«The Birth of Europe» by Jacques Le Goff as unified cultural space

This article analyzes the historical-cultural concept of the French scientist Jacques Le Goff, which examines the main tendencies of the historical process of formation and development of European civilization as a unified cultural space. The author analyzes the historical features of Europe as a «Long Middle Ages», highlighting the history of intellectual life; the history of mentalities; the history of value orientations. The author distinguishes four elements in European civilization: 1) the development of cities and urban lifestyles; 2) the development of trade and commercial activity «merchants of Europe»; 3) the establishment of the universities «intellectual Europe»; 4) the spread of Christianity as the spiritual Foundation of European civilization.