diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 1b790a0..575bb2d 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -164,6 +164,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "atom_syndication",
  "axum",
  "chrono",
+ "kdl",
  "knuffel",
  "libshire",
  "maud",
@@ -584,6 +585,17 @@ version = "1.0.2"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "112c678d4050afce233f4f2852bb2eb519230b3cf12f33585275537d7e41578d"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "kdl"
+version = "4.2.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "f7ba123fe3f30838b649efd5606531e8326623c5f44491c7e631f3b970e20cdb"
+dependencies = [
+ "miette",
+ "nom",
+ "thiserror",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "kernel32-sys"
 version = "0.2.2"
@@ -764,6 +776,12 @@ dependencies = [
  "unicase",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "minimal-lexical"
+version = "0.2.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "68354c5c6bd36d73ff3feceb05efa59b6acb7626617f4962be322a825e61f79a"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "miniz_oxide"
 version = "0.5.3"
@@ -845,6 +863,16 @@ version = "0.1.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "c96aba5aa877601bb3f6dd6a63a969e1f82e60646e81e71b14496995e9853c91"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "nom"
+version = "7.1.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "a8903e5a29a317527874d0402f867152a3d21c908bb0b933e416c65e301d4c36"
+dependencies = [
+ "memchr",
+ "minimal-lexical",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "notify"
 version = "4.0.17"
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 8c3166b..12a4fc0 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ mime = "0.3"
 maud = "0.23"
 atom_syndication = "0.11"
 rss = "2"
+kdl = "4"
 knuffel = "2"
 pulldown-cmark = "0.9"
 syntect = "4"
diff --git a/src/bin/blog_server/config.rs b/src/bin/blog_server/config.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8b13789
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/bin/blog_server/config.rs
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+
diff --git a/src/bin/blog_server/main.rs b/src/bin/blog_server/main.rs
index 5b7f43f..c04f1b7 100644
--- a/src/bin/blog_server/main.rs
+++ b/src/bin/blog_server/main.rs
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+mod config;
 mod fs_watcher;
 mod render;
 mod service;
diff --git a/src/bin/blog_server/render.rs b/src/bin/blog_server/render.rs
index 575ecaa..f0f85f8 100644
--- a/src/bin/blog_server/render.rs
+++ b/src/bin/blog_server/render.rs
@@ -12,9 +12,8 @@ use tracing::{info, warn, error};
 
 use blog::{
     codeblock::CodeBlockRenderer,
-    post::{parse as parse_post, ParseError, Post, PostId},
+    post::{Error as ParseError, Post, Id},
     db::ConcurrentPostsStore,
-    time::unix_epoch,
 };
 
 use crate::Config;
@@ -189,14 +188,10 @@ impl Renderer {
             return Err(Error::NotAFile);
         }
     
-        let (created, updated) = metadata.created()
-            .and_then(|created| metadata.modified()
-                .map(|modified| (DateTime::from(created), DateTime::from(modified))))
-            // If created / modified metadata is not available, default to the UNIX epoch.
-            .unwrap_or_else(|_| {
-                let epoch = unix_epoch();
-                (epoch, epoch)
-            });
+        let updated = metadata
+            .modified()
+            .ok()
+            .map(DateTime::from);
     
         let contents = {
             let mut buf = String::new();
@@ -207,12 +202,10 @@ impl Renderer {
     
         drop(fd);
     
-        parse_post(
+        Post::new_from_str(
             &self.code_renderer,
             *self.config.namespace_uuid,
             target.id.clone(),
-            &target.path.to_string_lossy(),
-            created,
             updated,
             &contents
         ).map_err(|err| Error::Parsing(Box::new(err)))
@@ -229,7 +222,7 @@ enum Event {
 
 struct EventTarget {
     pub path: PathBuf,
-    pub id: PostId,
+    pub id: Id,
 }
 
 impl fmt::Debug for EventTarget {
@@ -242,7 +235,7 @@ impl EventTarget {
     pub fn from_path(path: PathBuf) -> Option<Self> {
         path.file_name()
             .and_then(|file_name| file_name.to_str())
-            .and_then(PostId::from_file_name)
+            .and_then(Id::from_file_name)
             .map(|id| Self {
                 path,
                 id,
diff --git a/src/bin/blog_server/service/atom.rs b/src/bin/blog_server/service/atom.rs
index 1fc9a23..286a817 100644
--- a/src/bin/blog_server/service/atom.rs
+++ b/src/bin/blog_server/service/atom.rs
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ pub async fn handle(
         let guard = posts.read().await;
 
         let atom_entries = guard
-            .iter_by_created()
+            .iter_by_published()
             .take(config.atom.num_posts)
             .map(|post| {
                 atom::EntryBuilder::default()
diff --git a/src/bin/blog_server/service/index.rs b/src/bin/blog_server/service/index.rs
index 77fd765..74bd14a 100644
--- a/src/bin/blog_server/service/index.rs
+++ b/src/bin/blog_server/service/index.rs
@@ -49,14 +49,14 @@ pub async fn handle(Extension(posts): Extension<ConcurrentPostsStore>) -> Html {
                 h2 { "Articles" }
                 p { "Some recent ones:" }
                 ul .articles_list {
-                    @for post in posts.read().await.iter_by_created().rev().take(3) {
+                    @for post in posts.read().await.iter_by_published().rev().take(3) {
                         li {
                             h3 { a href={"/articles/" (post.id())} { (post.title()) } }
                             @if let Some(subtitle) = post.subtitle() {
                                 p .article_list_subtitle { (subtitle) }
                             }
                             p .article_list_published_date {
-                                "Published " (post.created().format("%Y/%m/%d"))
+                                "Published " (post.published().format("%Y/%m/%d"))
                             }
                         }
                     }
diff --git a/src/bin/blog_server/service/post.rs b/src/bin/blog_server/service/post.rs
index 9cf859b..26725df 100644
--- a/src/bin/blog_server/service/post.rs
+++ b/src/bin/blog_server/service/post.rs
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ pub async fn handle(
                 @if let Some(subtitle) = post.subtitle() {
                     p .article_subtitle { (subtitle) }
                 }
-                p .article_published_date { "Published " (post.created().format("%Y/%m/%d")) }
+                p .article_published_date { "Published " (post.published().format("%Y/%m/%d")) }
             }
             article .article_content {
                 (post.html())
diff --git a/src/bin/blog_server/service/posts_list.rs b/src/bin/blog_server/service/posts_list.rs
index c6a58a0..5ed4f00 100644
--- a/src/bin/blog_server/service/posts_list.rs
+++ b/src/bin/blog_server/service/posts_list.rs
@@ -23,14 +23,14 @@ pub async fn handle(Extension(posts): Extension<ConcurrentPostsStore>) -> Html {
                     "A collection of words I have written, against my better judgement."
                 }
                 ul .articles_list {
-                    @for post in posts.read().await.iter_by_created().rev() {
+                    @for post in posts.read().await.iter_by_published().rev() {
                         li {
                             h3 { a href={"/articles/" (post.id())} { (post.title()) } }
                             @if let Some(subtitle) = post.subtitle() {
                                 p .article_list_subtitle { (subtitle) }
                             }
                             p .article_list_published_date {
-                                "Published " (post.created().format("%Y/%m/%d"))
+                                "Published " (post.published().format("%Y/%m/%d"))
                             }
                         }
                     }
diff --git a/src/bin/blog_server/service/rss.rs b/src/bin/blog_server/service/rss.rs
index b5ed17c..5d91f0d 100644
--- a/src/bin/blog_server/service/rss.rs
+++ b/src/bin/blog_server/service/rss.rs
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ pub async fn handle(
     let (rss_items, updated) = {
         let guard = posts.read().await;
 
-        let rss_items = guard.iter_by_created()
+        let rss_items = guard.iter_by_published()
             .take(config.rss.num_posts)
             .map(|post| {
                 rss::ItemBuilder::default()
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ pub async fn handle(
                         config.self_ref.domain,
                         post.id()
                     )))
-                    .pub_date(Some(post.created().to_rfc2822()))
+                    .pub_date(Some(post.published().to_rfc2822()))
                     .build()
             })
             .collect::<Vec<rss::Item>>();
diff --git a/src/lib/db.rs b/src/lib/db.rs
index a4e996c..3a57633 100644
--- a/src/lib/db.rs
+++ b/src/lib/db.rs
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ use chrono::{DateTime, Utc};
 use libshire::strings::ShString22;
 use tokio::sync::{RwLock, RwLockReadGuard, RwLockWriteGuard};
 
-use crate::post::{Post, PostId};
+use crate::post::{Post, Id};
 
 #[derive(Clone)]
 pub struct ConcurrentPostsStore {
@@ -40,9 +40,9 @@ impl Default for ConcurrentPostsStore {
 }
 
 pub struct PostsStore {
-    posts: HashMap<PostId, Arc<Post>>,
-    created_ix: BTreeSet<CreatedIxEntry>,
-    tags_ix: HashMap<ShString22, HashSet<PostId>>,
+    posts: HashMap<Id, Arc<Post>>,
+    published_ix: BTreeSet<PublishedIxEntry>,
+    tags_ix: HashMap<ShString22, HashSet<Id>>,
 }
 
 // TODO: shrink the various collections on removal to deallocate unneeded space
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ impl PostsStore {
     pub fn new() -> Self {
         Self {
             posts: HashMap::new(),
-            created_ix: BTreeSet::new(),
+            published_ix: BTreeSet::new(),
             tags_ix: HashMap::new(),
         }
     }
@@ -73,8 +73,8 @@ impl PostsStore {
             }.insert(post.id().clone());
         }
 
-        // Insert the post into the correct position of the created BTree index.
-        self.created_ix.insert(CreatedIxEntry::new(&post));
+        // Insert the post into the correct position of the published BTree index.
+        self.published_ix.insert(PublishedIxEntry::new(&post));
 
         // Wrap the post with an atomic reference counter and insert it into the main posts
         // `HashMap`.
@@ -86,9 +86,9 @@ impl PostsStore {
     pub fn remove(&mut self, id: &str) -> Option<Arc<Post>> {
         match self.posts.remove(id) {
             Some(post) => {
-                // Remove the post's entry in the created index.
-                self.created_ix
-                    .remove(&CreatedIxEntry::new(&post));
+                // Remove the post's entry in the published index.
+                self.published_ix
+                    .remove(&PublishedIxEntry::new(&post));
 
                 // Remove every occurence of the post from the tags index.
                 for tag in post.tags() {
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ impl PostsStore {
 
     pub fn clear(&mut self) {
         self.tags_ix.clear();
-        self.created_ix.clear();
+        self.published_ix.clear();
         self.posts.clear();
     }
 
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ impl PostsStore {
         self.posts.values()
     }
 
-    pub fn iter_by_created(&self)
+    pub fn iter_by_published(&self)
     -> impl '_
         + Iterator<Item = &Arc<Post>>
         + DoubleEndedIterator
@@ -131,13 +131,13 @@ impl PostsStore {
         + FusedIterator
         + Clone
     {
-        // For each entry of the created index, look up the corresponding post in the posts map and
-        // return the post. Every entry in the created index should contain the ID of a post in the
-        // posts map, so the `expect` should never fail.
-        self.created_ix
+        // For each entry of the published index, look up the corresponding post in the posts map
+        // and return the post. Every entry in the published index should contain the ID of a post
+        // in the posts map, so the `expect` should never fail.
+        self.published_ix
             .iter()
             .map(|entry| self.get(&entry.id)
-                .expect("invalid entry in `created_ix` pointing to a post that does not exist"))
+                .expect("invalid entry in `published_ix` pointing to a post that does not exist"))
     }
 }
 
@@ -148,15 +148,15 @@ impl Default for PostsStore {
 }
 
 #[derive(PartialEq, Eq, PartialOrd, Ord)]
-struct CreatedIxEntry {
-    created: DateTime<Utc>,
-    id: PostId,
+struct PublishedIxEntry {
+    published: DateTime<Utc>,
+    id: Id,
 }
 
-impl CreatedIxEntry {
+impl PublishedIxEntry {
     fn new(post: &Post) -> Self {
         Self {
-            created: post.created(),
+            published: post.published(),
             id: post.id().clone(),
         }
     }
diff --git a/src/lib/post/error.rs b/src/lib/post/error.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..31aa194
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/post/error.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+use std::{error, fmt};
+
+use kdl::KdlError;
+
+#[derive(Debug)]
+pub enum Error {
+    NoDelim,
+    Syntax(Box<KdlError>),
+    FieldMissing {
+        field: &'static str,
+    },
+    BadType {
+        field: &'static str,
+        expected: &'static str,
+    },
+    IdTooLong(usize),
+}
+
+impl fmt::Display for Error {
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> fmt::Result {
+        match self {
+            Self::NoDelim => {
+                write!(f, "post has no header; no delimiter `\\n---\\n` found")
+            },
+            Self::Syntax(err) => {
+                write!(f, "syntax error in post header: {}", err)
+            },
+            Self::FieldMissing { field } => {
+                write!(f, "missing required post header field `{}`", field)
+            },
+            Self::BadType { field, expected } => {
+                write!(f, "expected post header field `{}` to be {}", field, expected)
+            },
+            Self::IdTooLong(len) => {
+                write!(f, "post id too long: {} bytes", len)
+            },
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+impl error::Error for Error {}
+
+impl From<KdlError> for Error {
+    fn from(err: KdlError) -> Self {
+        Self::Syntax(Box::new(err))
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/lib/post/header.rs b/src/lib/post/header.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..43a7f2c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/post/header.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+use chrono::{DateTime, Utc};
+use kdl::KdlDocument;
+use libshire::strings::ShString22;
+
+use crate::time::{datetime_unix_seconds, unix_epoch};
+
+use super::error::Error;
+
+pub struct Header {
+    pub(super) title: String,
+    pub(super) subtitle: Option<String>,
+    pub(super) author: ShString22,
+    pub(super) tags: Vec<ShString22>,
+    pub(super) published: DateTime<Utc>,
+}
+
+impl Header {
+    #[inline]
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn title(&self) -> &str {
+        &self.title
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn subtitle(&self) -> Option<&str> {
+        self.subtitle.as_deref()
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn author(&self) -> &str {
+        &self.author
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn tags(&self) -> &[ShString22] {
+        &self.tags
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn published(&self) -> DateTime<Utc> {
+        self.published
+    }
+}
+
+impl<'a> TryFrom<&'a KdlDocument> for Header {
+    type Error = Error;
+
+    fn try_from(doc: &'a KdlDocument) -> Result<Self, Self::Error> {
+        let title = doc
+            .get_arg("title")
+            .ok_or(Error::FieldMissing { field: "title" })
+            .and_then(|value| value
+                .as_string()
+                .ok_or(Error::BadType { field: "title", expected: "string" })
+                .map(|title| title.to_owned()))?;
+
+        let subtitle = doc
+            .get_arg("subtitle")
+            .map(|value| value
+                .as_string()
+                .ok_or(Error::BadType { field: "subtitle", expected: "string" })
+                .map(|subtitle| subtitle.to_owned()))
+            .transpose()?;
+
+        let author = doc
+            .get_arg("title")
+            .ok_or(Error::FieldMissing { field: "author" })
+            .and_then(|value| value
+                .as_string()
+                .ok_or(Error::BadType { field: "author", expected: "string" })
+                .map(ShString22::from))?;
+
+        let tags = doc
+            .get("tags")
+            .map(|node| node.entries())
+            .unwrap_or_default()
+            .iter()
+            .filter_map(|entry| match entry.name() {
+                Some(_) => None,
+                None => Some(entry.value()),
+            })
+            .map(|value| value
+                .as_string()
+                .ok_or(Error::BadType { field: "tag", expected: "string" })
+                .map(ShString22::from))
+            .collect::<Result<_, _>>()?;
+
+        let published = doc
+            .get_arg("published")
+            .map(|value| value
+                .as_i64()
+                .ok_or(Error::BadType { field: "published", expected: "integer unix timestamp (seconds)" })
+                .map(datetime_unix_seconds))
+            .transpose()?
+            .unwrap_or_else(unix_epoch);
+        
+        Ok(Header {
+            title,
+            subtitle,
+            author,
+            tags,
+            published,
+        })
+    }
+}
+
+impl TryFrom<KdlDocument> for Header {
+    type Error = Error;
+
+    fn try_from(value: KdlDocument) -> Result<Self, Self::Error> {
+        Self::try_from(&value)
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/lib/post/id.rs b/src/lib/post/id.rs
index e0a7c24..2b5e800 100644
--- a/src/lib/post/id.rs
+++ b/src/lib/post/id.rs
@@ -3,9 +3,9 @@ use std::{borrow, fmt, ops};
 use libshire::strings::ShString22;
 
 #[derive(Clone, PartialEq, Eq, PartialOrd, Ord, Hash, Debug)]
-pub struct PostId(ShString22);
+pub struct Id(ShString22);
 
-impl PostId {
+impl Id {
     #[inline]
     #[must_use]
     pub fn from_file_name(file_name: &str) -> Option<Self> {
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ impl PostId {
     }
 }
 
-impl ops::Deref for PostId {
+impl ops::Deref for Id {
     type Target = str;
 
     #[inline]
@@ -45,42 +45,42 @@ impl ops::Deref for PostId {
     }
 }
 
-impl ops::DerefMut for PostId {
+impl ops::DerefMut for Id {
     #[inline]
     fn deref_mut(&mut self) -> &mut Self::Target {
         &mut *self.0
     }
 }
 
-impl AsRef<str> for PostId {
+impl AsRef<str> for Id {
     #[inline]
     fn as_ref(&self) -> &str {
         self
     }
 }
 
-impl AsMut<str> for PostId {
+impl AsMut<str> for Id {
     #[inline]
     fn as_mut(&mut self) -> &mut str {
         self
     }
 }
 
-impl borrow::Borrow<str> for PostId {
+impl borrow::Borrow<str> for Id {
     #[inline]
     fn borrow(&self) -> &str {
         self
     }
 }
 
-impl borrow::BorrowMut<str> for PostId {
+impl borrow::BorrowMut<str> for Id {
     #[inline]
     fn borrow_mut(&mut self) -> &mut str {
         self
     }
 }
 
-impl fmt::Display for PostId {
+impl fmt::Display for Id {
     #[inline]
     fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> fmt::Result {
         fmt::Display::fmt(&**self, f)
diff --git a/src/lib/post/markdown_post.rs b/src/lib/post/markdown_post.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c84f62d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/post/markdown_post.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+use super::{error::Error, header::Header, source::PostSource};
+
+pub struct MarkdownPost {
+    pub(super) header: Header,
+    pub(super) markdown: String,
+}
+
+impl MarkdownPost {
+    #[inline]
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn header(&self) -> &Header {
+        &self.header
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn markdown(&self) -> &str {
+        &self.markdown
+    }
+}
+
+impl TryFrom<PostSource> for MarkdownPost {
+    type Error = Error;
+
+    fn try_from(source: PostSource) -> Result<Self, Self::Error> {
+        Ok(Self {
+            header: source.header.try_into()?,
+            markdown: source.markdown,
+        })
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/lib/post/mod.rs b/src/lib/post/mod.rs
index 3c1df47..2579a6a 100644
--- a/src/lib/post/mod.rs
+++ b/src/lib/post/mod.rs
@@ -1,61 +1,18 @@
+mod error;
 mod id;
-mod parse;
-
-use chrono::{DateTime, Utc};
-use libshire::{strings::ShString22, uuid::Uuid};
-use maud::{Markup, PreEscaped};
-
-pub use id::PostId;
-pub use parse::{parse, ParseError};
+mod header;
+mod markdown_post;
+mod render;
+mod rendered_post;
+mod source;
+
+pub use error::Error;
+pub use header::Header;
+pub use id::Id;
+pub use markdown_post::MarkdownPost;
+pub use rendered_post::RenderedPost;
+pub use source::PostSource;
 
 const POST_FILE_EXTENSION: &str = ".kdl.md";
 
-pub struct Post {
-    uuid: Uuid,
-    id: PostId,
-    title: String,
-    subtitle: Option<String>,
-    author: ShString22,
-    html: Markup,
-    tags: Vec<ShString22>,
-    created: DateTime<Utc>,
-    updated: DateTime<Utc>,
-}
-
-impl Post {
-    pub fn uuid(&self) -> Uuid {
-        self.uuid
-    }
-
-    pub fn id(&self) -> &PostId {
-        &self.id
-    }
-
-    pub fn title(&self) -> &str {
-        &self.title
-    }
-
-    pub fn subtitle(&self) -> Option<&str> {
-        self.subtitle.as_deref()
-    }
-
-    pub fn author(&self) -> &str {
-        &self.author
-    }
-
-    pub fn html(&self) -> PreEscaped<&str> {
-        PreEscaped(&self.html.0)
-    }
-
-    pub fn tags(&self) -> &[ShString22] {
-        &self.tags
-    }
-
-    pub fn created(&self) -> DateTime<Utc> {
-        self.created
-    }
-
-    pub fn updated(&self) -> DateTime<Utc> {
-        self.updated
-    }
-}
+pub type Post = RenderedPost;
diff --git a/src/lib/post/parse.rs b/src/lib/post/parse.rs
deleted file mode 100644
index 8f60c07..0000000
--- a/src/lib/post/parse.rs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,215 +0,0 @@
-use std::{error, fmt};
-
-use chrono::{DateTime, Utc};
-use libshire::{strings::ShString22, uuid::{Uuid, UuidV5Error}};
-use maud::{html, PreEscaped};
-
-use crate::codeblock::CodeBlockRenderer;
-
-use super::{id::PostId, Post};
-
-pub fn parse(
-    code_renderer: &CodeBlockRenderer,
-    namespace: Uuid,
-    post_id: PostId,
-    file_name: &str,
-    created: DateTime<Utc>,
-    updated: DateTime<Utc>,
-    source: &str,
-) -> Result<Post, ParseError>
-{
-    MdPost::parse(file_name, source)
-        .and_then(|post| render_mdpost(
-            code_renderer,
-            namespace,
-            post_id,
-            created,
-            updated,
-            post
-        ))
-}
-
-fn render_mdpost(
-    code_renderer: &CodeBlockRenderer,
-    namespace: Uuid,
-    id: PostId,
-    created: DateTime<Utc>,
-    updated: DateTime<Utc>,
-    mdpost: MdPost,
-) -> Result<Post, ParseError>
-{
-    use pulldown_cmark::{Options, Parser, html::push_html};
-    
-    const PARSER_OPTIONS: Options = Options::ENABLE_TABLES
-        .union(Options::ENABLE_FOOTNOTES)
-        .union(Options::ENABLE_STRIKETHROUGH);
-
-    let uuid = Uuid::new_v5(namespace, &*id)
-        .map_err(|err| match err {
-            UuidV5Error::NameTooLong(len) => ParseError::IdTooLong(len),
-        })?;
-
-    let mut parser = PostMdParser::new(
-        Parser::new_ext(&mdpost.markdown, PARSER_OPTIONS),
-        code_renderer
-    );
-
-    let mut html_buf = String::new();
-    push_html(&mut html_buf, parser.by_ref());
-    
-    Ok(Post {
-        uuid,
-        id,
-        title: mdpost.title,
-        subtitle: mdpost.subtitle,
-        author: mdpost.author,
-        html: PreEscaped(html_buf),
-        tags: mdpost.tags,
-        created,
-        updated,
-    })
-}
-
-/// Iterator struct which wraps another event iterator in order to render code blocks, collect the links
-/// encountered and generate a summary of the text content.
-struct PostMdParser<'p, I> {
-    iter: I,
-    code_renderer: &'p CodeBlockRenderer,
-    links: Vec<String>,
-    summary: String,
-}
-
-impl<'p, I> PostMdParser<'p, I> {
-    fn new(iter: I, code_renderer: &'p CodeBlockRenderer) -> Self {
-        Self {
-            iter,
-            code_renderer,
-            links: Vec::new(),
-            summary: String::new(),
-        }
-    }
-}
-
-impl<'e, 'p, I> Iterator for PostMdParser<'p, I> where I: Iterator<Item = pulldown_cmark::Event<'e>> {
-    type Item = pulldown_cmark::Event<'e>;
-
-    fn next(&mut self) -> Option<Self::Item> {
-        use pulldown_cmark::{CodeBlockKind, CowStr, Event, LinkType, Tag};
-
-        self.iter.next().map(|event| match event {
-            // When we reach a code block, we want to collect the text content until the code block finishes
-            // and have the `CodeBlockRenderer` render it
-            Event::Start(Tag::CodeBlock(CodeBlockKind::Fenced(lang))) => {
-                let mut code_buf = String::new();
-
-                for event in self.iter.by_ref() {
-                    match event {
-                        // The code block has finished, so break out of the loop
-                        Event::End(Tag::CodeBlock(_)) => break,
-                        // All text events until the end of the code block should be considered as code, so
-                        // add the text to the `code_buf` to be rendered later
-                        Event::Text(text) => code_buf.push_str(&text),
-                        // Ignore all other events
-                        _ => (),
-                    }
-                }
-
-                let highlighted = self.code_renderer.render(&lang, &code_buf);
-                Event::Html(CowStr::Boxed(highlighted.into_string().into_boxed_str()))
-            },
-
-            Event::Code(code) => {
-                Event::Html(CowStr::Boxed(html! {
-                    code .inline_code { (code) }
-                }.into_string().into_boxed_str()))
-            },
-
-            event => {
-                match &event {
-                    Event::Start(Tag::Link(LinkType::Inline | LinkType::Autolink, destination, _title)) => {
-                        self.links.push(destination.clone().into_string());
-                    },
-
-                    //TODO: better way of generating a summary
-                    Event::Text(text) => {
-                        if self.summary.is_empty() {
-                            self.summary = text.clone().into_string();
-                        }
-                    },
-
-                    _ => (),
-                }
-
-                event
-            },
-        })
-    }
-}
-
-#[derive(knuffel::Decode)]
-struct HeaderNode {
-    #[knuffel(child, unwrap(argument))]
-    title: String,
-    #[knuffel(child, unwrap(argument))]
-    subtitle: Option<String>,
-    #[knuffel(child, unwrap(argument))]
-    author: String,
-    #[knuffel(children(name="tag"))]
-    tags: Vec<TagNode>,
-}
-
-#[derive(knuffel::Decode)]
-struct TagNode {
-    #[knuffel(argument)]
-    tag: String,
-}
-
-#[derive(Debug)]
-struct MdPost {
-    markdown: String,
-    title: String,
-    subtitle: Option<String>,
-    author: ShString22,
-    tags: Vec<ShString22>,
-}
-
-impl MdPost {
-    fn parse(file_name: &str, source: &str) -> Result<Self, ParseError> {
-        const END_OF_HEADER_DELIM: &str = "\n---\n";
-
-        let (header, md) = source.split_once(END_OF_HEADER_DELIM)
-            .ok_or(ParseError::MissingHeader)?;
-
-        let header = knuffel::parse::<HeaderNode>(file_name, header)
-            .map_err(|err| ParseError::InvalidHeader(Box::new(err)))?;
-
-        let md = md.trim_start();
-
-        Ok(Self {
-            markdown: md.to_owned(),
-            title: header.title,
-            subtitle: header.subtitle,
-            author: header.author.into(),
-            tags: header.tags.into_iter().map(|tag| tag.tag.into()).collect(),
-        })
-    }
-}
-
-#[derive(Debug)]
-pub enum ParseError {
-    MissingHeader,
-    InvalidHeader(Box<knuffel::Error>),
-    IdTooLong(usize),
-}
-
-impl fmt::Display for ParseError {
-    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> fmt::Result {
-        match self {
-            Self::MissingHeader => write!(f, "post file has no header"),
-            Self::InvalidHeader(err) => fmt::Display::fmt(err, f),
-            Self::IdTooLong(len) => write!(f, "post id too long ({} bytes)", len),
-        }
-    }
-}
-
-impl error::Error for ParseError {}
diff --git a/src/lib/post/render.rs b/src/lib/post/render.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..309771c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/post/render.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+use maud::{html, Markup, PreEscaped};
+use pulldown_cmark::{
+    CodeBlockKind,
+    CowStr,
+    Event,
+    Options,
+    Parser,
+    Tag,
+    html::push_html,
+};
+
+use crate::codeblock::CodeBlockRenderer;
+
+pub(super) fn render_markdown(code_renderer: &CodeBlockRenderer, markdown: &str) -> Markup {
+    const PARSER_OPTIONS: Options = Options::ENABLE_TABLES
+        .union(Options::ENABLE_FOOTNOTES)
+        .union(Options::ENABLE_STRIKETHROUGH);
+
+    let mut parser = {
+        let parser = Parser::new_ext(markdown, PARSER_OPTIONS);
+        PostMdParser::new(parser, code_renderer)
+    };
+
+    let mut html_buf = String::new();
+    push_html(&mut html_buf, parser.by_ref());
+
+    PreEscaped(html_buf)
+}
+
+/// Iterator struct which wraps another event iterator in order to render code blocks, collect the links
+/// encountered and generate a summary of the text content.
+struct PostMdParser<'p, I> {
+    iter: I,
+    code_renderer: &'p CodeBlockRenderer,
+}
+
+impl<'p, I> PostMdParser<'p, I> {
+    fn new(iter: I, code_renderer: &'p CodeBlockRenderer) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            iter,
+            code_renderer,
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+impl<'e, 'p, I> Iterator for PostMdParser<'p, I> where I: Iterator<Item = pulldown_cmark::Event<'e>> {
+    type Item = pulldown_cmark::Event<'e>;
+
+    fn next(&mut self) -> Option<Self::Item> {
+        self.iter.next().map(|event| match event {
+            // When we reach a code block, we want to collect the text content until the code block finishes
+            // and have the `CodeBlockRenderer` render it
+            Event::Start(Tag::CodeBlock(CodeBlockKind::Fenced(lang))) => {
+                let mut code_buf = String::new();
+
+                for event in self.iter.by_ref() {
+                    match event {
+                        // The code block has finished, so break out of the loop
+                        Event::End(Tag::CodeBlock(_)) => break,
+                        // All text events until the end of the code block should be considered as code, so
+                        // add the text to the `code_buf` to be rendered later
+                        Event::Text(text) => code_buf.push_str(&text),
+                        // Ignore all other events
+                        _ => (),
+                    }
+                }
+
+                let highlighted = self.code_renderer.render(&lang, &code_buf);
+                Event::Html(CowStr::Boxed(highlighted.into_string().into_boxed_str()))
+            },
+
+            Event::Code(code) => {
+                Event::Html(CowStr::Boxed(html! {
+                    code .inline_code { (code) }
+                }.into_string().into_boxed_str()))
+            },
+
+            event => event,
+        })
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/lib/post/rendered_post.rs b/src/lib/post/rendered_post.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..87bfa59
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/post/rendered_post.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,121 @@
+use chrono::{DateTime, Utc};
+use libshire::{strings::ShString22, uuid::{Uuid, UuidV5Error}};
+use maud::{Markup, PreEscaped};
+
+use crate::{codeblock::CodeBlockRenderer, time::unix_epoch};
+
+use super::{
+    error::Error,
+    header::Header,
+    id::Id,
+    markdown_post::MarkdownPost,
+    render::render_markdown,
+    source::PostSource,
+};
+
+pub struct RenderedPost {
+    uuid: Uuid,
+    id: Id,
+    header: Header,
+    updated: DateTime<Utc>,
+    html: Markup,
+}
+
+impl RenderedPost {
+    pub fn new_from_str(
+        code_renderer: &CodeBlockRenderer,
+        namespace: Uuid,
+        id: Id,
+        updated: Option<DateTime<Utc>>,
+        source: &str
+    ) -> Result<Self, Error>
+    {
+        let markdown_post = source
+            .parse::<PostSource>()
+            .and_then(MarkdownPost::try_from)?;
+
+        Self::new_from_markdown_post(code_renderer, namespace, id, updated, markdown_post)
+    }
+
+    pub fn new_from_markdown_post(
+        code_renderer: &CodeBlockRenderer,
+        namespace: Uuid,
+        id: Id,
+        updated: Option<DateTime<Utc>>,
+        markdown_post: MarkdownPost
+    ) -> Result<Self, Error>
+    {
+        let uuid = Uuid::new_v5(namespace, &*id)
+            .map_err(|err| match err {
+                UuidV5Error::NameTooLong(len) => Error::IdTooLong(len),
+            })?;
+
+        Ok(Self {
+            uuid,
+            id,
+            header: markdown_post.header,
+            updated: updated.unwrap_or_else(unix_epoch),
+            html: render_markdown(code_renderer, &markdown_post.markdown), 
+        })
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn uuid(&self) -> Uuid {
+        self.uuid
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn id(&self) -> &Id {
+        &self.id
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn header(&self) -> &Header {
+        &self.header
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn title(&self) -> &str {
+        self.header.title()
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn subtitle(&self) -> Option<&str> {
+        self.header.subtitle()
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn author(&self) -> &str {
+        self.header.author()
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn tags(&self) -> &[ShString22] {
+        self.header.tags()
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn published(&self) -> DateTime<Utc> {
+        self.header.published()
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn updated(&self) -> DateTime<Utc> {
+        self.updated
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn html(&self) -> PreEscaped<&str> {
+        PreEscaped(&self.html.0)
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/lib/post/source.rs b/src/lib/post/source.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b71b09b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/post/source.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+use std::{fmt, str};
+
+use kdl::KdlDocument;
+
+use super::error::Error;
+
+const DELIM: &str = "\n---\n";
+
+#[derive(Clone, Debug)]
+pub struct PostSource {
+    pub(super) header: KdlDocument,
+    pub(super) markdown: String,
+}
+
+impl PostSource {
+    #[inline]
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn header(&self) -> &KdlDocument {
+        &self.header
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn header_mut(&mut self) -> &mut KdlDocument {
+        &mut self.header
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn markdown(&self) -> &str {
+        &self.markdown
+    }
+
+    #[inline]
+    #[must_use]
+    pub fn markdown_mut(&mut self) -> &mut String {
+        &mut self.markdown
+    }
+}
+
+impl str::FromStr for PostSource {
+    type Err = Error;
+
+    fn from_str(s: &str) -> Result<Self, Self::Err> {
+        let (header, markdown) = s.split_once(DELIM)
+            .ok_or(Error::NoDelim)?;
+
+        Ok(PostSource {
+            header: header.parse()?,
+            markdown: markdown.to_owned(),
+        })
+    }
+}
+
+impl fmt::Display for PostSource {
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> fmt::Result {
+        write!(f, "{}{}{}", self.header, DELIM, self.markdown)
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/lib/time.rs b/src/lib/time.rs
index f59bb36..1d46ea2 100644
--- a/src/lib/time.rs
+++ b/src/lib/time.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,19 @@
 use chrono::{DateTime, NaiveDateTime, Utc};
 
+#[inline]
+#[must_use]
+pub fn datetime_unix(seconds: i64, nanoseconds: u32) -> DateTime<Utc> {
+    DateTime::from_utc(NaiveDateTime::from_timestamp(seconds, nanoseconds), Utc)
+}
+
+#[inline]
+#[must_use]
+pub fn datetime_unix_seconds(seconds: i64) -> DateTime<Utc> {
+    datetime_unix(seconds, 0)
+}
+
+#[inline]
+#[must_use]
 pub fn unix_epoch() -> DateTime<Utc> {
-    DateTime::from_utc(NaiveDateTime::from_timestamp(0, 0), Utc)
+    datetime_unix(0, 0)
 }