Mass. Development of all the religious orders. Art and Music - We can now trace direct lines from then to now. Economically - From around 1050 a Commercial revolution. In the earlier period money had largely disappeared. Now it becomes important again and trade starts up in local areas and between far distant areas.
Westerners even get as far as China.
In short the West begins to have notion of itself. The notion is called Christendom, but develops into the idea of Europe. In the Middle Ages we have the origin of a specifically Western civilization, based not on the Mediterranean, but the Western lands of the entire continent. This, rather than more medieval ideas, was the precursor to modern ways of thinking. Religion united both the intellectual elite and the people.