To what extent was there a "new consciousness of self" in the twelfth century?

Although it is universally recognised that there was a sixteenth century renaissance, a body of historians now argue that there were in fact three renaissances in Western Europe. These two earlier renaissances took place in the seventh and twelfth centuries, and in the latter some argue that we see an emergence of man coming to terms with his 'self' or his 'individuality.' It is important here to define what we are looking for in …

…'Did the twelfth century discover the individual', Journal of Ecclesiastical History, 31 (1980) Chenu, M.-D. Nature, Man and Society in the Twelfth Century (Chicago 1957, 2nd edn. Chicago 1968) Gurevich, A.J. Categories of Medieval Culture (Moscow, 1792, 2nd edn. London, 1985) Le Goff, J. Intellectuals in the Middle Ages (Oxford, 1993) Southern R.W. Medeival Humanism and Other Studies (Oxford, 1970) Swanson, R.N. The twelfth century renaissance (Manchester, 1999) Primary Sources Radice, B. (ed) The Letters of Abelard and Heloise (Penguin, 1974)