Increase minimum Docutils to 0.18

24 files changed, 30 insertions, 211 deletions

diff --git a/.github/workflows/main.yml b/.github/workflows/main.yml
index 08fb55c85..78483810c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/main.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/main.yml
@@ -14,11 +14,11 @@ jobs:
       matrix:
         include:
         - python: "3.8"
-          docutils: du17
-        - python: "3.9"
           docutils: du18
+        - python: "3.9"
+          docutils: du19
         - python: "3.10"
-          docutils: du18
+          docutils: du19
         - python: "3.10"
           docutils: du19
         - python: "3.11-dev"
diff --git a/CHANGES b/CHANGES
index e02e7ab98..545bfb768 100644
--- a/CHANGES
+++ b/CHANGES
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@ Dependencies
 ------------
 
 * #10468: Drop Python 3.6 support
-* #10470: Drop Python 3.7, Docutils 0.14, Docutils 0.15, and Docutils 0.16
-  support. Patch by Adam Turner
+* #10470: Drop Python 3.7, Docutils 0.14, Docutils 0.15, Docutils 0.16, and
+  Docutils 0.17 support. Patch by Adam Turner
 
 Incompatible changes
 --------------------
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 58a0dd4d5..dd11048a1 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ dependencies = [
     "sphinxcontrib-qthelp",
     "Jinja2>=3.0",
     "Pygments>=2.12",
-    "docutils>=0.17,<0.20",
+    "docutils>=0.18,<0.20",
     "snowballstemmer>=2.0",
     "babel>=2.9",
     "alabaster>=0.7,<0.8",
diff --git a/sphinx/addnodes.py b/sphinx/addnodes.py
index 4abddf205..fea9c0edd 100644
--- a/sphinx/addnodes.py
+++ b/sphinx/addnodes.py
@@ -2,19 +2,24 @@
 
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Dict, List, Optional, Sequence
 
-import docutils
 from docutils import nodes
 from docutils.nodes import Element
 
+from sphinx.deprecation import RemovedInSphinx70Warning, deprecated_alias
+
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from sphinx.application import Sphinx
 
-try:
-    from docutils.nodes import meta as docutils_meta  # type: ignore
-except ImportError:
-    # docutils-0.17
-    from docutils.parsers.rst.directives.html import MetaBody
-    docutils_meta = MetaBody.meta
+deprecated_alias('sphinx.addnodes',
+                 {
+                     'meta': nodes.meta,  # type: ignore
+                     'docutils_meta': nodes.meta,  # type: ignore
+                 },
+                 RemovedInSphinx70Warning,
+                 {
+                     'meta': 'docutils.nodes.meta',
+                     'docutils_meta': 'docutils.nodes.meta',
+                 })
 
 
 class document(nodes.document):
@@ -424,13 +429,6 @@ class tabular_col_spec(nodes.Element):
     """Node for specifying tabular columns, used for LaTeX output."""
 
 
-class meta(nodes.Special, nodes.PreBibliographic, nodes.Element):
-    """Node for meta directive -- same as docutils' standard meta node,
-    but pickleable.
-    """
-    rawcontent = None
-
-
 # inline nodes
 
 class pending_xref(nodes.Inline, nodes.Element):
@@ -557,9 +555,6 @@ def setup(app: "Sphinx") -> Dict[str, Any]:
     app.add_node(literal_strong)
     app.add_node(manpage)
 
-    if docutils.__version_info__ < (0, 18):
-        app.add_node(meta)
-
     return {
         'version': 'builtin',
         'parallel_read_safe': True,
diff --git a/sphinx/directives/patches.py b/sphinx/directives/patches.py
index a0bf26262..833a9ff0b 100644
--- a/sphinx/directives/patches.py
+++ b/sphinx/directives/patches.py
@@ -1,14 +1,14 @@
 import os
 from os import path
-from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Dict, List, Sequence, cast
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Dict, List, cast
 
 from docutils import nodes
 from docutils.nodes import Node, make_id
 from docutils.parsers.rst import directives
 from docutils.parsers.rst.directives import images, tables
+from docutils.parsers.rst.directives.misc import Meta  # type: ignore[attr-defined]
 from docutils.parsers.rst.roles import set_classes
 
-from sphinx import addnodes
 from sphinx.directives import optional_int
 from sphinx.domains.math import MathDomain
 from sphinx.locale import __
@@ -18,30 +18,6 @@ from sphinx.util.nodes import set_source_info
 from sphinx.util.osutil import SEP, os_path, relpath
 from sphinx.util.typing import OptionSpec
 
-try:
-    from docutils.parsers.rst.directives.misc import Meta as Meta  # type: ignore
-except ImportError:
-    # docutils-0.17
-    from docutils.parsers.rst.directives.html import Meta as MetaBase
-
-    class Meta(MetaBase, SphinxDirective):  # type: ignore
-        def run(self) -> Sequence[Node]:  # type: ignore
-            result = super().run()
-            for node in result:
-                # for docutils-0.17.  Since docutils-0.18, patching is no longer needed
-                # because it uses picklable node; ``docutils.nodes.meta``.
-                if (isinstance(node, nodes.pending) and
-                        isinstance(node.details['nodes'][0], addnodes.docutils_meta)):
-                    meta = node.details['nodes'][0]
-                    meta.source = self.env.doc2path(self.env.docname)
-                    meta.line = self.lineno
-                    meta.rawcontent = meta['content']
-
-                    # docutils' meta nodes aren't picklable because the class is nested
-                    meta.__class__ = addnodes.meta
-
-            return result
-
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from sphinx.application import Sphinx
 
diff --git a/sphinx/environment/__init__.py b/sphinx/environment/__init__.py
index 59904e26f..6c956ecdd 100644
--- a/sphinx/environment/__init__.py
+++ b/sphinx/environment/__init__.py
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ from os import path
 from typing import (TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Callable, Dict, Generator, Iterator, List, Optional,
                     Set, Tuple, Union)
 
-import docutils
 from docutils import nodes
 from docutils.nodes import Node
 
@@ -52,8 +51,6 @@ default_settings: Dict[str, Any] = {
     'file_insertion_enabled': True,
     'smartquotes_locales': [],
 }
-if docutils.__version_info__[:2] <= (0, 17):
-    default_settings['embed_images'] = False
 
 # This is increased every time an environment attribute is added
 # or changed to properly invalidate pickle files.
diff --git a/sphinx/search/__init__.py b/sphinx/search/__init__.py
index 5330d7e7c..45d938949 100644
--- a/sphinx/search/__init__.py
+++ b/sphinx/search/__init__.py
@@ -189,8 +189,8 @@ class WordCollector(nodes.NodeVisitor):
         self.lang = lang
 
     def is_meta_keywords(self, node: Element) -> bool:
-        if (isinstance(node, (addnodes.meta, addnodes.docutils_meta)) and
-                node.get('name') == 'keywords'):
+        if (isinstance(node, nodes.meta)  # type: ignore
+                and node.get('name') == 'keywords'):
             meta_lang = node.get('lang')
             if meta_lang is None:  # lang not specified
                 return True
diff --git a/sphinx/themes/basic/static/basic.css_t b/sphinx/themes/basic/static/basic.css_t
index 2effcd963..401824a5c 100644
--- a/sphinx/themes/basic/static/basic.css_t
+++ b/sphinx/themes/basic/static/basic.css_t
@@ -237,18 +237,6 @@ a.headerlink {
     visibility: hidden;
 }
 
-{%- if docutils_version_info[:2] < (0, 18) %}
-a.brackets:before,
-span.brackets > a:before{
-    content: "[";
-}
-
-a.brackets:after,
-span.brackets > a:after {
-    content: "]";
-}
-{% endif %}
-
 h1:hover > a.headerlink,
 h2:hover > a.headerlink,
 h3:hover > a.headerlink,
@@ -337,20 +325,16 @@ p.sidebar-title {
     font-weight: bold;
 }
 
-{%- if docutils_version_info[:2] >= (0, 18) %}
 nav.contents,
 aside.topic,
-{%- endif %}
 div.admonition, div.topic, blockquote {
     clear: left;
 }
 
 /* -- topics ---------------------------------------------------------------- */
 
-{%- if docutils_version_info[:2] >= (0, 18) %}
 nav.contents,
 aside.topic,
-{%- endif %}
 div.topic {
     border: 1px solid #ccc;
     padding: 7px;
@@ -389,10 +373,8 @@ div.body p.centered {
 
 div.sidebar > :last-child,
 aside.sidebar > :last-child,
-{%- if docutils_version_info[:2] >= (0, 18) %}
 nav.contents > :last-child,
 aside.topic > :last-child,
-{%- endif %}
 div.topic > :last-child,
 div.admonition > :last-child {
     margin-bottom: 0;
@@ -400,10 +382,8 @@ div.admonition > :last-child {
 
 div.sidebar::after,
 aside.sidebar::after,
-{%- if docutils_version_info[:2] >= (0, 18) %}
 nav.contents::after,
 aside.topic::after,
-{%- endif %}
 div.topic::after,
 div.admonition::after,
 blockquote::after {
@@ -629,24 +609,6 @@ ul.simple p {
     margin-bottom: 0;
 }
 
-{%- if docutils_version_info[:2] < (0, 18) %}
-dl.footnote > dt,
-dl.citation > dt {
-    float: left;
-    margin-right: 0.5em;
-}
-
-dl.footnote > dd,
-dl.citation > dd {
-    margin-bottom: 0em;
-}
-
-dl.footnote > dd:after,
-dl.citation > dd:after {
-    content: "";
-    clear: both;
-}
-{%- elif docutils_version_info[:2] >= (0, 18) %}
 aside.footnote > span,
 div.citation > span {
     float: left;
@@ -670,7 +632,6 @@ div.citation > p:last-of-type:after {
     content: "";
     clear: both;
 }
-{%- endif %}
 
 dl.field-list {
     display: grid;
@@ -684,12 +645,6 @@ dl.field-list > dt {
     padding-right: 5px;
 }
 
-{%- if docutils_version_info[:2] < (0, 18) %}
-dl.field-list > dt:after {
-    content: ":";
-}
-{% endif %}
-
 dl.field-list > dd {
     padding-left: 0.5em;
     margin-top: 0em;
diff --git a/sphinx/themes/bizstyle/static/bizstyle.css_t b/sphinx/themes/bizstyle/static/bizstyle.css_t
index a524345f9..a96aef577 100644
--- a/sphinx/themes/bizstyle/static/bizstyle.css_t
+++ b/sphinx/themes/bizstyle/static/bizstyle.css_t
@@ -306,10 +306,8 @@ div.quotebar {
     border: 1px solid #ccc;
 }
 
-{%- if docutils_version_info[:2] >= (0, 18) %}
 nav.contents,
 aside.topic,
-{% endif %}
 div.topic {
     background-color: #f8f8f8;
 }
diff --git a/sphinx/themes/classic/static/classic.css_t b/sphinx/themes/classic/static/classic.css_t
index 789bec811..a15e7eeae 100644
--- a/sphinx/themes/classic/static/classic.css_t
+++ b/sphinx/themes/classic/static/classic.css_t
@@ -290,10 +290,8 @@ div.seealso {
     border: 1px solid #ff6;
 }
 
-{%- if docutils_version_info[:2] >= (0, 18) %}
 nav.contents,
 aside.topic,
-{% endif %}
 div.topic {
     background-color: #eee;
 }
diff --git a/sphinx/themes/epub/static/epub.css_t b/sphinx/themes/epub/static/epub.css_t
index a30344431..245582f61 100644
--- a/sphinx/themes/epub/static/epub.css_t
+++ b/sphinx/themes/epub/static/epub.css_t
@@ -245,10 +245,8 @@ p.sidebar-title {
 
 /* -- topics ---------------------------------------------------------------- */
 
-{%- if docutils_version_info[:2] >= (0, 18) %}
 nav.contents,
 aside.topic,
-{% endif %}
 div.topic {
     border: 1px solid #ccc;
     padding: 7px 7px 0 7px;
diff --git a/sphinx/themes/nature/static/nature.css_t b/sphinx/themes/nature/static/nature.css_t
index 93f9a5944..57e1ba7cf 100644
--- a/sphinx/themes/nature/static/nature.css_t
+++ b/sphinx/themes/nature/static/nature.css_t
@@ -194,10 +194,8 @@ div.seealso {
     border: 1px solid #ff6;
 }
 
-{%- if docutils_version_info[:2] >= (0, 18) %}
 nav.contents,
 aside.topic,
-{% endif %}
 div.topic {
     background-color: #eee;
 }
diff --git a/sphinx/themes/nonav/static/nonav.css_t b/sphinx/themes/nonav/static/nonav.css_t
index 933365e07..c66ae99ad 100644
--- a/sphinx/themes/nonav/static/nonav.css_t
+++ b/sphinx/themes/nonav/static/nonav.css_t
@@ -234,10 +234,8 @@ p.sidebar-title {
 
 /* -- topics ---------------------------------------------------------------- */
 
-{%- if docutils_version_info[:2] >= (0, 18) %}
 nav.contents,
 aside.topic,
-{% endif %}
 div.topic {
     border: 1px solid #ccc;
     padding: 7px 7px 0 7px;
diff --git a/sphinx/themes/pyramid/static/epub.css_t b/sphinx/themes/pyramid/static/epub.css_t
index 98741d0b8..12cb97487 100644
--- a/sphinx/themes/pyramid/static/epub.css_t
+++ b/sphinx/themes/pyramid/static/epub.css_t
@@ -254,10 +254,8 @@ div.seealso {
     border: 1px solid #ff6;
 }
 
-{%- if docutils_version_info[:2] >= (0, 18) %}
 nav.contents,
 aside.topic,
-{% endif %}
 div.topic {
     background-color: #eee;
 }
diff --git a/sphinx/themes/pyramid/static/pyramid.css_t b/sphinx/themes/pyramid/static/pyramid.css_t
index 0ced6b29f..46b613c2b 100644
--- a/sphinx/themes/pyramid/static/pyramid.css_t
+++ b/sphinx/themes/pyramid/static/pyramid.css_t
@@ -245,10 +245,8 @@ div.seealso {
     padding: 10px 20px 10px 60px;
 }
 
-{%- if docutils_version_info[:2] >= (0, 18) %}
 nav.contents,
 aside.topic,
-{% endif %}
 div.topic {
     background: #eeeeee;
     border: 2px solid #C6C9CB;
diff --git a/sphinx/themes/sphinxdoc/static/sphinxdoc.css_t b/sphinx/themes/sphinxdoc/static/sphinxdoc.css_t
index 1817c48bc..cfd16e317 100644
--- a/sphinx/themes/sphinxdoc/static/sphinxdoc.css_t
+++ b/sphinx/themes/sphinxdoc/static/sphinxdoc.css_t
@@ -266,10 +266,8 @@ div.quotebar {
     border: 1px solid #ccc;
 }
 
-{%- if docutils_version_info[:2] >= (0, 18) %}
 nav.contents,
 aside.topic,
-{% endif %}
 div.topic {
     background-color: #f8f8f8;
 }
diff --git a/sphinx/themes/traditional/static/traditional.css_t b/sphinx/themes/traditional/static/traditional.css_t
index 8a2f0712f..2202ba807 100644
--- a/sphinx/themes/traditional/static/traditional.css_t
+++ b/sphinx/themes/traditional/static/traditional.css_t
@@ -506,10 +506,8 @@ p.rubric {
 
 /* "Topics" */
 
-{%- if docutils_version_info[:2] >= (0, 18) %}
 nav.contents,
 aside.topic,
-{% endif %}
 div.topic {
     background-color: #eee;
     border: 1px solid #ccc;
diff --git a/sphinx/transforms/i18n.py b/sphinx/transforms/i18n.py
index fd32f0dc1..188655845 100644
--- a/sphinx/transforms/i18n.py
+++ b/sphinx/transforms/i18n.py
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ from sphinx.transforms import SphinxTransform
 from sphinx.util import get_filetype, logging, split_index_msg
 from sphinx.util.i18n import docname_to_domain
 from sphinx.util.nodes import (IMAGE_TYPE_NODES, LITERAL_TYPE_NODES, NodeMatcher,
-                               extract_messages, is_pending_meta, traverse_translatable_index)
+                               extract_messages, traverse_translatable_index)
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from sphinx.application import Sphinx
@@ -254,12 +254,7 @@ class Locale(SphinxTransform):
                 continue
 
             # update meta nodes
-            if isinstance(node, nodes.pending) and is_pending_meta(node):
-                # docutils-0.17
-                node.details['nodes'][0]['content'] = msgstr
-                continue
-            elif isinstance(node, addnodes.docutils_meta):
-                # docutils-0.18+
+            if isinstance(node, nodes.meta):  # type: ignore
                 node['content'] = msgstr
                 continue
 
diff --git a/sphinx/util/docutils.py b/sphinx/util/docutils.py
index 63c9a06ef..d27ad6ba0 100644
--- a/sphinx/util/docutils.py
+++ b/sphinx/util/docutils.py
@@ -588,16 +588,6 @@ class SphinxTranslator(nodes.NodeVisitor):
         logger.warning(__('unknown node type: %r'), node, location=node)
 
 
-# Node.findall() is a new interface to traverse a doctree since docutils-0.18.
-# This applies a patch to docutils up to 0.18 inclusive to provide Node.findall()
-# method to use it from our codebase.
-if docutils.__version_info__[:2] <= (0, 17):
-    def findall(self, *args, **kwargs):
-        return iter(self.traverse(*args, **kwargs))
-
-    Node.findall = findall  # type: ignore
-
-
 # cache a vanilla instance of nodes.document
 # Used in new_document() function
 __document_cache__: Tuple["Values", Reporter]
diff --git a/sphinx/util/nodes.py b/sphinx/util/nodes.py
index fdbf94fe6..3549dd190 100644
--- a/sphinx/util/nodes.py
+++ b/sphinx/util/nodes.py
@@ -182,14 +182,6 @@ IGNORED_NODES = (
 )
 
 
-def is_pending_meta(node: Node) -> bool:
-    if (isinstance(node, nodes.pending) and
-       isinstance(node.details.get('nodes', [None])[0], addnodes.meta)):
-        return True
-    else:
-        return False
-
-
 def is_translatable(node: Node) -> bool:
     if isinstance(node, addnodes.translatable):
         return True
@@ -225,11 +217,7 @@ def is_translatable(node: Node) -> bool:
             return False
         return True
 
-    if is_pending_meta(node) or isinstance(node, addnodes.meta):
-        # docutils-0.17
-        return True
-    elif isinstance(node, addnodes.docutils_meta):
-        # docutils-0.18+
+    if isinstance(node, nodes.meta):  # type: ignore
         return True
 
     return False
@@ -244,9 +232,6 @@ LITERAL_TYPE_NODES = (
 IMAGE_TYPE_NODES = (
     nodes.image,
 )
-META_TYPE_NODES = (
-    addnodes.meta,
-)
 
 
 def extract_messages(doctree: Element) -> Iterable[Tuple[Element, str]]:
@@ -267,14 +252,7 @@ def extract_messages(doctree: Element) -> Iterable[Tuple[Element, str]]:
                 msg = '.. image:: %s' % node['uri']
             else:
                 msg = ''
-        elif isinstance(node, META_TYPE_NODES):
-            # docutils-0.17
-            msg = node.rawcontent
-        elif isinstance(node, nodes.pending) and is_pending_meta(node):
-            # docutils-0.17
-            msg = node.details['nodes'][0].rawcontent
-        elif isinstance(node, addnodes.docutils_meta):
-            # docutils-0.18+
+        elif isinstance(node, nodes.meta):  # type: ignore
             msg = node["content"]
         else:
             msg = node.rawsource.replace('\n', ' ').strip()
diff --git a/tests/test_build_html.py b/tests/test_build_html.py
index 10fdbdf79..6b18bac1c 100644
--- a/tests/test_build_html.py
+++ b/tests/test_build_html.py
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ import re
 from itertools import chain, cycle
 from unittest.mock import ANY, call, patch
 
-import docutils
 import pytest
 from html5lib import HTMLParser
 
@@ -407,39 +406,6 @@ def test_html5_output(app, cached_etree_parse, fname, expect):
     check_xpath(cached_etree_parse(app.outdir / fname), fname, *expect)
 
 
-@pytest.mark.skipif(docutils.__version_info__ >= (0, 18), reason='docutils-0.17 or below is required.')
-@pytest.mark.parametrize("fname,expect", flat_dict({
-    'index.html': [
-        (".//dt[@class='label']/span[@class='brackets']", r'Ref1'),
-        (".//dt[@class='label']", ''),
-    ],
-    'footnote.html': [
-        (".//a[@class='footnote-reference brackets'][@href='#id9'][@id='id1']", r"1"),
-        (".//a[@class='footnote-reference brackets'][@href='#id10'][@id='id2']", r"2"),
-        (".//a[@class='footnote-reference brackets'][@href='#foo'][@id='id3']", r"3"),
-        (".//a[@class='reference internal'][@href='#bar'][@id='id4']/span", r"\[bar\]"),
-        (".//a[@class='reference internal'][@href='#baz-qux'][@id='id5']/span", r"\[baz_qux\]"),
-        (".//a[@class='footnote-reference brackets'][@href='#id11'][@id='id6']", r"4"),
-        (".//a[@class='footnote-reference brackets'][@href='#id12'][@id='id7']", r"5"),
-        (".//a[@class='fn-backref'][@href='#id1']", r"1"),
-        (".//a[@class='fn-backref'][@href='#id2']", r"2"),
-        (".//a[@class='fn-backref'][@href='#id3']", r"3"),
-        (".//a[@class='fn-backref'][@href='#id4']", r"bar"),
-        (".//a[@class='fn-backref'][@href='#id5']", r"baz_qux"),
-        (".//a[@class='fn-backref'][@href='#id6']", r"4"),
-        (".//a[@class='fn-backref'][@href='#id7']", r"5"),
-        (".//a[@class='fn-backref'][@href='#id8']", r"6"),
-    ],
-}))
-@pytest.mark.sphinx('html')
-@pytest.mark.test_params(shared_result='test_build_html_output_docutils17')
-def test_docutils17_output(app, cached_etree_parse, fname, expect):
-    app.build()
-    print(app.outdir / fname)
-    check_xpath(cached_etree_parse(app.outdir / fname), fname, *expect)
-
-
-@pytest.mark.skipif(docutils.__version_info__[:2] <= (0, 17), reason='docutils-0.18+ is required.')
 @pytest.mark.parametrize("fname,expect", flat_dict({
     'index.html': [
         (".//div[@class='citation']/span", r'Ref1'),
@@ -465,7 +431,7 @@ def test_docutils17_output(app, cached_etree_parse, fname, expect):
 }))
 @pytest.mark.sphinx('html')
 @pytest.mark.test_params(shared_result='test_build_html_output_docutils18')
-def test_docutils18_output(app, cached_etree_parse, fname, expect):
+def test_docutils_output(app, cached_etree_parse, fname, expect):
     app.build()
     print(app.outdir / fname)
     check_xpath(cached_etree_parse(app.outdir / fname), fname, *expect)
diff --git a/tests/test_smartquotes.py b/tests/test_smartquotes.py
index 7a18817f2..1d4e8e127 100644
--- a/tests/test_smartquotes.py
+++ b/tests/test_smartquotes.py
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 """Test smart quotes."""
 
-import docutils
 import pytest
 from html5lib import HTMLParser
 
@@ -44,10 +43,7 @@ def test_man_builder(app, status, warning):
     app.build()
 
     content = (app.outdir / 'python.1').read_text(encoding='utf8')
-    if docutils.__version_info__ > (0, 18):
-        assert r'\-\- \(dqSphinx\(dq is a tool that makes it easy ...' in content
-    else:
-        assert r'\-\- "Sphinx" is a tool that makes it easy ...' in content
+    assert r'\-\- \(dqSphinx\(dq is a tool that makes it easy ...' in content
 
 
 @pytest.mark.sphinx(buildername='latex', testroot='smartquotes', freshenv=True)
diff --git a/tests/test_versioning.py b/tests/test_versioning.py
index 107e21560..3172b31a1 100644
--- a/tests/test_versioning.py
+++ b/tests/test_versioning.py
@@ -4,17 +4,9 @@ import pickle
 
 import pytest
 
-from sphinx import addnodes
 from sphinx.testing.util import SphinxTestApp
 from sphinx.versioning import add_uids, get_ratio, merge_doctrees
 
-try:
-    from docutils.nodes import meta
-except ImportError:
-    # docutils-0.18.0 or older
-    from docutils.parsers.rst.directives.html import MetaBody
-    meta = MetaBody.meta
-
 app = original = original_uids = None
 
 
@@ -62,8 +54,6 @@ def test_picklablility():
     copy.settings.warning_stream = None
     copy.settings.env = None
     copy.settings.record_dependencies = None
-    for metanode in copy.findall(meta):
-        metanode.__class__ = addnodes.meta
     loaded = pickle.loads(pickle.dumps(copy, pickle.HIGHEST_PROTOCOL))
     assert all(getattr(n, 'uid', False) for n in loaded.findall(is_paragraph))
 
diff --git a/tox.ini b/tox.ini
index 4d1c80188..1a45e6192 100644
--- a/tox.ini
+++ b/tox.ini
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [tox]
 minversion = 2.4.0
-envlist = docs,flake8,mypy,twine,py{38,39,310,311},du{17,18,19}
+envlist = docs,flake8,mypy,twine,py{38,39,310,311},du{18,19}
 isolated_build = True
 
 [testenv]
@@ -17,9 +17,8 @@ passenv =
     TERM
 description =
     py{38,39,310,311}: Run unit tests against {envname}.
-    du{17,18,19}: Run unit tests with the given version of docutils.
+    du{18,19}: Run unit tests with the given version of docutils.
 deps =
-    du17: docutils==0.17.*
     du18: docutils==0.18.*
     du19: docutils==0.19.*
 extras =