diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 5a86089..1e5adbd 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -218,6 +218,16 @@ version = "1.5.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "bbd2bcb4c963f2ddae06a2efc7e9f3591312473c50c6685e1f298068316e66fe"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "mdscrub"
+version = "0.1.0"
+dependencies = [
+ "clap",
+ "corpus-core",
+ "regex",
+ "textkit",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "memchr"
 version = "2.8.3"
@@ -236,6 +246,7 @@ version = "0.1.0"
 dependencies = [
  "chunkmd",
  "corpus-core",
+ "mdscrub",
  "serde_json",
  "textkit",
 ]
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index f5c045f..52d0c9e 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ repository = "https://git.pumpin.online/funkpower/catena"
 corpus-core = { path = "crates/corpus-core", version = "0.1.0" }
 textkit = { path = "crates/textkit", version = "0.1.0" }
 chunkmd = { path = "crates/chunkmd", version = "0.1.0" }
+mdscrub = { path = "crates/mdscrub", version = "0.1.0" }
 
 clap = { version = "4", features = ["derive"] }
 fancy-regex = "0.16"
diff --git a/crates/chunkmd/src/pages.rs b/crates/chunkmd/src/pages.rs
index f853e07..6e90f0c 100644
--- a/crates/chunkmd/src/pages.rs
+++ b/crates/chunkmd/src/pages.rs
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ pub fn split_by_page(markdown: &str) -> Vec<Page<'_>> {
         let text = trim(&markdown[start..end]);
         if !text.is_empty() {
             pages.push(Page {
-                number: Some(page_number(&markdown[marker.start()..marker.end()])),
+                number: Some(textkit::decimal(&markdown[marker.start()..marker.end()])),
                 text,
                 offset: start,
             });
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ impl PageIndex {
     pub fn new(markdown: &str) -> Self {
         Self(
             PAGE.find_iter(markdown)
-                .map(|marker| (marker.start(), page_number(marker.as_str())))
+                .map(|marker| (marker.start(), textkit::decimal(marker.as_str())))
                 .collect(),
         )
     }
@@ -193,20 +193,6 @@ pub fn page_chapters(chapters: &[Chapter]) -> HashMap<u32, &str> {
     out
 }
 
-/// Read the digits out of a page marker.
-///
-/// Digits are matched by the Unicode class, so a marker could in principle
-/// carry non-ASCII decimal digits; those count the same way here as they
-/// would in Python. A number too large for the field saturates rather than
-/// wrapping — see `parity/KNOWN.md`.
-fn page_number(marker: &str) -> u32 {
-    let mut number: u32 = 0;
-    for digit in marker.chars().filter_map(|c| c.to_digit(10)) {
-        number = number.saturating_mul(10).saturating_add(digit);
-    }
-    number
-}
-
 fn trim(text: &str) -> &str {
     text.trim_matches(textkit::is_space)
 }
diff --git a/crates/mdscrub/Cargo.toml b/crates/mdscrub/Cargo.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..82a9406
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/mdscrub/Cargo.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+[package]
+name = "mdscrub"
+description = "Cleans converted markdown: residual HTML, control characters, headings, page markers."
+version.workspace = true
+edition.workspace = true
+rust-version.workspace = true
+license.workspace = true
+repository.workspace = true
+
+[dependencies]
+clap.workspace = true
+corpus-core.workspace = true
+regex.workspace = true
+textkit.workspace = true
+
+[lints]
+workspace = true
diff --git a/crates/mdscrub/src/heading.rs b/crates/mdscrub/src/heading.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d9af8fc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/mdscrub/src/heading.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,149 @@
+//! Making a heading line readable again.
+//!
+//! A converted heading arrives carrying whatever the source used to style it:
+//! link wrappers around the whole title, attribute blocks, anchor spans, bold
+//! markers around a title that was set in capitals. The heading text is what
+//! every chunk in the chapter will be labelled with, so it is worth cleaning
+//! properly rather than passing through.
+
+use std::sync::LazyLock;
+
+use regex::Regex;
+
+fn pattern(source: &str) -> Regex {
+    Regex::new(source).expect("a valid pattern")
+}
+
+/// `[text](url)` — a heading wrapped in a link to its own anchor.
+static LINK: LazyLock<Regex> = LazyLock::new(|| pattern(r"\[([^\]]*)\]\([^)]*\)"));
+
+/// `[text]{.cls}` — pandoc's bracketed inline span.
+static BRACKETED: LazyLock<Regex> = LazyLock::new(|| pattern(r"\[([^\]]+)\]\{[^}]*\}"));
+
+/// A trailing `{.attr}` block.
+static ATTRIBUTE_TAIL: LazyLock<Regex> = LazyLock::new(|| pattern(r"\s*\{[^}]*\}\s*$"));
+
+/// Any inline tag. Broader than the one used on body text, because a heading
+/// has no code fences to protect.
+static TAG: LazyLock<Regex> = LazyLock::new(|| pattern(r"<[^>]+>"));
+
+static SPACE_RUN: LazyLock<Regex> = LazyLock::new(|| pattern(r"\s+"));
+
+/// A heading line, and the text after its hashes.
+static HEADING: LazyLock<Regex> = LazyLock::new(|| pattern(r"^(#{1,6})\s+(.*)$"));
+
+/// A page anchor: `<span id="…page42">`, `<a id="page-42">`, and the rest of
+/// the shapes an EPUB uses to say where a printed page began.
+pub static PAGE_ANCHOR: LazyLock<Regex> = LazyLock::new(|| {
+    pattern(
+        r#"(?i)<(?:span|a|div)\b[^>]*\bid\s*=\s*["'][^"']*?page[-_]?(\d+)[^"']*["'][^>]*>(?:</(?:span|a|div)>)?"#,
+    )
+});
+
+/// Clean one heading's text.
+pub fn clean(raw: &str) -> String {
+    let text = LINK.replace_all(raw, "$1");
+    let text = BRACKETED.replace_all(&text, "$1");
+    let text = ATTRIBUTE_TAIL.replace_all(&text, "");
+    let text = TAG.replace_all(&text, "");
+    let text = SPACE_RUN.replace_all(&text, " ");
+    let text = text.trim_matches(textkit::is_space);
+    // Emphasis markers around a title that was set in capitals say nothing
+    // once the title is a label on a search result.
+    text.replace("**", "").replace("__", "")
+}
+
+/// Clean every heading in a document, moving any page anchor found in a
+/// heading to a marker on its own line just after it.
+///
+/// After the heading rather than before, so that the heading keeps its offset
+/// relative to the body text that follows, and the chapter title stays whole.
+pub fn clean_all(markdown: &str) -> String {
+    let mut out: Vec<String> = Vec::new();
+    for line in markdown.split('\n') {
+        let Some(found) = HEADING.captures(line) else {
+            out.push(line.to_string());
+            continue;
+        };
+        let hashes = &found[1];
+        let raw = &found[2];
+        let pages: Vec<u32> = PAGE_ANCHOR
+            .captures_iter(raw)
+            .map(|anchor| textkit::decimal(&anchor[1]))
+            .collect();
+        let cleaned = clean(&PAGE_ANCHOR.replace_all(raw, ""));
+        if !cleaned.is_empty() {
+            out.push(format!("{hashes} {cleaned}"));
+        }
+        for page in pages {
+            out.push(String::new());
+            out.push(format!("<!-- Page {page} -->"));
+        }
+    }
+    out.join("\n")
+}
+
+/// Turn the page anchors left in the body into page markers.
+pub fn anchors_to_markers(markdown: &str) -> String {
+    PAGE_ANCHOR
+        .replace_all(markdown, |found: &regex::Captures| {
+            format!("\n\n<!-- Page {} -->\n\n", textkit::decimal(&found[1]))
+        })
+        .into_owned()
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_link_wrapper_comes_off() {
+        assert_eq!(clean("[I. The Setting](#ch1)"), "I. The Setting");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_bracketed_span_comes_off() {
+        assert_eq!(clean("[The Quarrel]{.chapter-title}"), "The Quarrel");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_trailing_attribute_block_comes_off() {
+        assert_eq!(clean("The Break {#ch3 .unnumbered}"), "The Break");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn tags_come_off_and_whitespace_collapses() {
+        assert_eq!(clean("<span id=\"x\">The   Break</span>  "), "The Break");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn emphasis_markers_come_off() {
+        assert_eq!(clean("**THE SETTLEMENT**"), "THE SETTLEMENT");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_page_anchor_in_a_heading_becomes_a_marker_after_it() {
+        let cleaned = clean_all("# <span id=\"page42\"></span>The Quarrel");
+        assert_eq!(cleaned, "# The Quarrel\n\n<!-- Page 42 -->");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_heading_that_was_only_an_anchor_leaves_only_the_marker() {
+        let cleaned = clean_all("## <a id=\"page-7\"></a>");
+        assert_eq!(cleaned, "\n<!-- Page 7 -->");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn body_anchors_become_markers() {
+        let cleaned = anchors_to_markers("text <span id=\"pg_page19\"></span> more");
+        assert!(cleaned.contains("<!-- Page 19 -->"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_line_that_is_not_a_heading_is_untouched() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            clean_all("#no space is not a heading"),
+            "#no space is not a heading"
+        );
+    }
+}
diff --git a/crates/mdscrub/src/html.rs b/crates/mdscrub/src/html.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..37524f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/mdscrub/src/html.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,122 @@
+//! Removing the HTML that survives conversion to markdown.
+
+use std::sync::LazyLock;
+
+use regex::Regex;
+
+/// An opening or closing inline tag.
+///
+/// Converted markdown is full of them: pandoc's commonmark output keeps an
+/// EPUB's styling spans and anchors, and a PDF converter emits anchor spans
+/// and superscript note references. None of it means anything once the page
+/// anchors have been pulled out, and all of it pollutes an embedding, a
+/// full-text index, and every result a reader sees.
+///
+/// Comments are deliberately not matched: `<!-- Page 41 -->` has to survive.
+static TAG: LazyLock<Regex> = LazyLock::new(|| Regex::new(r"</?[A-Za-z][^>]*>").expect("valid"));
+
+/// A tag that stands for a line break rather than for styling.
+static BREAK: LazyLock<Regex> = LazyLock::new(|| Regex::new(r"(?i)<br\s*/?>").expect("valid"));
+
+/// The start of a fenced code block.
+static FENCE: LazyLock<Regex> = LazyLock::new(|| Regex::new(r"^\s*(```|~~~)").expect("valid"));
+
+/// Control characters that must never reach a text column.
+///
+/// A database will reject `0x00` outright. The other C0 controls — tab,
+/// newline and carriage return excepted — are storable and are extraction
+/// garbage: bad scans and malformed PDFs emit them routinely.
+static CONTROL: LazyLock<Regex> =
+    LazyLock::new(|| Regex::new(r"[\x00-\x08\x0b\x0c\x0e-\x1f]").expect("valid"));
+
+/// Three or more newlines, left behind wherever a tag-only line was removed.
+static BLANK_RUN: LazyLock<Regex> = LazyLock::new(|| Regex::new(r"\n{3,}").expect("valid"));
+
+/// Strip inline HTML, keeping the text inside it and the HTML comments.
+///
+/// Fenced code blocks are left alone, so a book that quotes HTML keeps its
+/// examples. `<br>` becomes a line break rather than nothing, because
+/// deleting it welds the words on either side into one — which is a spelling
+/// mistake in the index that no reader can search for.
+pub fn strip_tags(markdown: &str) -> String {
+    let mut out = Vec::new();
+    let mut in_fence = false;
+    for line in markdown.split('\n') {
+        if FENCE.is_match(line) {
+            in_fence = !in_fence;
+            out.push(line.to_string());
+            continue;
+        }
+        if in_fence {
+            out.push(line.to_string());
+        } else {
+            let line = BREAK.replace_all(line, "\n");
+            out.push(TAG.replace_all(&line, "").into_owned());
+        }
+    }
+    out.join("\n")
+}
+
+/// Remove the control characters a text column cannot hold.
+pub fn scrub_control(text: &str) -> String {
+    CONTROL.replace_all(text, "").into_owned()
+}
+
+/// Collapse runs of blank lines to a single blank line.
+pub fn collapse_blank_runs(text: &str) -> String {
+    BLANK_RUN.replace_all(text, "\n\n").into_owned()
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn styling_tags_go_and_their_text_stays() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            strip_tags("<span class=\"c1\">The</span> second <em>estate</em>"),
+            "The second estate"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn html_comments_survive() {
+        assert_eq!(strip_tags("<!-- Page 41 -->"), "<!-- Page 41 -->");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_break_tag_does_not_weld_the_words_either_side_of_it() {
+        assert_eq!(strip_tags("first<br>second"), "first\nsecond");
+        assert_eq!(strip_tags("first<br />second"), "first\nsecond");
+        assert_eq!(strip_tags("first<BR/>second"), "first\nsecond");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn fenced_code_keeps_its_tags() {
+        let markdown = "before <b>x</b>\n\n```html\n<span>kept</span>\n```\n\nafter <b>y</b>";
+        let cleaned = strip_tags(markdown);
+        assert!(cleaned.contains("<span>kept</span>"));
+        assert!(cleaned.contains("before x"));
+        assert!(cleaned.contains("after y"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_tag_split_across_two_lines_is_left_alone() {
+        // Matching per line is what keeps a stray `<` in prose from eating
+        // the rest of the document.
+        let markdown = "a < b and\nc > d";
+        assert_eq!(strip_tags(markdown), markdown);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn control_characters_go_but_tabs_and_newlines_stay() {
+        assert_eq!(scrub_control("a\u{0}b\u{1}c"), "abc");
+        assert_eq!(scrub_control("a\tb\nc\r\n"), "a\tb\nc\r\n");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn blank_line_runs_collapse_to_one() {
+        assert_eq!(collapse_blank_runs("a\n\n\n\n\nb"), "a\n\nb");
+        assert_eq!(collapse_blank_runs("a\n\nb"), "a\n\nb");
+    }
+}
diff --git a/crates/mdscrub/src/lib.rs b/crates/mdscrub/src/lib.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..42a5f2e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/mdscrub/src/lib.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+//! Cleans converted markdown.
+//!
+//! Conversion from a PDF or an EPUB leaves markdown that is readable but not
+//! clean: styling tags that survived, control characters a text column will
+//! reject, headings wrapped in links to their own anchors, and page
+//! boundaries spelled three different ways. None of it means anything
+//! downstream, and all of it ends up in an index.
+//!
+//! The order of the passes matters. Page boundaries are normalised first,
+//! because one of the things that marks a page boundary — a form feed — is
+//! also a control character that the later pass deletes.
+
+pub mod heading;
+pub mod html;
+pub mod pages;
+
+/// Clean a converted markdown document.
+///
+/// Safe to run twice: the second run changes nothing.
+pub fn scrub(markdown: &str) -> String {
+    let text = pages::normalize(markdown);
+    let text = heading::clean_all(&text);
+    let text = heading::anchors_to_markers(&text);
+    let text = html::strip_tags(&text);
+    let text = html::scrub_control(&text);
+    let text = html::collapse_blank_runs(&text);
+    format!("{}\n", text.trim_matches(textkit::is_space))
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_converted_heading_comes_out_readable() {
+        let markdown = "# [<span id=\"page12\"></span>I. The Setting](#ch1) {.unnumbered}";
+        assert_eq!(scrub(markdown), "# I. The Setting\n\n<!-- Page 12 -->\n");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn running_it_twice_changes_nothing() {
+        let markdown = "<!-- Page 3 -->\n\n# The <em>Quarrel</em>\n\n\n\nA <b>mill</b>\u{0} \
+                        stood here.<br>It still does.\n\n<span id=\"page4\"></span>\n\nOn.";
+        let once = scrub(markdown);
+        assert_eq!(scrub(&once), once);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_page_marker_survives_every_pass() {
+        assert!(scrub("<!-- Page 41 -->\n\ntext").contains("<!-- Page 41 -->"));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn the_result_always_ends_in_exactly_one_newline() {
+        for markdown in ["", "text", "text\n\n\n", "  \n"] {
+            let cleaned = scrub(markdown);
+            assert!(cleaned.ends_with('\n'), "{markdown:?}");
+            assert!(!cleaned.ends_with("\n\n"), "{markdown:?}");
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn form_feeds_become_pages_rather_than_disappearing() {
+        // The control-character pass would delete a form feed, so page
+        // normalisation has to happen first or the boundary is lost.
+        let cleaned = scrub("one\u{c}two");
+        assert!(cleaned.contains("<!-- Page 2 -->"), "{cleaned:?}");
+    }
+}
diff --git a/crates/mdscrub/src/main.rs b/crates/mdscrub/src/main.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5630d89
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/mdscrub/src/main.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+//! Cleans converted markdown.
+
+use std::io::{Read, Write};
+use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
+use std::process::ExitCode;
+
+use clap::Parser;
+use corpus_core::exit;
+
+/// Clean converted markdown: drop residual HTML and control characters,
+/// make headings readable, and spell every page boundary the same way.
+///
+/// Reads markdown on stdin, or from a path, and writes it to stdout. Safe to
+/// run twice.
+#[derive(Parser)]
+#[command(
+    version,
+    about,
+    long_about = None,
+    after_help = "\
+Example:
+
+    pandoc -t commonmark book.epub | mdscrub | chunkmd > chunks.ndjson"
+)]
+struct Args {
+    /// Markdown file to read. Reads stdin when absent.
+    path: Option<PathBuf>,
+}
+
+fn main() -> ExitCode {
+    let args = Args::parse();
+
+    let markdown = match read(args.path.as_deref()) {
+        Ok(markdown) => markdown,
+        Err(e) => {
+            eprintln!("mdscrub: {e}");
+            return ExitCode::from(exit::IO);
+        }
+    };
+
+    let cleaned = mdscrub::scrub(&markdown);
+    match std::io::stdout().write_all(cleaned.as_bytes()) {
+        Ok(()) => ExitCode::from(exit::OK),
+        // A consumer that stopped reading is not a failure.
+        Err(e) if e.kind() == std::io::ErrorKind::BrokenPipe => ExitCode::from(exit::OK),
+        Err(e) => {
+            eprintln!("mdscrub: {e}");
+            ExitCode::from(exit::IO)
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+fn read(path: Option<&Path>) -> std::io::Result<String> {
+    match path {
+        Some(path) => std::fs::read_to_string(path),
+        None => {
+            let mut markdown = String::new();
+            std::io::stdin().read_to_string(&mut markdown)?;
+            Ok(markdown)
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/crates/mdscrub/src/pages.rs b/crates/mdscrub/src/pages.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..43f9b7e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/mdscrub/src/pages.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+//! Turning whatever a converter used for page boundaries into one marker.
+
+use std::sync::LazyLock;
+
+use regex::Regex;
+
+/// The separator a paginating PDF converter writes between pages, like
+/// `{0}------------------------------`. Its numbering is zero-based.
+static SEPARATOR: LazyLock<Regex> =
+    LazyLock::new(|| Regex::new(r"\{(\d+)\}-{20,}[^\S\n]*\n").expect("a valid pattern"));
+
+/// A form feed, which is what a plain text extractor leaves between pages.
+const FORM_FEED: char = '\u{c}';
+
+/// Rewrite page boundaries as `<!-- Page N -->` markers.
+///
+/// Separators first, then form feeds, and text with neither is returned
+/// unchanged — a cleanup pass has to be safe to run twice, and inventing a
+/// page marker for a document that has none would not be.
+pub fn normalize(text: &str) -> String {
+    if SEPARATOR.is_match(text) {
+        return from_separators(text);
+    }
+    if text.contains(FORM_FEED) {
+        return from_form_feeds(text);
+    }
+    text.to_string()
+}
+
+fn from_separators(text: &str) -> String {
+    let mut pages: Vec<String> = Vec::new();
+    let mut at = 0;
+    let mut number = 1;
+
+    for found in SEPARATOR.captures_iter(text) {
+        let whole = found.get(0).expect("group 0");
+        let before = trim(&text[at..whole.start()]);
+        if !before.is_empty() {
+            pages.push(format!("<!-- Page {number} -->\n\n{before}"));
+        }
+        // The separator carries the number of the page it *ends*, counted
+        // from zero, so the page that follows it is that number plus one.
+        number = textkit::decimal(&found[1]).saturating_add(1);
+        at = whole.end();
+    }
+
+    let last = trim(&text[at..]);
+    if !last.is_empty() {
+        pages.push(format!("<!-- Page {number} -->\n\n{last}"));
+    }
+    pages.join("\n\n")
+}
+
+fn from_form_feeds(text: &str) -> String {
+    text.split(FORM_FEED)
+        .map(trim)
+        .enumerate()
+        .filter(|(_, page)| !page.is_empty())
+        .map(|(at, page)| format!("<!-- Page {} -->\n\n{page}", at + 1))
+        .collect::<Vec<_>>()
+        .join("\n\n")
+}
+
+fn trim(text: &str) -> &str {
+    text.trim_matches(textkit::is_space)
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn separators_become_markers_numbered_from_one() {
+        let text = "first page\n{0}------------------------------\nsecond page\n\
+                    {1}------------------------------\nthird page";
+        assert_eq!(
+            normalize(text),
+            "<!-- Page 1 -->\n\nfirst page\n\n\
+             <!-- Page 1 -->\n\nsecond page\n\n\
+             <!-- Page 2 -->\n\nthird page"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn form_feeds_become_markers() {
+        let text = "one\u{c}two\u{c}three";
+        assert_eq!(
+            normalize(text),
+            "<!-- Page 1 -->\n\none\n\n<!-- Page 2 -->\n\ntwo\n\n<!-- Page 3 -->\n\nthree"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn an_empty_page_is_dropped_and_the_numbering_carries_on() {
+        assert_eq!(
+            normalize("one\u{c}\u{c}three"),
+            "<!-- Page 1 -->\n\none\n\n<!-- Page 3 -->\n\nthree"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn text_with_no_page_boundaries_is_left_exactly_as_it_was() {
+        let text = "# A Heading\n\nSome prose, with no pagination at all.\n";
+        assert_eq!(normalize(text), text);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_short_dash_run_is_not_a_separator() {
+        let text = "before\n{0}-----\nafter";
+        assert_eq!(normalize(text), text);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/crates/textkit/src/lib.rs b/crates/textkit/src/lib.rs
index dbcbe9f..21cffcf 100644
--- a/crates/textkit/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/textkit/src/lib.rs
@@ -10,8 +10,10 @@
 //! chunk ends and a chunk boundary that moves is a chunk that no longer
 //! matches what is already in an index.
 
+pub mod number;
 pub mod segment;
 pub mod tokens;
 
+pub use number::decimal;
 pub use segment::{is_space, paragraphs, sentences};
 pub use tokens::{count, decode_lossy, encode, split_at_token_limit};
diff --git a/crates/textkit/src/number.rs b/crates/textkit/src/number.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7711f91
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/textkit/src/number.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+//! Reading numbers out of text the way Python reads them.
+
+/// The value of a run of decimal digits, Unicode included.
+///
+/// Digits are matched by the Unicode class in the patterns these tools port,
+/// and Python's `int()` accepts every decimal digit, not just the ASCII ones
+/// — so `page٤٢` is page forty-two there and has to be here too. Non-digits
+/// are skipped, and a number too large for the field saturates rather than
+/// wrapping.
+pub fn decimal(text: &str) -> u32 {
+    let mut value: u32 = 0;
+    for digit in text.chars().filter_map(digit_value) {
+        value = value.saturating_mul(10).saturating_add(digit);
+    }
+    value
+}
+
+/// What one decimal digit is worth, in any script.
+///
+/// [`char::to_digit`] knows only the ASCII digits. Every Unicode decimal
+/// block, though, runs zero to nine in consecutive codepoints, so counting
+/// back to the first non-digit gives the value without a lookup table.
+fn digit_value(c: char) -> Option<u32> {
+    if let Some(digit) = c.to_digit(10) {
+        return Some(digit);
+    }
+    if !c.is_numeric() {
+        return None;
+    }
+    let code = c as u32;
+    let mut value = 9;
+    for back in 1..=9 {
+        let previous = code.checked_sub(back).and_then(char::from_u32);
+        match previous {
+            Some(previous) if previous.is_numeric() => continue,
+            _ => {
+                value = back - 1;
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    // Confirm it really is a run of ten. Fractions and the other numeric
+    // characters sit in short runs, and would otherwise be read as digits:
+    // `½` follows `¼`, which would make it a one.
+    let zero = code - value;
+    let ten = (zero..zero + 10).all(|code| char::from_u32(code).is_some_and(char::is_numeric));
+    ten.then_some(value)
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn ascii_digits_read_as_themselves() {
+        assert_eq!(decimal("<!-- Page 412 -->"), 412);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn other_decimal_digits_read_too() {
+        assert_eq!(decimal("٤٢"), 42);
+        assert_eq!(decimal("４２"), 42);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn every_digit_of_a_script_is_worth_what_it_looks_like() {
+        for (zero, name) in [('\u{660}', "arabic-indic"), ('\u{ff10}', "fullwidth")] {
+            for offset in 0..10u32 {
+                let digit = char::from_u32(zero as u32 + offset).expect("a digit");
+                assert_eq!(digit_value(digit), Some(offset), "{name} {digit}");
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_character_that_is_not_a_digit_is_worth_nothing() {
+        for c in ['x', ' ', '-', '½'] {
+            assert_eq!(digit_value(c), None, "{c}");
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn nothing_reads_as_zero() {
+        assert_eq!(decimal("page"), 0);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn an_absurd_number_saturates_rather_than_wrapping() {
+        assert_eq!(decimal(&"9".repeat(40)), u32::MAX);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/parity/Cargo.toml b/parity/Cargo.toml
index a5a534f..88ba7bc 100644
--- a/parity/Cargo.toml
+++ b/parity/Cargo.toml
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ python = []
 
 [dependencies]
 chunkmd.workspace = true
+mdscrub.workspace = true
 corpus-core.workspace = true
 serde_json.workspace = true
 textkit.workspace = true
diff --git a/parity/KNOWN.md b/parity/KNOWN.md
index aea0ade..4f2d642 100644
--- a/parity/KNOWN.md
+++ b/parity/KNOWN.md
@@ -18,4 +18,65 @@ affected and how often it occurs in practice.
 
 ---
 
-None recorded yet.
+## mdscrub — a line-break tag becomes a line break, not nothing
+
+**Python:** `strip_residual_html` removes every inline tag, `<br>` included,
+so `the<br>northern end` becomes `thenorthern end`.
+
+**Rust:** `<br>`, `<br/>` and `<br />` become a newline; every other tag is
+still removed.
+
+**Why this is acceptable:** the welded word is not a formatting difference,
+it is a word that does not exist. It cannot be searched for, it embeds as a
+token sequence no query will produce, and it is invisible in a result because
+the surrounding sentence reads normally. The divergence only affects
+documents that use `<br>` at all — mostly verse, addresses and tables of
+contents converted out of HTML — and within those, only the joins.
+
+**Measured:** `parity/cases/mdscrub/breaks.md`; both answers are committed as
+`golden/mdscrub/breaks.md` and `golden/mdscrub/breaks.rust.md`. Three welds
+in eight lines.
+
+## mdscrub — un-paginated text is not given a page 1 marker
+
+**Python:** `_normalize_marker_pages` ends by wrapping any text it found no
+pagination in as `<!-- Page 1 -->\n\n…`, so that downstream can assume a
+marker exists.
+
+**Rust:** text with no page separators and no form feeds is returned
+unchanged.
+
+**Why this is acceptable:** a cleanup filter has to be safe to run twice, and
+the Python's version is not — a second pass wraps the first pass's marker in
+another one. The assumption it exists to serve belongs to the converter that
+knows it just read a PDF, not to a filter that is handed markdown of unknown
+provenance. The chunker already handles a document with no page markers by
+emitting chunks with no page number, which is the honest answer.
+
+**Measured:** not exercised by any parity case, since the Python function is
+only reachable from the PDF conversion path. Covered by
+`mdscrub::pages::tests::text_with_no_page_boundaries_is_left_exactly_as_it_was`.
+
+## chunkmd, role and footnote patterns — `\s` excludes four control characters
+
+**Python:** `\s` in a `str` pattern matches the Unicode `White_Space`
+property *and* `U+001C`–`U+001F`, the four ASCII information separators.
+
+**Rust:** `regex` and `fancy-regex` match the `White_Space` property only, so
+those four characters are not whitespace to a ported pattern.
+
+**Why this is acceptable:** every one of those codepoints is deleted by
+`mdscrub` before a chunker sees it — they fall inside the control-character
+class that a text column rejects. For the pattern to behave differently, a
+document would have to reach `chunkmd` without having been cleaned, and carry
+an information separator in exactly the position where a pattern expects
+whitespace.
+
+Note that this does **not** apply to the sentence and paragraph splitters in
+`textkit`, which match Python's definition exactly — see
+`textkit::segment::is_space`. Those decide chunk boundaries, so the four
+characters are handled there rather than argued about.
+
+**Measured:** zero differences over the parity corpus; the sample in
+`parity/src/sample.rs` includes `U+001C` deliberately and the token counts
+agree over all ten thousand lines.
diff --git a/parity/cases/mdscrub/anchors.md b/parity/cases/mdscrub/anchors.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fba6111
--- /dev/null
+++ b/parity/cases/mdscrub/anchors.md
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+# <span id="page12"></span>The Quarrel
+
+The mill stood at the northern end of the valley.
+
+<span id="page13"></span>
+
+Two miles downstream the abbey had built its own.
+
+## <a id="page-14"></a>
+
+Text under a heading that was nothing but an anchor.
diff --git a/parity/cases/mdscrub/blanks.md b/parity/cases/mdscrub/blanks.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..14396fc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/parity/cases/mdscrub/blanks.md
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+First paragraph.
+
+
+
+
+Second paragraph after four blank lines.
+
+<span class="only-a-tag"></span>
+
+Third paragraph after a line that was nothing but a tag.
diff --git a/parity/cases/mdscrub/breaks.md b/parity/cases/mdscrub/breaks.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..613cad4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/parity/cases/mdscrub/breaks.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+The address was set with explicit line breaks:<br>Twelve Mill Lane<br/>The
+Valley<br />and the county beyond.
+
+A second paragraph, where the break sits mid sentence — the mill stood at
+the<br>northern end of the valley, where the fall was steepest.
diff --git a/parity/cases/mdscrub/control.md b/parity/cases/mdscrub/control.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e1629d7
Binary files /dev/null and b/parity/cases/mdscrub/control.md differ
diff --git a/parity/cases/mdscrub/fenced.md b/parity/cases/mdscrub/fenced.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b6773f2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/parity/cases/mdscrub/fenced.md
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+Ordinary <em>prose</em> before the fence.
+
+```html
+<span class="kept">This is an example and must survive.</span>
+<a href="#x">So must this.</a>
+```
+
+Ordinary <b>prose</b> after the fence.
+
+~~~xml
+<note epub:type="footnote">Also kept.</note>
+~~~
+
+The end <i>of it</i>.
diff --git a/parity/cases/mdscrub/headings.md b/parity/cases/mdscrub/headings.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..91f0aa1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/parity/cases/mdscrub/headings.md
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+# [I. The Setting](#ch1) {.unnumbered}
+
+## [The Quarrel]{.chapter-title}
+
+### **THE SETTLEMENT**
+
+#### <span class="head">A   Spaced   Heading</span>
+
+#not a heading
+
+Body text follows, and is left alone apart from its tags.
diff --git a/parity/cases/mdscrub/mixed.md b/parity/cases/mdscrub/mixed.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..11834d8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/parity/cases/mdscrub/mixed.md
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+# [<span id="page3"></span>III. The Second Estate](#ch3)
+
+The obligation ran <em>both ways</em>, and contemporaries said so plainly
+whenever they were asked.<a href="#n4"><sup>4</sup></a>
+
+<span id="page4"></span>
+
+What the rolls do not say is how often the obligation was tested.
+
+## [Notes]{.section-title}
+
+4. Bloch, *Feudal Society*, vol. 2, p. 17.
diff --git a/parity/cases/mdscrub/tags.md b/parity/cases/mdscrub/tags.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..23a199d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/parity/cases/mdscrub/tags.md
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+<span class="class_s28E">The</span> second <em>estate</em> held its land in
+exchange for <strong>service</strong>, and the service was
+<a href="#n1"><sup>1</sup></a> military.
+
+<div class="section">
+
+A paragraph inside a div that means nothing once the styling is gone.
+
+</div>
+
+Text with an angle bracket in it: a < b and c > d, which is not a tag.
diff --git a/parity/golden/mdscrub/anchors.md b/parity/golden/mdscrub/anchors.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f29f5cf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/parity/golden/mdscrub/anchors.md
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+# The Quarrel
+
+<!-- Page 12 -->
+
+The mill stood at the northern end of the valley.
+
+<!-- Page 13 -->
+
+Two miles downstream the abbey had built its own.
+
+<!-- Page 14 -->
+
+Text under a heading that was nothing but an anchor.
diff --git a/parity/golden/mdscrub/blanks.md b/parity/golden/mdscrub/blanks.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7ca6888
--- /dev/null
+++ b/parity/golden/mdscrub/blanks.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+First paragraph.
+
+Second paragraph after four blank lines.
+
+Third paragraph after a line that was nothing but a tag.
diff --git a/parity/golden/mdscrub/breaks.md b/parity/golden/mdscrub/breaks.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a56d84c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/parity/golden/mdscrub/breaks.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+The address was set with explicit line breaks:Twelve Mill LaneThe
+Valleyand the county beyond.
+
+A second paragraph, where the break sits mid sentence — the mill stood at
+thenorthern end of the valley, where the fall was steepest.
diff --git a/parity/golden/mdscrub/breaks.rust.md b/parity/golden/mdscrub/breaks.rust.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8aad06f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/parity/golden/mdscrub/breaks.rust.md
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+The address was set with explicit line breaks:
+Twelve Mill Lane
+The
+Valley
+and the county beyond.
+
+A second paragraph, where the break sits mid sentence — the mill stood at
+the
+northern end of the valley, where the fall was steepest.
diff --git a/parity/golden/mdscrub/control.md b/parity/golden/mdscrub/control.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0d8859b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/parity/golden/mdscrub/control.md
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+Text with a null and a vertical tab and a shift-out in it.
+
+A second paragraph, clean.
diff --git a/parity/golden/mdscrub/fenced.md b/parity/golden/mdscrub/fenced.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dbc3a18
--- /dev/null
+++ b/parity/golden/mdscrub/fenced.md
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+Ordinary prose before the fence.
+
+```html
+<span class="kept">This is an example and must survive.</span>
+<a href="#x">So must this.</a>
+```
+
+Ordinary prose after the fence.
+
+~~~xml
+<note epub:type="footnote">Also kept.</note>
+~~~
+
+The end of it.
diff --git a/parity/golden/mdscrub/headings.md b/parity/golden/mdscrub/headings.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8107005
--- /dev/null
+++ b/parity/golden/mdscrub/headings.md
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+# I. The Setting
+
+## The Quarrel
+
+### THE SETTLEMENT
+
+#### A Spaced Heading
+
+#not a heading
+
+Body text follows, and is left alone apart from its tags.
diff --git a/parity/golden/mdscrub/mixed.md b/parity/golden/mdscrub/mixed.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7ffac53
--- /dev/null
+++ b/parity/golden/mdscrub/mixed.md
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+# III. The Second Estate
+
+<!-- Page 3 -->
+
+The obligation ran both ways, and contemporaries said so plainly
+whenever they were asked.4
+
+<!-- Page 4 -->
+
+What the rolls do not say is how often the obligation was tested.
+
+## Notes
+
+4. Bloch, *Feudal Society*, vol. 2, p. 17.
diff --git a/parity/golden/mdscrub/tags.md b/parity/golden/mdscrub/tags.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9a2e256
--- /dev/null
+++ b/parity/golden/mdscrub/tags.md
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+The second estate held its land in
+exchange for service, and the service was
+1 military.
+
+A paragraph inside a div that means nothing once the styling is gone.
+
+Text with an angle bracket in it: a < b and c > d, which is not a tag.
diff --git a/parity/oracle/mdscrub.py b/parity/oracle/mdscrub.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0a058c7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/parity/oracle/mdscrub.py
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+"""Clean converted markdown the way the Python pipeline does.
+
+Reads markdown on stdin, writes the cleaned markdown on stdout.
+
+    CATENA_PARITY_PYTHONPATH=/path/to/book-pipeline/src \
+        python3 oracle/mdscrub.py < case.md
+"""
+
+import os
+import sys
+
+for path in os.environ.get("CATENA_PARITY_PYTHONPATH", "").split(os.pathsep):
+    if path:
+        sys.path.insert(0, path)
+
+from book_pipeline.convert import _epub_postprocess  # noqa: E402
+
+
+def main() -> int:
+    markdown = sys.stdin.buffer.read().decode("utf-8")
+    sys.stdout.write(_epub_postprocess(markdown))
+    return 0
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    raise SystemExit(main())
diff --git a/parity/src/bin/regen.rs b/parity/src/bin/regen.rs
index 40f0a63..014e5bd 100644
--- a/parity/src/bin/regen.rs
+++ b/parity/src/bin/regen.rs
@@ -19,7 +19,11 @@ type Written = Result<Vec<String>, String>;
 type Job = (&'static str, fn() -> Written);
 
 fn main() -> ExitCode {
-    let jobs: [Job; 2] = [("tokens", tokens), ("chunkmd", chunkmd)];
+    let jobs: [Job; 3] = [
+        ("tokens", tokens),
+        ("chunkmd", chunkmd),
+        ("mdscrub", mdscrub),
+    ];
 
     for (name, job) in jobs {
         match job() {
@@ -50,6 +54,31 @@ fn tokens() -> Written {
     Ok(vec![path.display().to_string()])
 }
 
+fn mdscrub() -> Written {
+    let dir = parity::golden("mdscrub");
+    std::fs::create_dir_all(&dir).map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
+
+    let mut written = Vec::new();
+    for case in parity::cases("mdscrub") {
+        let markdown = std::fs::read_to_string(&case).map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
+        let name = parity::case_name(&case);
+        let cleaned = parity::run_oracle("mdscrub.py", &markdown)?;
+        let path = dir.join(format!("{name}.md"));
+        std::fs::write(&path, cleaned).map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
+        written.push(path.display().to_string());
+
+        // Where the Rust deliberately differs, its own answer is committed
+        // too, so the difference is visible in a review rather than only in
+        // a test failure. See parity/KNOWN.md.
+        if parity::DIVERGENT_MDSCRUB.contains(&name.as_str()) {
+            let path = dir.join(format!("{name}.rust.md"));
+            std::fs::write(&path, ::mdscrub::scrub(&markdown)).map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
+            written.push(path.display().to_string());
+        }
+    }
+    Ok(written)
+}
+
 fn chunkmd() -> Written {
     let dir = parity::golden("chunkmd");
     std::fs::create_dir_all(&dir).map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;
diff --git a/parity/src/lib.rs b/parity/src/lib.rs
index a7bace8..2016033 100644
--- a/parity/src/lib.rs
+++ b/parity/src/lib.rs
@@ -83,6 +83,10 @@ pub fn run_oracle_with(script: &str, args: &[String], input: &str) -> Result<Str
         .map_err(|e| format!("{} wrote invalid UTF-8: {e}", script.display()))
 }
 
+/// Cases where `mdscrub` is meant to differ from the Python, each one
+/// argued for in `KNOWN.md`.
+pub const DIVERGENT_MDSCRUB: &[&str] = &["breaks"];
+
 /// Every case file for a tool, in a fixed order.
 pub fn cases(tool: &str) -> Vec<PathBuf> {
     let dir = dir().join("cases").join(tool);
diff --git a/parity/tests/mdscrub.rs b/parity/tests/mdscrub.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..39483ed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/parity/tests/mdscrub.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+//! Cleaned markdown must match the Python byte for byte, except where the
+//! Rust is meant to differ — and there, the difference must be exactly the
+//! one that was argued for.
+
+fn case_text(case: &std::path::Path) -> String {
+    std::fs::read_to_string(case).expect("a readable case")
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn every_case_cleans_the_same_as_python() {
+    let cases = parity::cases("mdscrub");
+    assert!(!cases.is_empty(), "no cases found");
+
+    for case in cases {
+        let name = parity::case_name(&case);
+        if parity::DIVERGENT_MDSCRUB.contains(&name.as_str()) {
+            continue;
+        }
+        let ours = mdscrub::scrub(&case_text(&case));
+        let theirs = parity::read_golden_text(&format!("mdscrub/{name}.md"));
+        assert_eq!(ours, theirs, "{name} differs from the python");
+    }
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn the_documented_divergences_are_exactly_what_was_argued_for() {
+    for name in parity::DIVERGENT_MDSCRUB {
+        let case = parity::dir()
+            .join("cases/mdscrub")
+            .join(format!("{name}.md"));
+        let ours = mdscrub::scrub(&case_text(&case));
+        let theirs = parity::read_golden_text(&format!("mdscrub/{name}.md"));
+        assert_ne!(ours, theirs, "{name} no longer diverges — update KNOWN.md");
+        assert_eq!(
+            ours,
+            parity::read_golden_text(&format!("mdscrub/{name}.rust.md")),
+            "{name} diverges differently than recorded"
+        );
+    }
+}
+
+/// The one thing the divergence exists to prevent.
+#[test]
+fn a_line_break_tag_never_welds_two_words_together() {
+    let cleaned = mdscrub::scrub("the mill stood at the<br>northern end");
+    assert!(!cleaned.contains("thenorthern"), "{cleaned:?}");
+}
+
+/// Catches a golden file drifting away from a Python that has moved on.
+#[test]
+#[cfg(feature = "python")]
+fn the_golden_files_still_match_live_python() {
+    for case in parity::cases("mdscrub") {
+        let name = parity::case_name(&case);
+        let live = parity::run_oracle("mdscrub.py", &case_text(&case)).expect("the oracle runs");
+        let golden = parity::read_golden_text(&format!("mdscrub/{name}.md"));
+        assert_eq!(live, golden, "golden file for {name} is stale");
+    }
+}