diff --git a/layouts/_default/list.md b/layouts/_default/list.md
index c74dc6e5b..fb8bb2fd7 100644
--- a/layouts/_default/list.md
+++ b/layouts/_default/list.md
@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 {{ partial "markdown/front-matter.md" . }}
 {{- $body := partial "markdown/body.md" . }}
-{{ with $body }}{{ . }}
-
-{{ end -}}
+{{ $body }}
 {{- /* Leave out the children that the body already links, for example in a
        link group, so the page does not list them twice. */ -}}
 {{- $unlinked := slice -}}
@@ -11,7 +9,13 @@
     {{- $unlinked = $unlinked | append . -}}
   {{- end -}}
 {{- end -}}
-{{- with $unlinked -}}
+{{- /* End the body with a newline, and add a blank line before the list.
+       A page with no body needs neither. */ -}}
+{{- if $body }}
+{{ end -}}
+{{- with $unlinked }}
+{{- if $body }}
+{{ end -}}
 ## Pages in this section
 
 {{ range . -}}
diff --git a/layouts/partials/markdown/body.md b/layouts/partials/markdown/body.md
index 1050d4780..b69d280fe 100644
--- a/layouts/partials/markdown/body.md
+++ b/layouts/partials/markdown/body.md
@@ -23,4 +23,16 @@
     {{- end -}}
   {{- end -}}
 {{- end -}}
+{{- /* Shortcodes and their source leave runs of blank lines. One blank line
+       separates blocks just as well and costs fewer tokens. Keep the runs
+       inside fenced code, where they are part of the sample: swap each
+       fence for a placeholder, collapse the runs, and swap the fences back. */ -}}
+{{- $fences := findRE "(?ms)^[ \t]*```.*?^[ \t]*```[ \t]*$" $body -}}
+{{- range $i, $fence := $fences -}}
+  {{- $body = replace $body $fence (printf "\x00%d\x00" $i) -}}
+{{- end -}}
+{{- $body = replaceRE `\n([ \t]*\n){2,}` "\n\n" $body -}}
+{{- range $i, $fence := $fences -}}
+  {{- $body = replace $body (printf "\x00%d\x00" $i) $fence -}}
+{{- end -}}
 {{- $body | strings.TrimSpace -}}