The ending to the investiture controversy seems to have really weakened medieval european monarchs. How could it have gone differently, not happened at all or in some way lead to european monarchs not losing their power to the church? What would the short and long-term effects of this be? I feel like this is a great POD to lead to more centralized medieval states, something I have always been in favor of.
On another note, does can anyone recommend some good timelines (or books) for a more successful France (starting in any time period). I am a huge francophile and am always looking for good France-tls, but have trouble finding them.
Thanks,
Scipio