History glossary
Gospel
the Christian message of good news about Jesus, or the written accounts of his life.
- Category
- Christian scripture
- Region
- Mediterranean
- Date range
- 1st century CE onward
What it means
Gospel means good news and refers both to the Christian message about Jesus and to the written accounts of his life, death and resurrection in the New Testament. The canonical Gospels are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Stories using this term
The Anglo-Saxons
The Anglo-Saxons were the peoples and kingdoms that shaped Anglo-Saxon England after the end of Roman rule in Britain. From migration and settlement in Anglo-Saxon Britain to Christian conversion, Viking attacks, Alfred the Great, and the road to 1066, Anglo-Saxon history explains how early medieval England took form. Their language, laws, kingdoms, monasteries, and political traditions left a lasting mark on English identity before the Norman Conquest transformed the realm.
The Rise of the Medieval Church
From the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the Avignon papacy, this story traces how the Christian Church built its authority through bishops, monasteries, missions, reform, and direct confrontation with Europe's rulers.
The Rise of Christianity
From Jesus in Roman Judea to medieval Europe, Christianity grew from a persecuted movement into an imperial and civilisational force.
Feudalism and Medieval Society
From the estates of Charlemagne's empire to the flowering of Gothic cathedrals, this story explores how feudal hierarchies, manorial agriculture, and Church authority shaped the lives of kings, knights, and peasants alike.
