diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index a83d6f3591..b5f465071d 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@ notifications:
   email:
   - mail@zzak.io
 rvm:
-  - 1.8.7
   - 1.9.3
   - 2.0.0
   - 2.1.10
diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.rdoc b/CONTRIBUTING.rdoc
index 0aaff642b2..8cdbc7abe4 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.rdoc
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.rdoc
@@ -22,9 +22,11 @@ issues:
 
 == Developer Quick Start
 
-RDoc uses hoe for development.  To get ready to work on RDoc run:
+RDoc uses bundler for development.  To get ready to work on RDoc run:
 
-  $ gem install hoe
+  $ gem install bundler
+  [...]
+  $ bundle install
   [...]
   $ rake
   [...]
@@ -216,4 +218,3 @@ To register the parser with rdoc, add the markup type's name and class to the
 RDoc::Text::MARKUP_FORMAT hash like:
 
   RDoc::Text::MARKUP_FORMAT['rdoc'] = RDoc::Markup
-
diff --git a/History.rdoc b/History.rdoc
index 18764b0f95..8b17d2fb54 100644
--- a/History.rdoc
+++ b/History.rdoc
@@ -1,4 +1,7 @@
-=== 4.2.3 / 2016-??-??
+=== 5.0.0 / 2016-??-??
+
+* Major enhancements
+  * Drop to support Ruby 1.8
 
 * Bug fixes
   * Ensure badge data is included in result of JsonIndex template.
diff --git a/Manifest.txt b/Manifest.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index 9dcceea56b..0000000000
--- a/Manifest.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,309 +0,0 @@
-.autotest
-.document
-CONTRIBUTING.rdoc
-CVE-2013-0256.rdoc
-ExampleMarkdown.md
-ExampleRDoc.rdoc
-History.rdoc
-LEGAL.rdoc
-LICENSE.rdoc
-Manifest.txt
-README.rdoc
-RI.rdoc
-Rakefile
-TODO.rdoc
-bin/rdoc
-bin/ri
-lib/gauntlet_rdoc.rb
-lib/rdoc.rb
-lib/rdoc/alias.rb
-lib/rdoc/anon_class.rb
-lib/rdoc/any_method.rb
-lib/rdoc/attr.rb
-lib/rdoc/class_module.rb
-lib/rdoc/code_object.rb
-lib/rdoc/code_objects.rb
-lib/rdoc/comment.rb
-lib/rdoc/constant.rb
-lib/rdoc/context.rb
-lib/rdoc/context/section.rb
-lib/rdoc/cross_reference.rb
-lib/rdoc/encoding.rb
-lib/rdoc/erb_partial.rb
-lib/rdoc/erbio.rb
-lib/rdoc/extend.rb
-lib/rdoc/generator.rb
-lib/rdoc/generator/darkfish.rb
-lib/rdoc/generator/json_index.rb
-lib/rdoc/generator/markup.rb
-lib/rdoc/generator/ri.rb
-lib/rdoc/generator/pot.rb
-lib/rdoc/generator/pot/message_extractor.rb
-lib/rdoc/generator/pot/po.rb
-lib/rdoc/generator/pot/po_entry.rb
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/.document
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/_footer.rhtml
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/_head.rhtml
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/_sidebar_VCS_info.rhtml
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/_sidebar_classes.rhtml
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/_sidebar_extends.rhtml
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/_sidebar_in_files.rhtml
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/_sidebar_includes.rhtml
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/_sidebar_installed.rhtml
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/_sidebar_methods.rhtml
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/_sidebar_navigation.rhtml
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/_sidebar_pages.rhtml
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/_sidebar_parent.rhtml
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/_sidebar_search.rhtml
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/_sidebar_sections.rhtml
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/_sidebar_table_of_contents.rhtml
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/class.rhtml
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/css/fonts.css
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/fonts/Lato-Light.ttf
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/fonts/Lato-LightItalic.ttf
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/fonts/Lato-Regular.ttf
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/fonts/Lato-RegularItalic.ttf
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/fonts/SourceCodePro-Bold.ttf
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/fonts/SourceCodePro-Regular.ttf
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/images/add.png
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/images/arrow_up.png
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/images/brick.png
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/images/brick_link.png
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/images/bug.png
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/images/bullet_black.png
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/images/bullet_toggle_minus.png
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/images/bullet_toggle_plus.png
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/images/date.png
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/images/delete.png
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/images/find.png
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/images/loadingAnimation.gif
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/images/macFFBgHack.png
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/images/package.png
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/images/page_green.png
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/images/page_white_text.png
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/images/page_white_width.png
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/images/plugin.png
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/images/ruby.png
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/images/tag_blue.png
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/images/tag_green.png
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/images/transparent.png
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/images/wrench.png
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/images/wrench_orange.png
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/images/zoom.png
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/index.rhtml
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/js/darkfish.js
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/js/jquery.js
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/js/search.js
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/page.rhtml
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/css/rdoc.css
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/servlet_not_found.rhtml
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/servlet_root.rhtml
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/darkfish/table_of_contents.rhtml
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/json_index/.document
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/json_index/js/navigation.js
-lib/rdoc/generator/template/json_index/js/searcher.js
-lib/rdoc/ghost_method.rb
-lib/rdoc/i18n.rb
-lib/rdoc/i18n/locale.rb
-lib/rdoc/i18n/text.rb
-lib/rdoc/include.rb
-lib/rdoc/known_classes.rb
-lib/rdoc/markdown.kpeg
-lib/rdoc/markdown.rb
-lib/rdoc/markdown/entities.rb
-lib/rdoc/markdown/literals_1_8.kpeg
-lib/rdoc/markdown/literals_1_8.rb
-lib/rdoc/markdown/literals_1_9.kpeg
-lib/rdoc/markdown/literals_1_9.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/attr_changer.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/attr_span.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/attribute_manager.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/attributes.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/blank_line.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/block_quote.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/document.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/formatter.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/formatter_test_case.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/hard_break.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/heading.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/include.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/indented_paragraph.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/inline.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/list.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/list_item.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/paragraph.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/parser.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/pre_process.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/raw.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/rule.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/special.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/text_formatter_test_case.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/to_ansi.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/to_bs.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/to_html.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/to_html_crossref.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/to_html_snippet.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/to_joined_paragraph.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/to_label.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/to_markdown.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/to_rdoc.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/to_table_of_contents.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/to_test.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/to_tt_only.rb
-lib/rdoc/markup/verbatim.rb
-lib/rdoc/meta_method.rb
-lib/rdoc/method_attr.rb
-lib/rdoc/mixin.rb
-lib/rdoc/normal_class.rb
-lib/rdoc/normal_module.rb
-lib/rdoc/options.rb
-lib/rdoc/parser.rb
-lib/rdoc/parser/c.rb
-lib/rdoc/parser/changelog.rb
-lib/rdoc/parser/markdown.rb
-lib/rdoc/parser/rd.rb
-lib/rdoc/parser/ruby.rb
-lib/rdoc/parser/ruby_tools.rb
-lib/rdoc/parser/simple.rb
-lib/rdoc/parser/text.rb
-lib/rdoc/rd.rb
-lib/rdoc/rd/block_parser.rb
-lib/rdoc/rd/block_parser.ry
-lib/rdoc/rd/inline.rb
-lib/rdoc/rd/inline_parser.rb
-lib/rdoc/rd/inline_parser.ry
-lib/rdoc/rdoc.rb
-lib/rdoc/require.rb
-lib/rdoc/ri.rb
-lib/rdoc/ri/driver.rb
-lib/rdoc/ri/formatter.rb
-lib/rdoc/ri/paths.rb
-lib/rdoc/ri/store.rb
-lib/rdoc/ruby_lex.rb
-lib/rdoc/ruby_token.rb
-lib/rdoc/rubygems_hook.rb
-lib/rdoc/servlet.rb
-lib/rdoc/single_class.rb
-lib/rdoc/stats.rb
-lib/rdoc/stats/normal.rb
-lib/rdoc/stats/quiet.rb
-lib/rdoc/stats/verbose.rb
-lib/rdoc/store.rb
-lib/rdoc/task.rb
-lib/rdoc/test_case.rb
-lib/rdoc/text.rb
-lib/rdoc/token_stream.rb
-lib/rdoc/tom_doc.rb
-lib/rdoc/top_level.rb
-test/MarkdownTest_1.0.3/Amps and angle encoding.text
-test/MarkdownTest_1.0.3/Auto links.text
-test/MarkdownTest_1.0.3/Backslash escapes.text
-test/MarkdownTest_1.0.3/Blockquotes with code blocks.text
-test/MarkdownTest_1.0.3/Code Blocks.text
-test/MarkdownTest_1.0.3/Code Spans.text
-test/MarkdownTest_1.0.3/Hard-wrapped paragraphs with list-like lines.text
-test/MarkdownTest_1.0.3/Horizontal rules.text
-test/MarkdownTest_1.0.3/Inline HTML (Advanced).text
-test/MarkdownTest_1.0.3/Inline HTML (Simple).text
-test/MarkdownTest_1.0.3/Inline HTML comments.text
-test/MarkdownTest_1.0.3/Links, inline style.text
-test/MarkdownTest_1.0.3/Links, reference style.text
-test/MarkdownTest_1.0.3/Links, shortcut references.text
-test/MarkdownTest_1.0.3/Literal quotes in titles.text
-test/MarkdownTest_1.0.3/Markdown Documentation - Basics.text
-test/MarkdownTest_1.0.3/Markdown Documentation - Syntax.text
-test/MarkdownTest_1.0.3/Nested blockquotes.text
-test/MarkdownTest_1.0.3/Ordered and unordered lists.text
-test/MarkdownTest_1.0.3/Strong and em together.text
-test/MarkdownTest_1.0.3/Tabs.text
-test/MarkdownTest_1.0.3/Tidyness.text
-test/README
-test/binary.dat
-test/hidden.zip.txt
-test/test.ja.largedoc
-test/test.ja.rdoc
-test/test.ja.txt
-test/test.txt
-test/test_rdoc_alias.rb
-test/test_rdoc_any_method.rb
-test/test_rdoc_attr.rb
-test/test_rdoc_class_module.rb
-test/test_rdoc_code_object.rb
-test/test_rdoc_comment.rb
-test/test_rdoc_constant.rb
-test/test_rdoc_context.rb
-test/test_rdoc_context_section.rb
-test/test_rdoc_cross_reference.rb
-test/test_rdoc_encoding.rb
-test/test_rdoc_extend.rb
-test/test_rdoc_generator_darkfish.rb
-test/test_rdoc_generator_json_index.rb
-test/test_rdoc_generator_markup.rb
-test/test_rdoc_generator_ri.rb
-test/test_rdoc_generator_pot.rb
-test/test_rdoc_generator_pot_po.rb
-test/test_rdoc_generator_pot_po_entry.rb
-test/test_rdoc_i18n_locale.rb
-test/test_rdoc_i18n_text.rb
-test/test_rdoc_include.rb
-test/test_rdoc_markdown.rb
-test/test_rdoc_markdown_test.rb
-test/test_rdoc_markup.rb
-test/test_rdoc_markup_attribute_manager.rb
-test/test_rdoc_markup_attributes.rb
-test/test_rdoc_markup_document.rb
-test/test_rdoc_markup_formatter.rb
-test/test_rdoc_markup_hard_break.rb
-test/test_rdoc_markup_heading.rb
-test/test_rdoc_markup_include.rb
-test/test_rdoc_markup_indented_paragraph.rb
-test/test_rdoc_markup_paragraph.rb
-test/test_rdoc_markup_parser.rb
-test/test_rdoc_markup_pre_process.rb
-test/test_rdoc_markup_raw.rb
-test/test_rdoc_markup_to_ansi.rb
-test/test_rdoc_markup_to_bs.rb
-test/test_rdoc_markup_to_html.rb
-test/test_rdoc_markup_to_html_crossref.rb
-test/test_rdoc_markup_to_html_snippet.rb
-test/test_rdoc_markup_to_joined_paragraph.rb
-test/test_rdoc_markup_to_label.rb
-test/test_rdoc_markup_to_markdown.rb
-test/test_rdoc_markup_to_rdoc.rb
-test/test_rdoc_markup_to_table_of_contents.rb
-test/test_rdoc_markup_to_tt_only.rb
-test/test_rdoc_markup_verbatim.rb
-test/test_rdoc_method_attr.rb
-test/test_rdoc_normal_class.rb
-test/test_rdoc_normal_module.rb
-test/test_rdoc_options.rb
-test/test_rdoc_parser.rb
-test/test_rdoc_parser_c.rb
-test/test_rdoc_parser_changelog.rb
-test/test_rdoc_parser_markdown.rb
-test/test_rdoc_parser_rd.rb
-test/test_rdoc_parser_ruby.rb
-test/test_rdoc_parser_simple.rb
-test/test_rdoc_rd.rb
-test/test_rdoc_rd_block_parser.rb
-test/test_rdoc_rd_inline.rb
-test/test_rdoc_rd_inline_parser.rb
-test/test_rdoc_rdoc.rb
-test/test_rdoc_require.rb
-test/test_rdoc_ri_driver.rb
-test/test_rdoc_ri_paths.rb
-test/test_rdoc_ruby_lex.rb
-test/test_rdoc_ruby_token.rb
-test/test_rdoc_rubygems_hook.rb
-test/test_rdoc_servlet.rb
-test/test_rdoc_single_class.rb
-test/test_rdoc_stats.rb
-test/test_rdoc_store.rb
-test/test_rdoc_task.rb
-test/test_rdoc_text.rb
-test/test_rdoc_token_stream.rb
-test/test_rdoc_tom_doc.rb
-test/test_rdoc_top_level.rb
-test/xref_data.rb
-test/xref_test_case.rb
diff --git a/Rakefile b/Rakefile
index 3c4bba8220..67f944708e 100644
--- a/Rakefile
+++ b/Rakefile
@@ -12,8 +12,7 @@ PARSER_FILES = %w[
   lib/rdoc/rd/block_parser.ry
   lib/rdoc/rd/inline_parser.ry
   lib/rdoc/markdown.kpeg
-  lib/rdoc/markdown/literals_1_8.kpeg
-  lib/rdoc/markdown/literals_1_9.kpeg
+  lib/rdoc/markdown/literals.kpeg
 ]
 
 $rdoc_rakefile = true
diff --git a/bin/console b/bin/console
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..c5ee285473
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/console
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env ruby
+
+require "bundler/setup"
+require "rdoc"
+
+require "irb"
+IRB.start
diff --git a/bin/setup b/bin/setup
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..cf4ad25e19
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/setup
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -euo pipefail
+IFS=$'\n\t'
+set -vx
+
+bundle install
diff --git a/bin/rdoc b/exe/rdoc
similarity index 100%
rename from bin/rdoc
rename to exe/rdoc
diff --git a/bin/ri b/exe/ri
similarity index 100%
rename from bin/ri
rename to exe/ri
diff --git a/lib/rdoc.rb b/lib/rdoc.rb
index 494d5d9f4a..43da573d26 100644
--- a/lib/rdoc.rb
+++ b/lib/rdoc.rb
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ class Error < RuntimeError; end
   ##
   # RDoc version you are using
 
-  VERSION = '4.2.3'
+  VERSION = '5.0.0.beta1'
 
   ##
   # Method visibilities
@@ -185,4 +185,3 @@ def self.load_yaml
   autoload :Require,        'rdoc/require'
 
 end
-
diff --git a/lib/rdoc/markdown.kpeg b/lib/rdoc/markdown.kpeg
index f51e81c619..fd96dc85ce 100644
--- a/lib/rdoc/markdown.kpeg
+++ b/lib/rdoc/markdown.kpeg
@@ -179,11 +179,7 @@
   require 'rdoc/markup/to_joined_paragraph'
   require 'rdoc/markdown/entities'
 
-  if RUBY_VERSION > '1.9' then
-    require 'rdoc/markdown/literals_1_9'
-  else
-    require 'rdoc/markdown/literals_1_8'
-  end
+  require 'rdoc/markdown/literals'
 
   ##
   # Supported extensions
diff --git a/lib/rdoc/markdown/literals_1_9.kpeg b/lib/rdoc/markdown/literals.kpeg
similarity index 100%
rename from lib/rdoc/markdown/literals_1_9.kpeg
rename to lib/rdoc/markdown/literals.kpeg
diff --git a/lib/rdoc/markdown/literals_1_9.rb b/lib/rdoc/markdown/literals.rb
similarity index 99%
rename from lib/rdoc/markdown/literals_1_9.rb
rename to lib/rdoc/markdown/literals.rb
index d7a27f12b1..cde761a2f7 100644
--- a/lib/rdoc/markdown/literals_1_9.rb
+++ b/lib/rdoc/markdown/literals.rb
@@ -289,8 +289,6 @@ def apply_with_args(rule, *args)
         else
           return ans
         end
-
-        return ans
       end
     end
 
@@ -323,8 +321,6 @@ def apply(rule)
         else
           return ans
         end
-
-        return ans
       end
     end
 
diff --git a/lib/rdoc/markdown/literals_1_8.kpeg b/lib/rdoc/markdown/literals_1_8.kpeg
deleted file mode 100644
index d1a705ed13..0000000000
--- a/lib/rdoc/markdown/literals_1_8.kpeg
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,18 +0,0 @@
-%% name = RDoc::Markdown::Literals
-
-%% header {
-# :markup: markdown
-
-##
-# Provides Literals appropriate for your ruby version.
-#--
-# This set of literals is for Ruby 1.8 regular expressions.
-}
-
-Alphanumeric      = /[0-9A-Za-z\200-\377]/
-AlphanumericAscii = /[A-Za-z0-9]/
-BOM               = "\357\273\277"
-Newline           = /\n|\r\n?/
-NonAlphanumeric   = /[\000-\057\072-\100\133-\140\173-\177]/
-Spacechar         = / |\t/
-
diff --git a/lib/rdoc/markdown/literals_1_8.rb b/lib/rdoc/markdown/literals_1_8.rb
deleted file mode 100644
index 1fdae566ed..0000000000
--- a/lib/rdoc/markdown/literals_1_8.rb
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,417 +0,0 @@
-# frozen_string_literal: false
-# :markup: markdown
-
-##
-# Provides Literals appropriate for your ruby version.
-#--
-# This set of literals is for Ruby 1.8 regular expressions.
-class RDoc::Markdown::Literals
-  # :stopdoc:
-
-    # This is distinct from setup_parser so that a standalone parser
-    # can redefine #initialize and still have access to the proper
-    # parser setup code.
-    def initialize(str, debug=false)
-      setup_parser(str, debug)
-    end
-
-
-
-    # Prepares for parsing +str+.  If you define a custom initialize you must
-    # call this method before #parse
-    def setup_parser(str, debug=false)
-      set_string str, 0
-      @memoizations = Hash.new { |h,k| h[k] = {} }
-      @result = nil
-      @failed_rule = nil
-      @failing_rule_offset = -1
-
-      setup_foreign_grammar
-    end
-
-    attr_reader :string
-    attr_reader :failing_rule_offset
-    attr_accessor :result, :pos
-
-    def current_column(target=pos)
-      if c = string.rindex("\n", target-1)
-        return target - c - 1
-      end
-
-      target + 1
-    end
-
-    def current_line(target=pos)
-      cur_offset = 0
-      cur_line = 0
-
-      string.each_line do |line|
-        cur_line += 1
-        cur_offset += line.size
-        return cur_line if cur_offset >= target
-      end
-
-      -1
-    end
-
-    def lines
-      lines = []
-      string.each_line { |l| lines << l }
-      lines
-    end
-
-
-
-    def get_text(start)
-      @string[start..@pos-1]
-    end
-
-    # Sets the string and current parsing position for the parser.
-    def set_string string, pos
-      @string = string
-      @string_size = string ? string.size : 0
-      @pos = pos
-    end
-
-    def show_pos
-      width = 10
-      if @pos < width
-        "#{@pos} (\"#{@string[0,@pos]}\" @ \"#{@string[@pos,width]}\")"
-      else
-        "#{@pos} (\"... #{@string[@pos - width, width]}\" @ \"#{@string[@pos,width]}\")"
-      end
-    end
-
-    def failure_info
-      l = current_line @failing_rule_offset
-      c = current_column @failing_rule_offset
-
-      if @failed_rule.kind_of? Symbol
-        info = self.class::Rules[@failed_rule]
-        "line #{l}, column #{c}: failed rule '#{info.name}' = '#{info.rendered}'"
-      else
-        "line #{l}, column #{c}: failed rule '#{@failed_rule}'"
-      end
-    end
-
-    def failure_caret
-      l = current_line @failing_rule_offset
-      c = current_column @failing_rule_offset
-
-      line = lines[l-1]
-      "#{line}\n#{' ' * (c - 1)}^"
-    end
-
-    def failure_character
-      l = current_line @failing_rule_offset
-      c = current_column @failing_rule_offset
-      lines[l-1][c-1, 1]
-    end
-
-    def failure_oneline
-      l = current_line @failing_rule_offset
-      c = current_column @failing_rule_offset
-
-      char = lines[l-1][c-1, 1]
-
-      if @failed_rule.kind_of? Symbol
-        info = self.class::Rules[@failed_rule]
-        "@#{l}:#{c} failed rule '#{info.name}', got '#{char}'"
-      else
-        "@#{l}:#{c} failed rule '#{@failed_rule}', got '#{char}'"
-      end
-    end
-
-    class ParseError < RuntimeError
-    end
-
-    def raise_error
-      raise ParseError, failure_oneline
-    end
-
-    def show_error(io=STDOUT)
-      error_pos = @failing_rule_offset
-      line_no = current_line(error_pos)
-      col_no = current_column(error_pos)
-
-      io.puts "On line #{line_no}, column #{col_no}:"
-
-      if @failed_rule.kind_of? Symbol
-        info = self.class::Rules[@failed_rule]
-        io.puts "Failed to match '#{info.rendered}' (rule '#{info.name}')"
-      else
-        io.puts "Failed to match rule '#{@failed_rule}'"
-      end
-
-      io.puts "Got: #{string[error_pos,1].inspect}"
-      line = lines[line_no-1]
-      io.puts "=> #{line}"
-      io.print(" " * (col_no + 3))
-      io.puts "^"
-    end
-
-    def set_failed_rule(name)
-      if @pos > @failing_rule_offset
-        @failed_rule = name
-        @failing_rule_offset = @pos
-      end
-    end
-
-    attr_reader :failed_rule
-
-    def match_string(str)
-      len = str.size
-      if @string[pos,len] == str
-        @pos += len
-        return str
-      end
-
-      return nil
-    end
-
-    def scan(reg)
-      if m = reg.match(@string[@pos..-1])
-        width = m.end(0)
-        @pos += width
-        return true
-      end
-
-      return nil
-    end
-
-    if "".respond_to? :ord
-      def get_byte
-        if @pos >= @string_size
-          return nil
-        end
-
-        s = @string[@pos].ord
-        @pos += 1
-        s
-      end
-    else
-      def get_byte
-        if @pos >= @string_size
-          return nil
-        end
-
-        s = @string[@pos]
-        @pos += 1
-        s
-      end
-    end
-
-    def parse(rule=nil)
-      # We invoke the rules indirectly via apply
-      # instead of by just calling them as methods because
-      # if the rules use left recursion, apply needs to
-      # manage that.
-
-      if !rule
-        apply(:_root)
-      else
-        method = rule.gsub("-","_hyphen_")
-        apply :"_#{method}"
-      end
-    end
-
-    class MemoEntry
-      def initialize(ans, pos)
-        @ans = ans
-        @pos = pos
-        @result = nil
-        @set = false
-        @left_rec = false
-      end
-
-      attr_reader :ans, :pos, :result, :set
-      attr_accessor :left_rec
-
-      def move!(ans, pos, result)
-        @ans = ans
-        @pos = pos
-        @result = result
-        @set = true
-        @left_rec = false
-      end
-    end
-
-    def external_invoke(other, rule, *args)
-      old_pos = @pos
-      old_string = @string
-
-      set_string other.string, other.pos
-
-      begin
-        if val = __send__(rule, *args)
-          other.pos = @pos
-          other.result = @result
-        else
-          other.set_failed_rule "#{self.class}##{rule}"
-        end
-        val
-      ensure
-        set_string old_string, old_pos
-      end
-    end
-
-    def apply_with_args(rule, *args)
-      memo_key = [rule, args]
-      if m = @memoizations[memo_key][@pos]
-        @pos = m.pos
-        if !m.set
-          m.left_rec = true
-          return nil
-        end
-
-        @result = m.result
-
-        return m.ans
-      else
-        m = MemoEntry.new(nil, @pos)
-        @memoizations[memo_key][@pos] = m
-        start_pos = @pos
-
-        ans = __send__ rule, *args
-
-        lr = m.left_rec
-
-        m.move! ans, @pos, @result
-
-        # Don't bother trying to grow the left recursion
-        # if it's failing straight away (thus there is no seed)
-        if ans and lr
-          return grow_lr(rule, args, start_pos, m)
-        else
-          return ans
-        end
-
-        return ans
-      end
-    end
-
-    def apply(rule)
-      if m = @memoizations[rule][@pos]
-        @pos = m.pos
-        if !m.set
-          m.left_rec = true
-          return nil
-        end
-
-        @result = m.result
-
-        return m.ans
-      else
-        m = MemoEntry.new(nil, @pos)
-        @memoizations[rule][@pos] = m
-        start_pos = @pos
-
-        ans = __send__ rule
-
-        lr = m.left_rec
-
-        m.move! ans, @pos, @result
-
-        # Don't bother trying to grow the left recursion
-        # if it's failing straight away (thus there is no seed)
-        if ans and lr
-          return grow_lr(rule, nil, start_pos, m)
-        else
-          return ans
-        end
-
-        return ans
-      end
-    end
-
-    def grow_lr(rule, args, start_pos, m)
-      while true
-        @pos = start_pos
-        @result = m.result
-
-        if args
-          ans = __send__ rule, *args
-        else
-          ans = __send__ rule
-        end
-        return nil unless ans
-
-        break if @pos <= m.pos
-
-        m.move! ans, @pos, @result
-      end
-
-      @result = m.result
-      @pos = m.pos
-      return m.ans
-    end
-
-    class RuleInfo
-      def initialize(name, rendered)
-        @name = name
-        @rendered = rendered
-      end
-
-      attr_reader :name, :rendered
-    end
-
-    def self.rule_info(name, rendered)
-      RuleInfo.new(name, rendered)
-    end
-
-
-  # :startdoc:
-  # :stopdoc:
-  def setup_foreign_grammar; end
-
-  # Alphanumeric = /[0-9A-Za-z\200-\377]/
-  def _Alphanumeric
-    _tmp = scan(/\A(?-mix:[0-9A-Za-z\200-\377])/)
-    set_failed_rule :_Alphanumeric unless _tmp
-    return _tmp
-  end
-
-  # AlphanumericAscii = /[A-Za-z0-9]/
-  def _AlphanumericAscii
-    _tmp = scan(/\A(?-mix:[A-Za-z0-9])/)
-    set_failed_rule :_AlphanumericAscii unless _tmp
-    return _tmp
-  end
-
-  # BOM = ""
-  def _BOM
-    _tmp = match_string("\303\257\302\273\302\277")
-    set_failed_rule :_BOM unless _tmp
-    return _tmp
-  end
-
-  # Newline = /\n|\r\n?/
-  def _Newline
-    _tmp = scan(/\A(?-mix:\n|\r\n?)/)
-    set_failed_rule :_Newline unless _tmp
-    return _tmp
-  end
-
-  # NonAlphanumeric = /[\000-\057\072-\100\133-\140\173-\177]/
-  def _NonAlphanumeric
-    _tmp = scan(/\A(?-mix:[\000-\057\072-\100\133-\140\173-\177])/)
-    set_failed_rule :_NonAlphanumeric unless _tmp
-    return _tmp
-  end
-
-  # Spacechar = / |\t/
-  def _Spacechar
-    _tmp = scan(/\A(?-mix: |\t)/)
-    set_failed_rule :_Spacechar unless _tmp
-    return _tmp
-  end
-
-  Rules = {}
-  Rules[:_Alphanumeric] = rule_info("Alphanumeric", "/[0-9A-Za-z\\200-\\377]/")
-  Rules[:_AlphanumericAscii] = rule_info("AlphanumericAscii", "/[A-Za-z0-9]/")
-  Rules[:_BOM] = rule_info("BOM", "\"\"")
-  Rules[:_Newline] = rule_info("Newline", "/\\n|\\r\\n?/")
-  Rules[:_NonAlphanumeric] = rule_info("NonAlphanumeric", "/[\\000-\\057\\072-\\100\\133-\\140\\173-\\177]/")
-  Rules[:_Spacechar] = rule_info("Spacechar", "/ |\\t/")
-  # :startdoc:
-end
diff --git a/lib/rdoc/markup/formatter_test_case.rb b/lib/rdoc/markup/formatter_test_case.rb
index 776fe00537..a5b4933de4 100644
--- a/lib/rdoc/markup/formatter_test_case.rb
+++ b/lib/rdoc/markup/formatter_test_case.rb
@@ -177,9 +177,6 @@ def test_accept_heading_2
       # Calls accept_heading_3 with a level 3 RDoc::Markup::Heading
 
       def test_accept_heading_3
-        # HACK this doesn't belong here
-        skip "No String#chars, upgrade your ruby" unless ''.respond_to? :chars
-
         @to.start_accepting
 
         @to.accept_heading @RM::Heading.new(3, 'Hello')
@@ -765,4 +762,3 @@ def test_list_verbatim # HACK overblown
   end
 
 end
-
diff --git a/lib/rdoc/ruby_lex.rb b/lib/rdoc/ruby_lex.rb
index 11ac8da85c..25788b6a29 100644
--- a/lib/rdoc/ruby_lex.rb
+++ b/lib/rdoc/ruby_lex.rb
@@ -1180,10 +1180,8 @@ def identify_string(ltype, quoted = ltype, type = nil)
 
     str = if ltype == quoted and %w[" ' /].include? ltype then
             ltype.dup
-          elsif RUBY_VERSION > '1.9' then
-            "%#{type or PERCENT_LTYPE.key ltype}#{PERCENT_PAREN_REV[quoted]||quoted}"
           else
-            "%#{type or PERCENT_LTYPE.index ltype}#{PERCENT_PAREN_REV[quoted]||quoted}"
+            "%#{type or PERCENT_LTYPE.key ltype}#{PERCENT_PAREN_REV[quoted]||quoted}"
           end
 
     subtype = nil
@@ -1371,4 +1369,3 @@ def read_escape
 end
 
 #RDoc::RubyLex.debug_level = 1
-
diff --git a/lib/rdoc/store.rb b/lib/rdoc/store.rb
index 3f91f05824..37bf03fc24 100644
--- a/lib/rdoc/store.rb
+++ b/lib/rdoc/store.rb
@@ -450,18 +450,12 @@ def find_unique all_hash
   # inherit from Object, we have the above wrong inheritance.
   #
   # We fix BasicObject right away if we are running in a Ruby
-  # version >= 1.9. If not, we may be documenting 1.9 source
-  # while running under 1.8: we search the files of BasicObject
-  # for "object.c", and fix the inheritance if we find it.
+  # version >= 1.9.
 
   def fix_basic_object_inheritance
     basic = classes_hash['BasicObject']
     return unless basic
-    if RUBY_VERSION >= '1.9'
-      basic.superclass = nil
-    elsif basic.in_files.any? { |f| File.basename(f.full_name) == 'object.c' }
-      basic.superclass = nil
-    end
+    basic.superclass = nil
   end
 
   ##
@@ -977,4 +971,3 @@ def unique_modules
   end
 
 end
-
diff --git a/lib/rdoc/test_case.rb b/lib/rdoc/test_case.rb
index 1d5469bc19..3b928f2f3d 100644
--- a/lib/rdoc/test_case.rb
+++ b/lib/rdoc/test_case.rb
@@ -177,8 +177,6 @@ def raw *contents
   # Depends upon Dir.mktmpdir
 
   def temp_dir
-    skip "No Dir::mktmpdir, upgrade your ruby" unless Dir.respond_to? :mktmpdir
-
     Dir.mktmpdir do |temp_dir|
       Dir.chdir temp_dir do
         yield temp_dir
@@ -208,11 +206,3 @@ def verbose_capture_io
     end
   end
 end
-
-# This hack allows autoload to work when Dir.pwd is changed for Ruby 1.8 since
-# -I paths are not expanded.
-$LOAD_PATH.each do |load_path|
-  break if load_path[0] == ?/
-  load_path.replace File.expand_path load_path
-end if RUBY_VERSION < '1.9'
-
diff --git a/rdoc.gemspec b/rdoc.gemspec
index 65b183470c..ada7bf9028 100644
--- a/rdoc.gemspec
+++ b/rdoc.gemspec
@@ -41,25 +41,18 @@ RDoc includes the +rdoc+ and +ri+ tools for generating and displaying documentat
     TODO.rdoc
   ]
 
-  s.files = File.readlines("Manifest.txt").map { |l| l.gsub("\n",'') }
+  s.files = `git ls-files -z`.split("\x0").reject { |f| f.match(%r{^(test|spec|features)/}) }
+  s.files << "/lib/rdoc/rd/block_parser.rb" << "/lib/rdoc/rd/inline_parser.rb" << "/lib/rdoc/markdown.rb"
+  s.bindir = "exe"
 
   s.homepage = "http://docs.seattlerb.org/rdoc"
   s.licenses = ["Ruby"]
-  s.post_install_message = <<-MESSAGE
-Depending on your version of ruby, you may need to install ruby rdoc/ri data:
-
-<= 1.8.6 : unsupported
- = 1.8.7 : gem install rdoc-data; rdoc-data --install
- = 1.9.1 : gem install rdoc-data; rdoc-data --install
->= 1.9.2 : nothing to do! Yay!
-  MESSAGE
 
   s.rdoc_options = ["--main", "README.rdoc"]
-  s.required_ruby_version = Gem::Requirement.new(">= 1.8.7")
+  s.required_ruby_version = Gem::Requirement.new(">= 1.9.3")
   s.rubygems_version = "2.5.2"
   s.summary = "RDoc produces HTML and command-line documentation for Ruby projects"
 
-  s.add_runtime_dependency("json", "~> 1.4")
   s.add_development_dependency("rake", "~> 10.5")
   s.add_development_dependency("racc", "~> 1.4", "> 1.4.10")
   s.add_development_dependency("kpeg", "~> 0.9")
diff --git a/test/test_rdoc_markup_to_bs.rb b/test/test_rdoc_markup_to_bs.rb
index 33d274a97f..153a121d78 100644
--- a/test/test_rdoc_markup_to_bs.rb
+++ b/test/test_rdoc_markup_to_bs.rb
@@ -25,7 +25,6 @@ def accept_document
   end
 
   def accept_heading
-    skip "No String#chars, upgrade your ruby" unless ''.respond_to? :chars
     assert_equal "===== H\bHe\bel\bll\blo\bo\n", @to.res.join
   end
 
@@ -216,37 +215,30 @@ def start_accepting
   end
 
   def accept_heading_1
-    skip "No String#chars, upgrade your ruby" unless ''.respond_to? :chars
     assert_equal "= H\bHe\bel\bll\blo\bo\n", @to.end_accepting
   end
 
   def accept_heading_2
-    skip "No String#chars, upgrade your ruby" unless ''.respond_to? :chars
     assert_equal "== H\bHe\bel\bll\blo\bo\n", @to.end_accepting
   end
 
   def accept_heading_3
-    skip "No String#chars, upgrade your ruby" unless ''.respond_to? :chars
     assert_equal "=== H\bHe\bel\bll\blo\bo\n", @to.end_accepting
   end
 
   def accept_heading_4
-    skip "No String#chars, upgrade your ruby" unless ''.respond_to? :chars
     assert_equal "==== H\bHe\bel\bll\blo\bo\n", @to.end_accepting
   end
 
   def accept_heading_indent
-    skip "No String#chars, upgrade your ruby" unless ''.respond_to? :chars
     assert_equal "   = H\bHe\bel\bll\blo\bo\n", @to.end_accepting
   end
 
   def accept_heading_b
-    skip "No String#chars, upgrade your ruby" unless ''.respond_to? :chars
     assert_equal "= H\bHe\bel\bll\blo\bo\n", @to.end_accepting
   end
 
   def accept_heading_suppressed_crossref
-    skip "No String#chars, upgrade your ruby" unless ''.respond_to? :chars
     assert_equal "= H\bHe\bel\bll\blo\bo\n", @to.end_accepting
   end
 
@@ -264,24 +256,20 @@ def accept_list_item_start_note_multi_label
   end
 
   def accept_paragraph_b
-    skip "No String#chars, upgrade your ruby" unless ''.respond_to? :chars
     assert_equal "reg b\bbo\bol\bld\bd \b w\bwo\bor\brd\bds\bs reg\n",
                  @to.end_accepting
   end
 
   def accept_paragraph_br
-    skip "No String#chars, upgrade your ruby" unless ''.respond_to? :chars
     assert_equal "one\ntwo\n", @to.end_accepting
   end
 
   def accept_paragraph_break
-    skip "No String#chars, upgrade your ruby" unless ''.respond_to? :chars
     assert_equal "hello\nworld\n",
                  @to.end_accepting
   end
 
   def accept_paragraph_i
-    skip "No String#chars, upgrade your ruby" unless ''.respond_to? :chars
     assert_equal "reg _\bi_\bt_\ba_\bl_\bi_\bc_\b _\bw_\bo_\br_\bd_\bs reg\n",
                  @to.end_accepting
   end
@@ -301,12 +289,10 @@ def accept_paragraph_plus
   end
 
   def accept_paragraph_star
-    skip "No String#chars, upgrade your ruby" unless ''.respond_to? :chars
     assert_equal "reg b\bbo\bol\bld\bd reg\n", @to.end_accepting
   end
 
   def accept_paragraph_underscore
-    skip "No String#chars, upgrade your ruby" unless ''.respond_to? :chars
     assert_equal "reg _\bi_\bt_\ba_\bl_\bi_\bc reg\n", @to.end_accepting
   end
 
@@ -364,4 +350,3 @@ def list_verbatim
   end
 
 end
-