and discovery entitled 'why we keep biscuits in the biscuit tin'. Seems appropriate.
'Where did you find it?'
'In the Map Drawer, in the Map Room of the Map Library'.
OH is seriously thinking about doing a talk on data and discovery entitled 'why we keep biscuits in the biscuit tin'. Seems appropriate.
November 11, 2025 at 7:41 AM
These stories always remind me of the time a 'scholar' 'discovered' a 'new' 'Shakespeare' poem by looking up 'Shakespeare' in the index of a catalogue of manuscripts.
(Spoiler: It had been catalogued as *in the style of Shakespeare*, and other scholars agreed that it was *not* written by him).
(Spoiler: It had been catalogued as *in the style of Shakespeare*, and other scholars agreed that it was *not* written by him).
'... faced with the unsourced waffle of a glorified autocorrect machine driven by who-knows-what politicised algorithms, drawing on suspicion of conventional authority in order to enshrine a new, entirely opaque authority, the only sane response is to give Wikipedia more money'
Pretty Vacant
Full disclosure: I was one of those academics who, when Wikipedia first appeared, warned students against using it in no uncertain terms. To be fair, in those days most of its articles on ancient h…
thesphinxblog.com
October 31, 2025 at 7:10 AM
'... faced with the unsourced waffle of a glorified autocorrect machine driven by who-knows-what politicised algorithms, drawing on suspicion of conventional authority in order to enshrine a new, entirely opaque authority, the only sane response is to give Wikipedia more money'
October 23, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Reposted by Peter Kidd
MLGB is back!! Delighted that Medieval Libraries of Great Britain @bodleian.ox.ac.uk is now back online. We are also working had on plans for the next phase of the resource, enhancing & adding data & functionality. HUGE thanks to my colleagues for their hard & clever work mlgb.bodleian.ox.ac.uk
October 7, 2025 at 10:19 AM
MLGB is back!! Delighted that Medieval Libraries of Great Britain @bodleian.ox.ac.uk is now back online. We are also working had on plans for the next phase of the resource, enhancing & adding data & functionality. HUGE thanks to my colleagues for their hard & clever work mlgb.bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Reposted by Peter Kidd
Portland never stops being Portland.
October 5, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Portland never stops being Portland.
New to me: a scribe using a piece of scrap parchment for pen-trials. Is he also using it to avoid smudging his newly-copied text, or is he using it to keep the main bifolium flat (as he is not using a knife for that purpose)?
(Context here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommaso...)
(Context here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommaso...)
September 29, 2025 at 10:11 AM
New to me: a scribe using a piece of scrap parchment for pen-trials. Is he also using it to avoid smudging his newly-copied text, or is he using it to keep the main bifolium flat (as he is not using a knife for that purpose)?
(Context here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommaso...)
(Context here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommaso...)
This "if" is doing a lot of heavy lifting:
“If the Book of Kells was made in Pictland, this rewrites our understanding of early medieval Scotland.”
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/s...
“If the Book of Kells was made in Pictland, this rewrites our understanding of early medieval Scotland.”
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/s...
September 26, 2025 at 6:40 AM
This "if" is doing a lot of heavy lifting:
“If the Book of Kells was made in Pictland, this rewrites our understanding of early medieval Scotland.”
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/s...
“If the Book of Kells was made in Pictland, this rewrites our understanding of early medieval Scotland.”
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/s...
Another post about:
"Why it’s time to leave Academia.edu"
substack.com/home/post/p-...
(In a word: enshittification)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshitt...
"Why it’s time to leave Academia.edu"
substack.com/home/post/p-...
(In a word: enshittification)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshitt...
Why it’s time to leave Academia.edu
Why I'm deleting my account
substack.com
September 23, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Another post about:
"Why it’s time to leave Academia.edu"
substack.com/home/post/p-...
(In a word: enshittification)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshitt...
"Why it’s time to leave Academia.edu"
substack.com/home/post/p-...
(In a word: enshittification)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshitt...
Anyone interested in medieval fakes should plan a trip to Paris. The Musée Cluny has a show from 7 Oct. to 11 Jan.,
www.musee-moyenage.fr/activites/pr...
and the Archives nationales has one from 15 Oct. to 2 Feb.:
www.musee-moyenage.fr/activites/pr...
and the Archives nationales has one from 15 Oct. to 2 Feb.:
September 21, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Anyone interested in medieval fakes should plan a trip to Paris. The Musée Cluny has a show from 7 Oct. to 11 Jan.,
www.musee-moyenage.fr/activites/pr...
and the Archives nationales has one from 15 Oct. to 2 Feb.:
www.musee-moyenage.fr/activites/pr...
and the Archives nationales has one from 15 Oct. to 2 Feb.:
I could never really grasp how writing on medieval wax tablets would be legible, until a recent visit to the _Archives nationales_ in Paris: in this example, the stylus leaves a white trace in the black wax:
September 21, 2025 at 5:19 PM
I could never really grasp how writing on medieval wax tablets would be legible, until a recent visit to the _Archives nationales_ in Paris: in this example, the stylus leaves a white trace in the black wax:
Reposted by Peter Kidd
Just deleted my academia.edu account after 17 (!) years -- the company's exploitative new terms of use are outrageous, and it's a shame such a blatant commercial sell-out is able to operate under the .edu top-level domain. If you are still on academia.edu, please consider deleting your account too.
September 19, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Just deleted my academia.edu account after 17 (!) years -- the company's exploitative new terms of use are outrageous, and it's a shame such a blatant commercial sell-out is able to operate under the .edu top-level domain. If you are still on academia.edu, please consider deleting your account too.
Reposted by Peter Kidd
I'm sorry, worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable permission to my voice and likeness? For what now? In any manner for any purpose???
This is in academia/.edu's new ToS, which you're prompted to agree to on login. Anyway I'll be jumping ship. You can find my stuff at hcommons.org.
This is in academia/.edu's new ToS, which you're prompted to agree to on login. Anyway I'll be jumping ship. You can find my stuff at hcommons.org.
September 17, 2025 at 5:16 PM
I'm sorry, worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable permission to my voice and likeness? For what now? In any manner for any purpose???
This is in academia/.edu's new ToS, which you're prompted to agree to on login. Anyway I'll be jumping ship. You can find my stuff at hcommons.org.
This is in academia/.edu's new ToS, which you're prompted to agree to on login. Anyway I'll be jumping ship. You can find my stuff at hcommons.org.
A few years ago I recognised a manuscript, now in the University of London's Senate House Library, as being included in the list of goods looted during the Nazi era: Le Répertoire des biens spoliés en France durant la guerre 1939-1945.
/..
/..
September 17, 2025 at 12:56 PM
A few years ago I recognised a manuscript, now in the University of London's Senate House Library, as being included in the list of goods looted during the Nazi era: Le Répertoire des biens spoliés en France durant la guerre 1939-1945.
/..
/..
Reposted by Peter Kidd
Second Amendment activists in shock as Charlie Kirk shot instead of just schoolchildren
Second Amendment activists in shock as Charlie Kirk shot instead of just schoolchildren
OREM, UT - Americans who champion the right to bear arms were shocked Wednesday as controversial commentator Charlie Kirk was shot and killed, as opposed to the ordinarily acceptable trend of mass shootings in schools.
www.thebeaverton.com
September 11, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Second Amendment activists in shock as Charlie Kirk shot instead of just schoolchildren
Ooh-- I wish I were there with you!
Fun first morning of a medieval group jolly to the incredible Très Riches Heures and library of the Duc de Berry exhibition at Chantilly! 📜🎉
September 5, 2025 at 6:38 AM
Ooh-- I wish I were there with you!
Reposted by Peter Kidd
August 29, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Reposted by Peter Kidd
We built a calculator that doesn't work, but don't worry, it's also a plagiarism machine that will tell you to kill yourself. It runs on the world's oceans and costs 10 trillion dollars.
August 29, 2025 at 6:24 PM
We built a calculator that doesn't work, but don't worry, it's also a plagiarism machine that will tell you to kill yourself. It runs on the world's oceans and costs 10 trillion dollars.
"leader of the seventh largest party in Oxfordshire"
*This* is how headlines should be written.
*This* is how headlines should be written.
Nigel Farage, leader of the seventh largest party in Oxfordshire, has used a speech at London Oxford Airport in Kidlington to announce a plan for “a five-year emergency programme to identify, detain and deport illegal migrants”.
August 26, 2025 at 10:25 AM
"leader of the seventh largest party in Oxfordshire"
*This* is how headlines should be written.
*This* is how headlines should be written.
Reposted by Peter Kidd
The village of Dean has entered a lockdown for the imminent arrival of US vice-president JD Vance. All entrances to the village (between Chipping Norton and Charlbury) are closed to non-residents, with police stationed at every road and even footpath.
August 11, 2025 at 8:10 AM
The village of Dean has entered a lockdown for the imminent arrival of US vice-president JD Vance. All entrances to the village (between Chipping Norton and Charlbury) are closed to non-residents, with police stationed at every road and even footpath.
Reposted by Peter Kidd
“GPT-5 is the first time that it feels like talking to an expert in any topic — a Ph.D.-level expert,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said.
August 7, 2025 at 8:36 PM
“GPT-5 is the first time that it feels like talking to an expert in any topic — a Ph.D.-level expert,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said.