Why did Europe acquire a historical and cultural community in the Middle Ages?

The main reason for the emergence of European community was the Catholic Church. A single, clearly structured church, with an extensive network of monasteries throughout Europe, has become a conductor of culture between different states. Also one of the reasons was the expansionist policy of the rulers of that era.

Nevertheless, this community was relative – the medieval man in the street often had no idea about the lands lying outside the native settlement.